Alfred E. Anderson’s unique career in civil rights was versatile, inspiring, and ultimately tragic. This is an incomplete story. Like many Black men of his era, there’s much about Alfred Anderson we don’t know, like where he came from or […]

When you browse the online Calvin M. McClung Digital Collection, you might see what look like the exact same historical photographs placed side by side. These are stereograph images, which were produced in the late 19th and early 20th centuries […]

Knoxville’s odd roles in the Trial of the Century   The infamous Scopes Monkey Trial in Dayton, Tenn., took place one century ago this month. Its centennial is getting international attention. We don’t think of it as a Knoxville story—but […]

Launched in 2017 by the Knoxville History Project, Downtown Art Wraps is an art and history initiative that aims to inspire an appreciation of the city’s rich artistic heritage. Eight years later, this ever-changing public art exhibition now features 40 […]

Mountain Dew’s evolution as a concept Even if you’ve never dared to try it, you know what Mountain Dew is. Its sci-fi nuclear-green color and barely legal caffeine content give it a reputation as one of the more extreme soft […]

Through its popular annual luncheon, the Knoxville History Project recognizes local historians who through research, public programs and published books and articles, have increased our collective knowledge of and appreciation for the city’s past. Known as the William Rule Award […]

To an almost incredible degree, downtown’s humming, especially in the evenings. With the new baseball and soccer stadium, renovated and well-used historic theaters with interesting shows, a busy cineplex, several festivals including one that has become internationally famous, several nationally […]

This is the second part of a look at the city’s deep and endlessly fascinating musical history based on the publication of a new educational booklet by the Knoxville History Project. For years now, local historians and journalists have described […]

The unlikely saga of America’s first Syrian family There are diverging stories about whether the Arbeely family of Syria actually attended the Exposition Universelle, the Paris World’s Fair of 1878, or whether they just pretended to. It was one of […]