The Salt and Pepper Museum – Featured Friday Blog

Did you know that the ONLY salt and pepper shaker museum in the United States is right here in Gatlinburg, Tennessee? Located in Winery Square on Hwy 321 by Traffic Light #3, The Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum is a unique Smoky Mountain attraction that everyone in your whole family will love.

The museum began when Andrea and Rolf Ludden, a husband and wife team, began to search for a pepper mill after their one at home did not work. The collection began with only one or two pieces, then spread into salt shakers, with the collection growing so large that a separate building had to be purchased.

Now, more than 30 years and one new building later, the museum is home to more than 20,000 salt and pepper shakers. Andrea, a Belgium native and trained archeolgist, displays her museum like she would her archological dig findings. The muesum is visually pleasing and well-organized, with helpful directional arrows QR codes that allow you to scan with your smartphone to reveal videos, stories and articles about the shakers. The hallways and walls are painted black to help better display her collection. Behind the glass display cases hold a variety of treasures that you and your family will love to see.

Some of these salt and pepper shakers intricate enough to be considered works of art. The shakers are categorized in areas such as: animals, plants, vehicles, shapes, etcetera. The variety of the collection will amaze you, with dozens of chefs, indians, chicken, and even McDonald’s items shakers. The collection is fairly impressive, because, after all, where have you ever seen salt and pepper shakers that commemorate the first Apollo moon landing?

What makes this museum really unique is the variety of shakers on display. From pieces from the 1500’s through the 1800’s to today, taking a tour of the museum is like taking a look through hundreds of generations. The salt and pepper shakers come from all over the world and have been carefully collected by Andrea and her family.

The Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum has been featured in countless magazines, newspapers, online articles and television features. The museum has even been visited by Food Network’s Unwrapped and was once featured on The Late Night Show with Jimmy Fallon!

The Salt and Pepper Museum also offers a variety of salt and pepper shakers for purchase, so you can begin your own personal collection of unique shakers.

The Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum is an affordable attraction for the whole family. The museum is open Monday through Sunday from 10:00AM through 4:00PM. Admission prices are $3.00 dollars per adult (which is good towards any salt and pepper shaker purchase), while children 12 and under are free!

For more information, including detailed directions, photographs and more, visit The Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum’s website at: https://www.thesaltandpeppershakermuseum.com/