Just after the Civil War, when what was then known as East Tennessee University was partly military in its focus. The college sponsored a tiny “cadet band,” perhaps not a very good one. When the university needed a band for […]
Other
If you were to step back 100 years, a lot of things would be familiar. Christmas trees, both the big public one near Market Street and the one at home, glowed with electric lights. Downtown stores were brightly lit, often […]
Two Rebels: Remembering Avon Rollins and Otis Stephens
December 15, 2016
As several friends have remembered since his death in 2016, Avon Rollins was a key figure in local civil-rights history. The Knoxville native was one of the University of Tennessee’s first generation of black students. In 1962, the engineering major […]
The Attorney-Toreador of Gay Street
December 8, 2016
There’s a story people of a certain age tell this time of year, of the prominent lawyer who, wearing mainly a nightshirt, rode down Gay Street on a bull, as thousands cheered. Carole Fields was just a little girl, 75 […]
Jazz Piano Genius James Booker’s Mysterious Knoxville Concert
December 1, 2016
Earlier this year a couple of readers alerted me to an electronic curiosity making the rounds. James Booker, who died in 1983 at the age of 43, was a genius of jazz piano, one of those musicians other musicians speak […]
A Knoxville Thanksgiving
November 22, 2016
There was a time when the family holiday was less predictable. Although Thanksgiving harks back to an event in 1621, it wasn’t commonly celebrated nationally until the middle 1800s. For many years, Thanksgiving, with its associations with a Massachusetts event, […]
Does Knoxville’s Elusive City Flag Need a Makeover?
November 22, 2016
A recent weekly history page, sponsored by the Knoxville History Project, stirred up some interest in Knoxville’s ancient city flag. Long neglected, forgotten, practically unknown to most, it was designed and approved by City Council in 1896, just in time […]
Blount Mansion, and the Dawn of Preservation
November 17, 2016
This fall is the 90th anniversary of a watershed moment in historic preservation in Knoxville. In 1925, developers were planning the largest hotel ever built in East Tennessee, prepared in anticipation of the popularity of the Great Smoky Mountains National […]
A Short History of Sharp’s Ridge Memorial Park
November 10, 2016
Established as a war memorial about 70 years ago, the ridgetop park is drawing new interest. Sharp’s Ridge, Knoxville’s highest summit, straddles the northern part of town. Despite the difference in spelling, it’s believed to be named for the Sharpe […]
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EDITOR
Jack Neely is executive director of the Knoxville History Project. He has become one of Knoxville’s most popular writers and its unofficial historian. Jack is well known for his thoughtful, well-researched, and provocative pieces of long-form journalism, not to mention his books, speeches, and other public appearances...
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123 S. Gay Street Ste. C
Knoxville, TN 37902JACK NEELY
jack@knoxhistoryproject.org
(865) 337-7723PAUL JAMES
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(865) 300-4559NICOLE STAHL
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nicolestahl@knoxhistoryproject.org
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