Visit a one of a Kind Attraction
One of Gatlinburg’s more peculiar institutions came as the direct result of one Belgian archeologist’s special passion for collecting salt shakers and pepper mills. Starting as the rather innocuous act of simply replacing a broken shaker, eventual museum owner Andrea Ludden found herself collecting well over 14,000 different specimens, before her husband intervened and demanded that something had to be done.
The couple then moved to Tennessee and opened their first Salt & Pepper Shaker Museum in the small city of Cosby, before moving multiple times until they opened their current location in Gatlinburg.
Currently boasting a commendable 20,000 exhibits that come in all shapes and colors, the Salt & Petter Shaker Museum is the world’s largest public exhibition of its kind – but that’s maybe helped by the fact that it is also one of only two in existence. The other being a sister museum in Alicante, Spain, also owned and operated by the Luddens.
Museum Exhibits
Don’t think of the museum’s exhibition as a supermarket shelf for kitchen and tableware. Rather, the museum lets you travel back in time and presents specimens dating back to the 17th century. The modern salt shaker did not yet exist at that time, but even then the white gold had to be stored somewhere.
As the epochs progress, the exhibitions become more and more modern, unusual and sometimes simply bizarre. There is everything here, from the gold and silver plated shakers from the 19th century, to the more kitschy one from the mid-90’s.
The museum’s well over 20,000 exhibits are as numerous as they are diverse, with each being a direct result of its time and the then dominant culture.
Opening Hours and Entrance fee
Admission to the Salt & Pepper Shaker Museum is 3 dollars, which goes directly toward any purchase you make in the museum’s own gift shop. Children under the age of 12 enter free of charge.
