Recognizing that East Tennessee’s history, heritage, and geography are distinct from the rest of the state, the East Tennessee History Center provides services uniquely tailored to the region. Visitors can attend workshops and conferences, enjoy a lecture, peruse exhibitions, research family history or a special historical subject, participate in student and teacher educational programs, as well as find a wide selection of books, crafts, and history-related items in the
Museum Shop.
The East Tennessee History Center houses the following:
The East Tennessee Historical Society is at the heart of the region’s history. Since 1834 it has been telling the stories, collecting the artifacts, and recording the events that comprise the region’s colorful and unique history. A private, non-profit, regional organization, ETHS has 45 affiliate chapters and more than 2,000 members and subscribers. Its educational programming includes publications, a lecture series, and student and teacher programs.
History speaks through the Museum of East Tennessee History's signature exhibition, Voices of the Land: The People of East Tennessee, which focuses on the region's rich history and heritage. Feature exhibitions developed by History Center staff coupled with traveling exhibitions from other museums, such as the Smithsonian and the Tennessee State Museum, share a broader range of stories from our past. The Museum of East Tennessee History is operated by the East Tennessee Historical Society.
The Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection is one of the finest regional history collections in the Southeast. Visitors will find resources for all 50 states, with a strong focus on East Tennessee. The collection includes genealogies, manuscripts, county records and histories, access to national computer databases and census records, resources for African American and Cherokee history, military records, land records, and more.
Knox County Archives houses the early public records of the historic county. Established in 1792, Knox County was later carved to form parts of several new counties. Hence, researchers may find early marriage, deeds, wills, and court records from these counties recorded here, as well.
The History Center is a public/private partnership between the Knox County Public Library and the non-profit East Tennessee Historical Society and Museum that works to the benefit of the entire region.