Dolly Parton fans gather at Dollywood after her death

Dolly Parton fans gathered at Dollywood in Tennessee after the country music star died on Tuesday aged 80, honoring a local hero whose theme park became a major force in Appalachian communities.

Rebekah Donchatz said she and her sister had long planned to visit Dollywood immediately after Parton's death. Donchatz, a 35-year-old mortgage processor from Asheville, North Carolina, said Parton had been her hero while growing up in Appalachia.

Dollywood opened in 1986 and includes rides, festivals, live shows, workshops, hotels, water parks and displays of rural and small-town American life. The park also includes a full-size replica of the two-room log cabin where Parton grew up with her 11 brothers and sisters in Locust Ridge, outside Sevierville.

The park now attracts four million visitors a year and employs more than 4,000 people. Eugene Naughton, president of Dollywood Parks & Resorts, said it directly generates about $2 billion in economic impact each year for Tennessee.

Local business owner Laurie Blanton Faulkner said Dollywood had helped businesses in Sevier County and beyond. Retiree Ray White, who said he has visited Pigeon Forge with his wife since 1989, said the area had grown because of Dollywood.