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History and Heritage

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The Museums and Monuments of Tennessee

Tennessee’s history is its bedrock. With a rich tapestry of American heritage, Tennessee’s historical stomping grounds are sure to enlighten visitors about the state’s celebrated past. History is everywhere, from the homes of three U.S. Presidents – Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk and Andrew Johnson – to the Civil War battlefields of Shiloh, Stones River and Franklin.

The northeast corner of the state, known as “America’s First Frontier,” is anchored by the tri-cities of Kingsport, Johnson City and Bristol. This region houses the Davy Crockett State Park, Exchange City, the Unicoi County Heritage Museum and Rocky Mount in Piney Flats. Jonesborough in the northeast is the oldest town in the state with a history that dates back to 1779. One of the most beautiful areas of the state, Northeast Tennessee is an integral part of the state’s historical roadmap.

Discover more than 735 monuments, battlefields and other touchstones of America’s past, including Nashville’s Belle Meade Plantation, celebrating its bicentennial in 2007. The Hermitage, home of President Andrew Jackson, has seen nearly 15 million visitors since its opening in 1889. The National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis pays tribute to the great Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his leadership in transforming American Civil Rights.

In Knoxville stands the magnificent statue honoring Alex Haley, author of “Roots.” Designed for interaction, the statue is surrounded by a playground and city park. Created by internationally acclaimed sculptor Tina Allen, the statue depicts Haley, who spent the last 14 years of his life in East Tennessee, gazing toward the Smoky Mountains. Downtown Knoxville is also home to the East Tennessee History Center, which houses the Southeast’s largest resource for genealogical research.

In the middle of the state, experience the 19-acre park that gives visitors a taste of Tennessee’s history and natural wonder – Bicentennial Mall State Park. Designed as a lasting monument to Tennessee’s Bicentennial celebration, the park includes a 200-foot granite state map that highlights the major roads, 95 counties, rivers and details of each county in Tennessee. The park also includes
information on Tennessee’s railroading industry and 31 vertical water fountains – reflective of each of the predominant waterways throughout the state.

Farther west, experience the business of one of the state’s king crops – cotton. The Cotton Museum tells the story of this once booming industry, including many influences on daily life. Located in the city that remains the epicenter of worldwide cotton trading, Memphis, the museum offers a variety of interpretive exhibits, educational programs and research archives.

Science and history meet at the American Museum of Science & Energy in Oak Ridge in East Tennessee. Oak Ridge, also called “The Secret City,” was created in 1942 as a confidential site of the “Manhattan Project,” a massive wartime effort
which produced the world’s first atomic weapons. The 60,000-acre tract on which the town and its plants were built, met military requirements for isolation, electric power, water, labor, and accessibility to nearby highways and railroads. At that time, the area was populated by 3,000 persons residing in approximately 1,000 homes scattered throughout the communities of Scarboro, Wheat and Robertsville. Today, the museum provides a look into the amazing history behind Oak Ridge.

Within its 55 acres, Nashville’s Cheekwood Botanical Garden & Museum of Art offers an institution rich in history, beautiful gardens and fine art. Each summer, an outdoor, life-size exhibit is on display in the gardens. The museum presents
American and European styles and is recognized as a leading center for contemporary art in the Southeast. Named to the national Register of Historic Places, the mansion and the original boxwood gardens are an amazing architectural work of art.

The African-American History of Tennessee
Throughout the state, there are dozens of attractions and festivals that display the impact African-Americans had on the music, art and events that helped shape the world.

The National Civil Rights Museum offers a comprehensive overview of the Civil Rights Movement through interpretive exhibits and profound audio/visual displays. Housed at the site of the Lorraine Motel where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, the $8.8 million center serves as an educational institution designed to help visitors understand the Civil Rights Movement and how it influenced other movements for social change around the world.

Knoxville offers the Beck Cultural Exchange Center, which features the history of African-Americans in Knoxville and East Tennessee from the late 1800s to present day. Historical information is displayed through photographs, newspapers, biographies, audio and video recordings, books and artwork.

