East Tennessee Historical Society

The East Tennessee Historical and Antiquarian Society was founded by Tennessee historian J. G. M. Ramsey (1797–1884), who sought to archive the papers and correspondence of the state's pioneers.[2] The first meeting of the society was May 5, 1834. East Tennessee College president William B. Reese was elected as the first president and the executive committee included John Hervey Crozier and Thomas William Humes.[2] As the society's recording secretary, Ramsey acquired a collection of papers and correspondence from early Tennesseans such as William Blount, John Sevier, Samuel Wear, Alexander Outlaw, and James Hubbert. The "Antiquarian" was dropped from the society's name by 1852.[2]

Ramsey kept the society's archives at his plantation, Mecklenburg, east of Knoxville. The archives were destroyed when Mecklenburg was burned in the Civil War.[2] By the end of the war, the society had disintegrated.[2]

In January 1883, Confederate veterans, led by Moses White and William Henderson joined Ramsey and Crozier in reviving the East Tennessee Historical Society as an auxiliary of the Southern Historical Association.[2] In 1885, University of Tennessee professor William Gibbs McAdoo served as president and future Knoxville mayor Samuel G. Heiskell served as vice president.[2] Other members included newspaper editor William Rule and scholar Eben Alexander.[3] The society began admitting women and hosted lectures on Fort Loudoun, Irish nationalist John Mitchel, and the state of Franklin, and featured speaker Fitzhugh Lee.[2] By the end of the century, the second incarnation of the ETHS was no longer active.[2]

In December 1924, Knoxville-area educators and librarians met at the Lawson McGhee Library to discuss reviving the ETHS and a new society met on January 16, 1925.[2] Charter members included U.T. professor Philip Hamer, Lawson McGhee librarian Mary U. Rothrock, and U.T. president James Hoskins. The society began publishing its annual scholarly journal in 1929 and hosted lectures by historians Stanley J. Folmsbee and Samuel Cole Williams. The society published its first book, Folmsbee's Sectionalism and Internal Improvements in Tennessee, in 1939.[2]

In 1946, the society published a comprehensive history of Knox County, The French Broad-Holston Country, as part of the state's sequicentennial celebrations. The book, edited by Rothrock, included a history of the county written by Folmsbee with contributions by Harvey Broome. A revised edition was published in 1972.

In 1976, the society published a comprehensive history of Knoxville, Heart of the Valley: A History of Knoxville, Tennessee. The book was edited by Lucile Deaderick, and included a history of the city by William MacArthur. MacArthur's history was republished in the 1982 book, Knoxville: Crossroads of the New South, which included photographs from the McClung Collection.

In the late 1970s, Knox County acquired the Old Customs House to house the McClung Collection and the Knox County Archives.[2] The ETHS set up its headquarters in the building and hired a professional staff. Under the directorship of Charles Faulkner Bryan and Mark Wetherington, the society’s membership doubled in the 1980s.[2] With W. Todd Groce as executive director (1990-1995), the ETHS renamed its scholarly publication as the Journal of East Tennessee History, created the First Families of Tennessee project in 1992, and established the Museum of East Tennessee History in 1993.[4]

Since 1929, the society has published an annual collection of scholarly essays on the history and culture of East Tennessee. Initially known as Publications, the essays have been published as the Journal of East Tennessee History since 1990. The journal covers topics on historical and cultural issues related to East Tennessee and the southern Appalachian region, including the American Civil War, the early settlement of East Tennessee, post-Civil War Reconstruction, the Great Depression, World War I, World War II, and the 1982 World's Fair. The society publishes the tri-annual magazine "Tennessee Ancestors" and the quarterly newsletter "Newsline".

The headquarters of the East Tennessee Historical Society is located in the East Tennessee History Center in the Old Customs House in Knoxville, which is owned by Knox County. This building, depicted in the ETHS logo, is home to the Historical Society's Museum of East Tennessee History, which features cultural and historical exhibits from the region. Displays include items owned by Davy Crockett and John Sevier, memorabilia from the Appalachian Expositions of 1910 and 1911, artifacts from the Battle of Fort Sanders, a complete trolley car, a drugstore display, and early country music instruments and memorabilia. The center displays works by regional artists such as Lloyd Branson, Adelia Armstrong Lutz, Catherine Wiley, and Joseph Knaffl.

The history center contains the Knox County Archives and the Calvin M. McClung Collection of the Knox County Public Libraries.[5]

The East Tennessee Historical Society maintains two honorary organizations for genealogical research. The First Families of Tennessee is an organization of individuals who can trace their ancestry to families who lived in the area that became Tennessee prior to statehood. The Civil War Families of Tennessee is an organization of individuals whose ancestors fought in the American Civil War.

• Frank H. McClung Museum
• History of Knoxville, Tennessee

• ETHS website