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Monday 8am - 8:30pm Tuesday 8am - 8:30pm Wednesday 8am - 5:30pm Thursday 8am - 5:30pm Friday 8am - 5:30pm Saturday 9am - 5pm Sunday 1pm - 5pm

East Tennessee History Center

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Knoxville, TN
East Tennessee History Center

Discover Your History–Explore historical collections, the county archives, and a regional museum

Knox County Archives: 865-215-8800

McClung Historical Collection: 865-215-8801

East Tennessee Historical Society: 865-215-8824

Please call the individual agency for hours of operation.

06/03/2026

First through train from Louisville, KY, to Knoxville, TN, Southern Railway, June 3, 1883.

From the Knoxville City Tribune, June 8, 1883: "Engine 36." We saw yesterday at McCrary & Branson's the first finished photograph of the engine and first through train from Louisville which arrived in Knoxville Monday. It is a splendid photograph 14 by 22 inches and is an excellent view of the engine with all its decorations, the crowd surrounding it and the throng on the bridge above. The view was taken by Mr. McCrary himself."

This copy of that photograph was made March 25, 1922 by Thompson Brothers, one of thousands of historic images available to view on the online McClung Historical Collection.

06/02/2026

Fifth Annual Drummers picnic program, Knoxville, Tennessee, May 8, 1890. Cover with illustrations of life on the road and the office for a traveling salesman.

The picnic was held at Elmwood Park for the benefit of Margaret McClung Industrial Home and the St. John's Orphanage.

06/01/2026

The Museum's newest exhibition, Lines Were Drawn | ᏚᏂᏍᏓᏅᏅᏁᎯ (Du Ni Sda Nv Nv Ne Hi): The Treaty of Holston and Its Legacy, opens today, June 1! Come learn about this important moment in American history.

Museum admission is FREE for 250 days in honor of the 250th Anniversary of the United States.

05/29/2026

Pages from the Prospectus of the East Tennessee Land Company pamphlet.

The East Tennessee Land Company was chartered May 25, 1889. Property was purchased around what is now the town of Harriman with the plan to create a town based on prohibitionist principles and also utilize the natural resources of the area to develop subsidiary companies to attract industry. The initial land auction held in February 1890 was highly successful, but by November 1893 the East Tennessee Land Company was forced into bankruptcy.

View the pamphlet in its entirety in the online Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection.

05/28/2026

A portrait of Knoxville Journal employees, May 1937. Photo by Thompson Brothers. From the online Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection.

05/27/2026

Pages from a pamphlet promoting the new YMCA building in downtown Knoxville (corner of Clinch Ave and Locust St). The building was designed by Barber & McMurry architecture firm and completed in 1929. It's the 3rd oldest YMCA building in the U.S., and it's listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

05/22/2026

An 1888 reprint of the 1886 illustrated bird's-eye view of Knoxville, compliments Knoxville Real Estate Co.

A note at the top reveals some of the changes that rapidly occurred in the city in just two years time:

"Since this view of Knoxville was published in the latter part of 1886, the population has increased to 38,000 [from 30,000] - a Dummy street car line 3 miles in length has been built - 3 new horse car lines have been opened and the road beds of all are now in actual process of construction."

This lithograph was created by Beck & Pauli of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and published by Norris, Wellge & Co.

05/21/2026

This Throwback Thursday coincides with International Tea Day, so we're sharing this delightful picture of a 1905 Welsh Tea Party. From left to right are Bess Price, Jennie Williams, Sadie Davis, Annie Williams and Sue Richards.

The photographer and location of the photograph are unknown, as this photograph was copied during The Knox County Two Centuries Photograph Project.

During the celebration of Knox County’s two hundredth birthday in 1992, the Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection of the Knox County Public Library System copied over 3,000 photographs owned by over 230 Knox County citizens and organizations. The aim of the project was to collect as large a body of photographs as possible documenting Knox County from the early days of photography in the 1840s to the 1970s.

Library staff went on-site to 28 locations in Knox County on 44 different days during 1991. The resulting collection of photographs documents the daily lives of individuals, families, communities, and institutions of Knox County during two centuries. The book Two Centuries of Knox County, Tennessee: A Celebration in Photographs, published in 1992 by the Friends of the Knox County Public Library, was able to offer only a small cross section of the hundreds of photographs copied during this project.

See more Photographs from this collection at the online Calvin M. McClung Collection, linked in the Comments below.

Address

601 S Gay Street
Knoxville, TN
37902

Opening Hours

Monday	8am - 8:30pm
Tuesday	8am - 8:30pm
Wednesday	8am - 5:30pm
Thursday	8am - 5:30pm
Friday	8am - 5:30pm
Saturday	9am - 5pm
Sunday	1pm - 5pm

Telephone

+18652158801

Website

https://www.knoxcountylibrary.org/explore-the-east-tennessee-history-center/local-history

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