Location and History

Indians were the first settlers of Knoxville and East Tennessee. By the time the first European settlers appeared, the Cherokees dominated the region. The valley was the hunting grounds of the Cherokee Indians.

The origins of the name Tennessee are steeped in Cherokee history, to read more on this click here.

Present-day Knoxville is located near the center of the Great Valley of East Tennessee. Its location, in the heart of the valley and at the headwaters of the Tennessee River, make the city a center for the region's economy, culture, and history.

James White, the founder of Knoxville, established his home here in 1786 as a fort and cluster of cabins. By 1791, the community was renamed Knoxville and enjoyed status as capital of the Southwest Territory. By 1794, the town was home to Blount College, known today as the University of Tennessee.

In the 1800s, Knoxville took advantage of its river access, railroad connections, and geographical location to become one of the leading distributing centers in the south. These same assets would make Knoxville a prize to be fought for during the American Civil War. Like the rest of the state, Knoxville was divided between the blue and the gray.

After the war, Knoxville rebuilt its economy through commerce, industry, and natural resources that included lumber, coal, and marble. Those natural resources and river-generated power helped establish Knoxville as an important "New Deal" city in the early 20th century, as a gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and as headquarters to the Tennessee Valley Authority. In 1982, Knoxville was host to a World's Fair and 11 million visitors. The theme, "Energy Turns the World," reflects the city's prominent role in technology.

Today, Knoxville is home to pioneers in industry, leaders in the arts, and traditionalists working to preserve our heritage. Knoxville's culture and history can be explored and discovered in its 20 museums, numerous performing arts venues, and its historic neighborhoods.

Knoxville was named after Henry Knox, President Washington's War Secretary.

William Blount selected the name for the City of Knoxville.

Knoxville was the home of one of the most intense Union supporters, William Brownlow, editor of the Knoxville Whig newspaper.

Due to Knoxville being a major center of marble distribution in the early 1900s, its nickname soon become "The Marble City."

In Knoxville on May 1, 1890 the first electric street car ran from Gay Street to Lake Ottossee (now Chilhowee Park).

McGhee Tyson Airport in Knoxville is named in honor of Knoxville native and Fighter Pilot Lt. Charles McGhee Tyson who was shot down over Britain's North Sea in WWI.

In 1901, Kid Curry, a member of Butch Cassidy’s Wild Bunch, shot a couple of deputies and escaped out the back window of a business on Central Avenue in what is now the Old City. He was captured, brought to the Knoxville Jail, but escaped and was last seen riding the sheriff’s stolen horse across the Gay Street Bridge.

The French Broad and the Holston Rivers converge in Knoxville to form the headwaters of the Tennessee River which begins the 650 mile River Navigational Channel.

Seven lakes surround Knoxville: Cherokee, Douglas, Ft. Loudon, Melton Hill, Norris, Watts Bar and Tellico.

Knoxville is situated at the crossroads of three major intestates, I-75, I-40 and I-81.

 

 

 

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