Culture and Lifestyle Celebrities Dolly Parton Is Said to Have Spent Millions Renovating Childhood Home in the Smoky Mountains Step aside, Chip and Jo! By Perri Ormont Blumberg Perri Ormont Blumberg Perri Ormont Blumberg is a former senior staff writer for Southern Living's News Team. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Published on April 8, 2019 Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: El Pics/Getty Images Turns out, the Smoky Mountain Songbird has a knack for restoring homes, too. In a recent piece, Wide Open Country took a dive into 12 Things You Didn't Know About Dolly Parton, and we were surprised to learn a curious piece of intel about the singer's childhood home. "Raised in a small cabin in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, Parton wanted to honor her upbringing by fixing her childhood home up to look exactly like it did when she was a child. She jokes that she spent millions making it look like she spent $50," writes Courtney Campbell. Currently, visitors to Parton's Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, can tour a replica of her Great Smoky Mountains childhood cabin in the theme park. Guests get a sense of what the Parton family living quarters were like. Stephen Saks/Getty Images In Campbell's piece, we were also intrigued to learn that Parton has written over 5,000 songs and she once lost a Dolly look-alike contest. Read the full article on Wide Open Country here. WATCH: Dolly Parton Credits Her 52-Year Marriage to Faith With spring blossoming all around us, we're thinking now may be an excellent excuse to plan that long overdue Smoky Mountains vacation. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit