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Born the fourth of 12 children to Avie Lee and Robert Lee Parton, according to a People cover story, she was raised in a two-room log cabin in Locust Ridge in Sevier County, Tennessee, without electricity or running water.
The rustic home reflected the modest surroundings of Parton’s early years, a world that stood in sharp contrast to the fame and fortune she would eventually achieve. | Source: Getty Images
The rustic home reflected the modest surroundings of Parton’s early years, a world that stood in sharp contrast to the fame and fortune she would eventually achieve. | Source: Getty Images
As a child, she would stand on the front porch and sing her heart out using a tobacco stick and tin can as a makeshift microphone, already dreaming of performing on the Grand Ole Opry.Pop Music
She credited her spiritual and creative foundation to her mother Avie Lee, and her unparalleled work ethic to her father, a tobacco farmer. Dolly made her first appearance at the Grand Ole Opry in 1959 at just 13 years old, introduced by none other than Johnny Cash.
Parton is pictured with her parents, Robert Lee and Avie Lee, on the porch of the family’s rustic home, with a guitar resting nearby — a fitting glimpse of the musical roots that would shape her life. | Source: Getty Images
Parton is pictured with her parents, Robert Lee and Avie Lee, on the porch of the family’s rustic home, with a guitar resting nearby — a fitting glimpse of the musical roots that would shape her life. | Source: Getty Images
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The original cabin where she grew up still stands on Locust Ridge, and according to The Smokies, Dolly sentimentally bought the land back after her parents sold it and restored the home to its 1950s state.
For fans who want a closer look, a replica of the cabin — designed by her brother Bobby and decorated with the approval of her mother Avie Lee — can be visited at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge. The original property on Locust Ridge, near Evans Chapel, is private and trespassers are not welcome.