Knoxville

Knoxville’s the birthplace and first capital of the state of Tennessee. It was the site of Tennessee’s first newspaper, and first published books. It’s been the home, since 1794, of one of America’s oldest state universities. It has significant associations with the evolution of country music, the conservation movement, civil-rights politics, and several interesting industries. Knoxvillians have run for president, made major motion pictures, designed interesting buildings, painted interesting pictures, won Pulitzer Prizes. Educational in purpose, the Knoxville History Project is a conduit for information about all these things.

WHAT WE DO

The Knoxville History Project (KHP) is an educational nonprofit whose mission is to research and promote the history of Knoxville. Knoxville’s only city-focused historical organization, KHP covers the city’s historic center, but also neighborhoods throughout the county, to the north, south, east, and west.

KHP offers educational talks and tours to the public and through schools, museums, churches, and other groups. We support numerous other historical organizations in their work and partner with Knoxville Walking Tours to expand the range of history education in the community.

In addition, KHP provides consultation services to property owners, developers, local government, and other groups to research and document buildings, structures, and places of interest. Please contact us to discuss the nature and scope of your history project.

KHP accepts fees for services, but its main source of revenue is philanthropic contributions. Contributions to the KHP are tax-deductible.

Please contact us to schedule a program for your group.

KNOXVILLE MERCURY

At its inception, KHP’s largest project was supporting the Knoxville Mercury, an independent newspaper, in its work to promote better understanding of the city of Knoxville and its history and culture.

The Mercury produced 109 award-winning issues since it began in 2015 but due to funding challenges published its last issue on July 20, 2017.  The Mercury continues to maintain an online presence and KHP will continue to regularly post new history articles to engage the community. While education remains its primary focus, KHP remains open to the prospect of assisting independent local journalism within the limits of our mission.  In 2017, KHP worked with the Knox County Public Library to produce a history of Knoxville journalism exhibit which will circulate branch libraries.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The current Board of Directors of the Knoxville History Project includes Linda Billman (President), Casey Fox (Vice-President), Nelda Hill (Secretary), Scott Fugate (Treasurer), Ernie Freeberg, Joe Sullivan, Duane Grieve, Kim Lauth, Anne Bridges, Rosa Mar, Charles Fels, Steve Cotham, Nicki Russler, and Tore Olsson.

OTHER PARTNERS

The KHP works closely with other nonprofit organizations, including the East Tennessee Historical Society, the Knox County Public Library, the Tennessee Archive of Moving Image and Sound, and Visit Knoxville, and Knox Heritage, which is currently serving as KHP’s fiscal sponsor.

All content on this website copyright Knoxville History Project except where noted.

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MEET OUR STAFF

Jack Neely, Executive Director – Jack is a journalist who has been writing about his hometown’s character and heritage for many years. After graduating from the University of Tennessee, where he studied American history, Neely was an Egyptian museum tour guide at the 1982 World’s Fair; later, he was a criminal-defense investigator, and an assistant editor for a national fiction magazine. Since his column, “Secret History,” debuted in 1992, he’s been known mainly as a Knoxville journalist with a particular interest in the city’s unique culture and heritage. Jack continued his work on Knoxville in his weekly column, “The Scruffy Citizen” for The Knoxville Mercury (2015-2017). He has written several books about Knoxville and its history, most recently The Tennessee Theatre: A Grand Entertainment Palace (2015); Knoxville, Tennessee: Green by Nature (2014); Market Square: A History of the Most Democratic Place on Earth (2nd ed., 2011) and Knoxville, Tennessee: This Obscure Prismatic City (2009).

 

Paul James, Director of Development – Paul, a 20 year plus nonprofit professional joined KHP in 2017. Previously, the Executive Director of Ijams Nature Center (2004-2016), Paul has long been fascinated with Knoxville History. He is in charge of fundraising and helps with publishing and program development. His published titles include: An Exhibition Guide to Lost Species (2006), Ijams Nature Center (2010), and Brockway Crouch: a Naturalist’s Life in Knoxville and the Smokies (2012). He wrote a feature article on the Passenger Pigeon for Smokies Life Magazine (2014), and numerous articles for the Tennessee Conservationist Magazine (2006-2015).

 

Nicole Stahl, Administrative Coordinator- Nicole joined KHP part-time in 2016 with over 12 years of administrative experience.  Her love for history, along with passion for administrative work, makes her work at KHP nothing short of a dream job.  She takes care of the day-to-day activities, along with assisting Jack and Paul with the larger projects and events. Originally from New York, she has lived in Knoxville for 11 years and had fallen hard for this “scruffy city”.  From getting married in the Sunsphere, to weekends spent strolling Market Square with her family, Knoxville is definitely home.