In 1912, the Pi Beta Phi women's fraternity established a settlement school (now Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts) in Gatlinburg after a survey of the region found the town to be most in need of educational facilities in the area.Pearl Cashell Jackson, Pi Beta Phi Settlement School (University of Texas, 1927), pg. 14. Although skeptical locals were initially worried that the fraternity might be religious propagandists or opportunists, the school's enrollment grew from 33 to 134 in its first year of operation.Jackson, pp. 11, 39. Along with providing basic education to children in the area, the school's staff created a small market for local crafts.
In 1912, the Pi Beta Phi women's fraternity established a settlement school (now Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts) in Gatlinburg after a survey of the region found the town to be most in need of educational facilities in the area.Pearl Cashell Jackson, Pi Beta Phi Settlement School (University of Texas, 1927), pg. 14. Although skeptical locals were initially worried that the fraternity might be religious propagandists or opportunists, the school's enrollment grew from 33 to 134 in its first year of operation.Jackson, pp. 11, 39. Along with providing basic education to children in the area, .the school's staff created a small market for local craf!ts.