A Visit to the World’s Only Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum
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While Gatlinburg is most famous for being home to the beautiful Smoky Mountains, the small gateway city is also home to a number of eccentric museums. I love seeking out odd and interesting places no matter where I go. Fortunately, I lived in Asheville for several years and enjoyed easy access to the region. Today, we are surrounded by so many of the same looking bland chains, malls, businesses, and even museums. It’s nice to find oddball attractions still hanging on after all these years. While I love exploring world-class art and historical museums, sometimes it is fun to enjoy something a bit lighter and more nostalgic. If you find yourself visiting the Smokies, do take a half hour break or so to visit the only museum dedicated to salt and pepper shakers.
How it all began
The museum opened more than 35 years ago by a Texas couple named Rolf and Andrea. The couple’s love of collecting began with their journey to find the perfect pepper mill which they did not have at their house at the time. Andrea’s story of how the museum came to be starts with her son giving her a camera in the late 90’s and her use of it to photograph her ever growing collection. The collection grew so large that she began storing most of the shakers in boxes, which she categorized by type. When the collection became too large, they moved from Texas to the Smokies to open the world’s first museum dedicated to salt and pepper shakers!
Their museum and website both offer some nice historical tidbits about salt and pepper in general. For instance, I never knew why there are more holes for pepper vs salt. Salt has less holes than pepper in the US due to health concerns over excess salt being linked to hypertension and other diseases. In other countries around the world, the inverse is true! It really just depends on the culture! I actually prefer to heavily salt my food and I am not a big fan of spice, so I would actually prefer more holes in my salt shaker!
Read more about the history of this unique museum
A Collector’s Dream!
Anyone who collects salt and pepper shakers will absolutely love browsing through rooms and rooms of unique, hard to find, and rare shakers. Some of the shakers are historical pieces, dating back to ancient times. There is a huge gift shop where you can shop for novelties that you will not find anywhere else. Being a big holiday buff, I really enjoyed the Halloween and Christmas collections.
The amount of detail in some of the pieces is just incredible. I really enjoyed just browsing around and taking it all in, much like you would at an art museum. Before visiting, I had no ideas that simple salt and pepper shakers could be found in so many colorful designs. It really is a blast to the past seeing so many unique pieces of artwork, from media (the Star Trek and Was section was especially nostalgic), to food of every variety, to beautiful antique Blue Willow pieces.
How big is the collection?
According to the museum website, the small museum houses over 20,000 pieces! You would never guess the space is this massive pulling up to the parking lot. Once you arrive inside, it is jam packed with solely salt and pepper shakers. There are lots of little signs and tidbits where you can learn more about the collection. I love how each collection is separated into different rooms so you can take in all the fine details without feeling overwhelmed.
I took hundreds of pictures during my visit. Below I will highlight just a few of the many interesting pieces in the collection.
How much does it cost?
Fortunately, admission is only 3 bucks per person. Best of all, this fee can be applied as a credit towards any purchase. The prices are a bit steep in my opinion, although for avid collectors, there really is no price too high for a worthy new addition to your collection. Conveniently, they have an online store in case you run out of time during your visit or simply want to browse from home.
Address/Hours
Location: 461 Brookside Village Way, Gatlinburg, TN 37738
Hours: 10am-2pm
No fee to park. Hours and admission subject to change.
If you love exploring odd attractions throughout the US, also be sure to check out my guide to the top off-the-beaten path adventures I have had over the years!
