KNOXVILLE– The Historic Homes of Knoxville are pleased to invite the public to a luncheon on Wednesday, October 2, 2013, at 12:00 pm at The Foundry to celebrate the founding of the City of Knoxville 222 years ago. Dr. Carroll Van West, Tennessee’s State Historian, will be the featured speaker. His talk is entitled "War, Occupation, and Emancipation: East Tennessee's Historic House Museums and the Civil War Sesquicentennial". Knoxville's key leaders will come together to celebrate and promote the city and its most precious properties, including Blount Mansion, Crescent Bend House & Gardens, Historic Ramsey House, James White’s Fort, Mabry-Hazen House, Marble Springs State Historic Site, and Westwood. Proceeds from the luncheon will benefit the Historic Homes. Tickets can be purchased through www.KnoxTIX.com or by calling 865-523-7543 by September 26.
Dr. Carroll Van West is the Tennessee State Historian and the Director of the Center for Historic Preservation at Middle Tennessee State University. He also serves as Editor-in-Chief of The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture web site and director of the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area, the only National Heritage Area administered by a university department. His research interests lie in 19th and 20th century Southern and Western history as well as architecture and material culture. Dr. West has written numerous books, articles, and reviews, including his award winning work The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, co-winner of the Tennessee History Book Award and recipient of an AASLH Award of Merit in 1999 (Tennessee Historical Society, 1998). Many of his works focus on Tennessee’s history on subjects such as agriculture, architecture, the arts, and African American history. His most recent books include A History of Tennessee Arts: Creating Traditions and Expanding Horizons (UT Press, 2004), the state’s first comprehensive history of the arts, and Heritage Areas: Getting Started (2006), which he co-authored for the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
As a professor in MTSU’s history department, he teaches courses in architectural history, historic preservation, and state and local history. Dr. West has directed to completion over seventy MA theses of MTSU graduate students and PhD students in history, historic preservation, and public history. Dr. West serves on the board of advisors for the National Trust for Historic Preservation. He has worked with museum/preservation projects in many other states and has been recently working on historic preservation issues in California, Mississippi, and Montana. He regularly speaks to history, museum, preservation, and civic groups and conferences in Tennessee and across the nation. A native of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Dr. West holds a BA from MTSU, a master’s degree in history from the University of Tennessee, and a doctorate in history from the College of William & Mary.
The Historic Homes of Knoxville are uniformly significant in Tennessee’s accession as the 16th state in 1796. Apart from the paramount importance of their preservation, each house museum offers events and educational opportunities that benefit the community at large. For more information on the Historic Homes, visit www.hhknoxville.org.
Built in 1786, James White’s Fort was home to the founder of Knoxville. More than 10,000 visitors tour the Fort each year and experience the frontier lifestyle through hands-on interpretation of Open Hearth Cooking, Blacksmithing and Spinning.
Marble Springs was the home of John Sevier (1745-1815), Tennessee’s first governor and Revolutionary War hero. The site is a destination for over 2,000 school children and hosts a variety of hands-on workshops and Living History events that give visitors a glimpse into late 18th- and early 19th-century life.
Construction on Blount Mansion began in 1792, making it the oldest museum in Knox County. As the birthplace of the state of Tennessee, the site offers educational visits from K-5, and all lesson plans follow the Tennessee State Curriculum. Blount Mansion also hosts field trips for homeschool groups.
Historic Ramsey House was built in 1797 by Knoxville's first builder, Thomas Hope, for Francis Alexander Ramsey, one of Knoxville’s first settlers. Ramsey House’s educational programs all incorporate social studies, science, and math, and adhere to state education standards. The programs allow visitors to see and experience how people lived in the 1800’s.
Historic Crescent Bend House & Gardens is one of the Southeast’s finest house museums and gardens. Built in 1834 by Drury Paine Armstrong, Crescent Bend was once a 900-acre working farm and so named for its prominent setting overlooking a majestic crescent bend in the Tennessee River just west of downtown Knoxville. Offering museum and garden tours, Crescent Bend also serves as a popular venue for special events.
Built in 1858 and housing three generations of the same family from 1858-1987, the Mabry-Hazen House served as headquarters for both Union and Confederate forces during the Civil War. Mabry-Hazen offers private tours to individuals and schools, and contains the original family collection of over 5,000 family heirlooms. In addition, the museum oversees the Bethel Cemetery, the resting place for more than 1,600 Confederate Soldiers. The cemetery also contains a small museum built in the caretaker's cottage dating from 1886.
Historic Westwood was built as a “wedding promise” in 1890 by John E. Lutz and his wife, Adelia Armstrong Lutz and it remained in the family for 123 years. The Lutzes’ home, designed by notable architects Baumann Brothers, is constructed of brick and stone in the grand style of the late 19th century and contains the stunning artist studio built for Adelia, Tennessee’s first professional female painter. The home will open as Knox Heritage’s Regional Center for Historic Preservation in the spring of 2014.
Each of these historic homes is a chapter of history unto itself. Together they exemplify and celebrate the continuing pioneering spirit that created Knoxville 222 years ago.
The luncheon will be held on Wednesday, October 2, 2013 at 12:00 PM at The Foundry, 747 World’s Fair Park Drive in downtown Knoxville. Guests may enjoy a meet & greet with Dr. Carroll Van West at 11:30 AM, and the program and luncheon begin at 12:00 PM. WBIR's Robin Wilhoit will perform the duties of Mistress of Ceremonies, and Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett will provide a closing statement. Advance single tickets are $50; a table of ten is $500. Purchase tickets through www.KnoxTIX.com or by calling 865-523-7543. Advance reservations are requested by September 26.
The Historic House Museums of Knoxville is a partnership that shares resources from each historic site in presenting the history, culture, and heritage of Knoxville and East Tennessee: www.hhknoxville.org.
The Arts & Culture Alliance serves and supports a diverse community of artists, arts organizations, and cultural institutions. The Alliance receives financial support from the Tennessee Arts Commission (www.tn.gov/arts).
