As the Ringgold Wedding Chapel continues its search for couples to be inducted into its Couple Hall of Fame, the city itself has taken it one step further by setting up a special display at the Ringgold Depot to commemorate the wedding that took place in Ringgold over 40 years ago between Carl Dean and the Backwoods Barbie herself, Dolly Parton.

“We thought it would be something nice and interesting to add to our display case,” said Meaghan Dant, marketing coordinator for Ringgold. “We have a lot of memorabilia from the city’s history, and we think this is something that people will enjoy taking a look at.”

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Parton and Dean were married at Ringgold First Baptist Church on May 30, 1966, and remain together to this day. The photo on display was taken after the ceremony in front of the church by Parton’s mother, Avie Lee Parton.

“It’s a great story,” Dant said. “Dolly is an icon in the South, so it’s neat to have something like this linked to the city.”

Dant said the photo was originally discovered by Pam Green via a Facebook page titled “You know you’re from Ringgold when…” and that the marriage license was retrieved from Probate Court records.

“At first, we were a little worried about copyright laws, but the photo was available on a site where everything is considered public, so we just went with it,” Dant said.

The display is available for viewing at the Ringgold Depot at 155 Depot St. and can be seen between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Wednesday.