Town planning to change name to Rocky Top, Tenn.
LAKE CITY, Tenn. (AP) – The little East Tennessee town of Lake City has taken the first step toward changing its name to Rocky Top.
Despite the famous bluegrass song, the only Rocky Top in Tennessee is an outcropping in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. That’s not the ideal location for a 500-seat paddleboat restaurant on an artificial lake – one of many attractions a development group has promised to build if the town makes the name change.
A standing-room-only crowd of about 100 people broke into applause at city hall on Thursday night after the council voted in favor.
However, Mayor Tim Sharp warned of a possible complication. A Gatlinburg company already owns the rights to many Rocky Top trademarks. The council promised to discuss the matter further before taking a final vote.
