Museum of East Tennessee History
Museum of East Tennessee History (Photography courtesy of Shawn Poynter)
Located in the 1874 Customs House at 601 S. Gay Street, within the East Tennessee History Center, the Museum of East Tennessee History features the award-winning regionally-focused exhibit “Voice of the Land,” a chronological exhibit of several centuries of history throughout East Tennessee from Chattanooga to Bristol.
Notable Knoxville-related displays include a restored streetcar that was operationally in South Knoxville along Island Home Avenue, the recreation of a downtown drugstore (formerly Sanford, Chamberlain and Albers on Gay Street), moments in sound and moving image from Knoxville’s county-music heyday, the 1982 World’s Fair, and the early days of the Great Smoky National Park.
Other notable mentions include displays ranging from the East Tennessee Marble industry to the popular soda drink, Mountain Dew.
The second floor of the History center contains the Knox County Archives, while the expansion McClung Historical Collection (part of the Knox County Public Library) occupies the third floor, including the Reading Room, formerly the court room of the old Customs House.
Make time to visit the McClung Collection to view the old maps and paintings by local and regional artists such as Russell Briscoe, Lloyd Branson, Ruth Cobb Brice, and others.
On the ground floor is a gift shop run by the East Tennessee Historical Society featuring an extensive array of books, souvenirs, and regional crafts.
Learn more about the museum and other connections from the following links:
Museum of East Tennessee History
East Tennessee History Society
McClung Historical Collection Online Collection
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