Events

Knoxville’s history in the present: Current occasions of historical interest

In person History Talks at Maple Hall: Every Second Tuesday of the month at 6:00 p.m.

You can also view past Recorded Zooms through our Engage Page.

 

Maple Hall with special guest Dr. Warren Dockter

–   At Maple Hall

“Lines Were Drawn” exhibition, currently open at the East Tennessee History Center.

 

At Maple Hall, for our regular second-Tuesday History Happy Hour event, we’ll welcome our good friend Dr. Warren Doctor, CEO of the East Tennessee Historical Society. In this year of our nation’s 250th birthday, he’ll be talking about what ETHS has been doing, especially in regard to its fascinating current exhibit (“Lines Were Drawn: The Treaty of Holston and its Legacy”) about the complexity of the series of treaties with the Native Americans, especially the Cherokee, in the wake of the Revolutionary War. Dr. Dockter, who is from East Tennessee but has spent much of his career studying, teaching, and writing in England, has a rare perspective on the subject. He’ll also be one of our speakers at our upcoming symposium—see below. Free program. Food and drinks available for purchase.

SYMPOSIUM: The Road to Knoxville: How Revolutionary War veterans and pioneers claimed a new land, founded a new city, and forged a new state on the western frontier

–   At East Tennessee History Center

The Knoxville History Project will commemorate America’s 250th anniversary, and the city’s 235th birthday, through a one-day symposium at the East Tennessee History Center, focusing on the major players and the key events that began during the Revolutionary war and ultimately led to the establishment of the Southwest Territory, the founding of Knoxville in 1791, and the constitutional convention that created the new state of Tennessee in 1796. Featured speakers will include Dr. Warren Dockter, Dr. Chris Magra, Dr. Brooke Bauer, Eric Dawson, Kevin Bogle, Zachary Keith, Marilyn Childress, and KHP’s own Jack Neely and Paul James.

Cost is $20 per person, including drinks, snacks, buffet lunch and a copy of new booklet, “The Road to Knoxville,” specially produced by KHP for this event. Registration goes live on Wednesday. September 2, 2026.

Sponsors and Partners: 

October Eugenia Williams Coffee Club

–   At Eugenia Williams House

Our speaker is an extra-special guest. Malaika Adero is a nationally published author (Vice President Kamala Harris: Her Path to the White House), literary agent, and book editor best known for her work with Questlove’s AUWA Books. She’s also a Knoxville native who grew up in Bearden, specifically in the old predominantly Black Lyons View community, which is now facing some provocative challenges. (She helped us with our 2020 book, Historic Bearden.) Having spent most of her adult life in New York, she is moving back to Knoxville part time, to take care of her family’s traditional home. She’ll be sharing both her memories of a Bearden many don’t know, and her vigorous research into her very interesting family, who have lived and worked in Bearden since the Civil War. 

Tickets are $5.00 for supporters (if you have made a donation of $50+ in the last year) and $10.00 for non-supporters.  Tickets go on sale beginning at 12:30 on Wednesday, September 2nd.

 

Click Here to Purchase Tickets

 

KNOXVILLE WALKING TOURS

Historian, poet, and storyteller Laura Still helps you live the stories of pioneers, soldiers, outlaws, and even fictional characters who walked these streets before you. Learn more about Laura and her story on our Knoxville Walking Tours Page.

Knoxville has a rich history full of colorful characters and famous, and infamous, figures whose lives have been the inspiration for books, movies, and works of art. Take a stroll through history in beautiful downtown Knoxville while listening to true tales of the heroes, heels, and hardened criminals that are part of the hidden lore of this unique East Tennessee town. A portion of ticket proceeds are donated to KHP.

To book, just give Knoxville Walking Tours a call at (865) 309-4522

 

Tour Descriptions:

Side Street Shadows Ghost Tour

Hear more tales of ghostly history as you follow storyteller Laura Still on the Side Street Shadows tour. Find out who haunts the Farragut, how a gunfight on Cumberland nearly started a war, and where you might meet the courteous spirit of a scholar or the grumpy ghost of a violent rebel. Details & Tickets

Shadow Side Ghost Tour

Brave souls who enjoy a chill can join us for a trip into Knoxville’s shadow side. The city’s history of blood-stained streets echoing with gunfire is full of restless spirits. Visit their haunts and hear local legends of ghostly apparitions. Details & Tickets

Shadow Side 2: Ghosts of the Old City

Red Summer, drunken brawls, hot lead, and blood on the tracks. Knoxville’s Old City used to be known as the bowery, where victims of murderous brawls, dealdly shoot-outs, and horrific train crashes haunt the old buildings and back alleys along with the ghost of a musician who hasn’t quite faded away. Details & Ticket

Walk the streets of a city torn in two by divided loyalties and then get an overview of the fighting from the observation deck of the Sunsphere. Spies, bridge burners, miracle shots, betrayal, and battle. Details & Tickets

Gunslingers

Family feuds and wanted outlaws. You’ll relive the days when Knoxville was the wild west and Gay Street was the OK Corral. Details & Tickets

Early Years

Step back over two centuries and visit Knoxville’s founders as you listen to the stories of the settlement of White’s Fort and establishment of the capital of the Southwest Territory at the headwaters of the Tennessee. Details & Tickets

Musical History

The Knoxville story has always been set to music, from the time when the poetic rhythms of the native Cherokee tribes still echoed in the hills and the ballads of the Scots-Irish settlers were sung around campfires on the riverbanks. Immigrants from all over the world brought new instruments and tunes to enliven the song and make Knoxville home to musicians of every genre. Details & Tickets

Literary Heritage

Home of Cormac McCarthy, Nikki Giovanni, James Agee, and more. You’ll visit the scenes that inspired them and walk in the footsteps of their characters. Details & Tickets

The Civil War in Knoxville

It’s been over 150 years since the battle of Knoxville, one of the most sharply divided cities during the civil war. Occupied by both sides with recruiting offices set up on Gay Street on the same day, Knoxville was home to spies, street fights, and family feuds that outlasted the war. Visit the downtown sites and then get an overview of the battles and fortifications from the observation deck of the Sunsphere. Details & Tickets

Knoxville Botanical Gardens

Ten years before Tennessee became a state, David Wessels Howell planted an orchard and garden on land where the Cherokee still roamed. This was the beginning of a family business that would span two centuries, from the frontier days through the Civil War and the industrial age to modern times. Now the Howell family’s legacy has been preserved as a public garden spanning 47 acres, with walking trails and hand-laid stone walls that cross through sunny meadows and leafy glades among an astonishing variety of trees and plants. Come walk with us and hear its stories and secrets. Details & Tickets

Old Gray Cemetery

Just north of downtown Knoxville, Old Gray Cemetery is a little-known historic jewel. Founded in 1850 as part of the rural park cemetery movement, it became a popular destination for carriage rides and picnics in its early days. Join us for a guided tour of notable interments and hear stories of statesmen, soldiers, scholars, and spirits. Details & Tickets