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Why Knoxville Was Called “the Marble City”
April 13, 2017 In Other No Comment

Stone from Knoxville-area quarries adorns some of the most famous buildings in America. Geologists note that Tennessee marble, often pinkish in hue, is actually a crystalline limestone. However, it has been known as “Tennessee marble” for two centuries. Knoxville marble […]

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The Case of the Misplaced Markers at Volunteer Landing
April 13, 2017 In Downtown Knoxville No Comment

A few weeks ago, I wrote a column about trying to nail down what is to me one of the most intriguing sites in Knoxville history. “Vagabondia Castle” was the old house where Frances Hodgson Burnett and her brothers and sisters—most […]

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Kingston Pike’s ‘Road of Remembrance’ Was Planned to be an Extraordinary Monument to the Great War’s Dead
April 6, 2017 In West Knoxville No Comment

The centennial of the First World War I on my mind, I was going through some library files when I ran across a picture I’d never seen. A photocopied image from an unknown book showed two stout marble pillars on […]

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Knoxville’s Historic April: Happy Architecture Week!
April 6, 2017 In Knoxville History Other No Comment

Friday, the 7th, at 5 p.m., Knox Heritage will host a rare opportunity to visit the ca. 1931 Kern’s Bakery building on Chapman Highway. The tour is free to KH members, and it’s not too late to join. Preservationist developer […]

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Knoxville in World War I
March 30, 2017 In Knoxville History People No Comment

One hundred years ago, the United States entered World War I . So did Knoxville. The United States was slow to join the World War, but when the country declared war on Germany, in April, 1917, thousands of young men, […]

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The Life of Rock ‘n’ Roll Pioneer “Stick” McGhee
March 23, 2017 In People No Comment

Granville Henley McGhee was born in Knoxville on March 23, 1918 (some sources say 1917, but available government records favor the later date). His older brother, Brownie McGhee, who became a famous blues singer and guitarist, was unable to walk […]

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Refugees Helped Create Knoxville As We Know It
March 16, 2017 In People No Comment

  Immigrants fleeing difficult or dangerous circumstances in their home countries have always been part of Knoxville’s history. A few Irish political exiles settled here in the 1790s. Right about 170 years ago, Knoxville began receiving hundreds of refugees. Many […]

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Finding Vagabondia: New Clues, and Two Theories About a Novelist’s Legendary Inspiration
March 9, 2017 In Buildings Downtown Knoxville People No Comment

A researcher happened across some clues to an old mystery that’s been nagging at me for a quarter century. In the mix is a pretty incredible coincidence. For a column in Metro Pulse back in the ’90s, I outlined the […]

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Black History Month and Valentine’s Day Both Offer Occasions to Celebrate James and Ethel Beck
February 13, 2017 In People No Comment

The Beck Cultural Exchange Center was founded in honor of James and Ethel Beck, at what had been their comfortable home on Dandridge, just east of downtown. The Becks were one of the most interesting couples in Knoxville history.  Although […]

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