Just 35 miles south of Memphis, African-American history buffs will be fascinated by the 10-room bungalow that has been transformed into the Alex Haley Museum; the boyhood home of the Pulitzer Prize winning author of “Roots.” In Henning, Tenn., the house which Haley proclaimed as the birthplace of “Roots” contains some of the 1919 furniture that belonged to the Haley family. The museum includes memorabilia, family artifacts and a small gift shop, and stands as Haley’s final resting place.

Middle Tennessee celebrates its African-American heritage with such attractions as Hadley Park, established in 1912 which is believed to be the first park for African-Americans in the United States. The 34-acre park stands on part of the antebellum plantation of John L. Hadley, a European-American slave owner committed to helping post-Civil War freed men and women adjust to their new status.

At Hadley’s invitation, Frederick Douglass spoke to former slaves in 1873 from the porch of the Hadley House, which stood in the park until 1948. Fisk University was founded in 1866 as one of the first private educational institutions offering
a secondary liberal arts curriculum to freed slaves. Fisk University features the world-famous Fisk Jubilee Singers – the original nine of which introduced slave songs to the world in 1871 and were instrumental in preserving the American musical tradition known today as Negro spirituals. During an international tour, the singers collected enough funds to construct the first permanent structure in the country solely built for the education of newly freed slaves – Jubilee Hall. The hall is the oldest and most distinctive building on the school’s campus. The historically black college in Nashville is under the leadership of its 14th president, Hazel O’Leary, the former secretary of energy under President Bill Clinton.

The Civil War History of Tennessee
Tennessee ranks number one in the total number of soldiers who fought in the War Between the States. After the war began, Tennessee became the last of 11 states to secede from the Union. The bloodiest two-day battle of the entire Civil War was fought in Chattanooga, with a staggering 37,000 casualties, and more Civil War battles were fought in Tennessee than any other state except Virginia.

In Chattanooga, follow the footsteps of 124,000 Civil War soldiers through the Chickamauga Battlefield. The Chickamauga-Chattanooga National Military Park is the largest of its kind in the nation, with districts at the Chickamauga Battlefield, Point Park, Missionary Ridge, Orchard Knob and Signal Point.

Fort Negley, originally built in 1862, is one of the largest fortifications built by Union troops residing in Nashville during the Civil War. Black laborers assisted the Union Army in building Fort Negley, which reopened to the public in December 2004 after a $1 million restoration. The unique star-designed Union fort from the Civil War is located between Greer Stadium and the Adventure Science Center near downtown Nashville.

Established in 1894 to commemorate the scene of the first major battle in the western theatre of the Civil War, Shiloh National Military Park is considered one of the best-preserved battlefields in the nation. The two-day battle, which involved approximately 65,000 Union and 44,000 Confederate troops, resulted in nearly 24,000 casualties. The park includes the Shiloh National Cemetery, along with the well-preserved, prehistoric Indian mounds that are listed as a historic landmark.

The Carter House, built in 1830 by Fountain Branch Carter, was the stage for the second Battle of Franklin – one of the worst disasters of the Civil War for the Confederate Army. This Registered Historic Landmark was used as a Federal Command Post, while the 23 members of the Carter family hid in the cellar during the five-hour battle.

Just down the road, John and Carrie McGavock opened the doors of Carnton Plantation as a field hospital for the wounded Confederate soldiers during the Battle of Franklin. In 1866, the McGavock family, concerned about the conditions of the Confederate soldiers buried in shallow graves, designated land near the family cemetery for the re-interment of nearly 1,500 Confederate soldiers. Today, the McGavock Confederate Cemetery is the largest, privately owned military cemetery in the nation. Do not miss the riveting tale of Carrie McGavock in Robert Hicks’ New York Times bestselling novel, “The Widow of the South.”

For more information on History & Heritage, visit tnvacation.com/history-heritage/

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