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 The
History of James White's Fort
James White,
The Founder of Knoxville, came here in the early 1780's from North
Carolina. He had fought in the Revolutionary War and was given a
land grant of 1,000 acres for his service. He built his 2-story log
house on the present site of Knoxville in 1786. Two years later he
enclosed the house and other buildings with a stockade fence for
protection from the wild animals. James White was a friend of the
Cherokee Indians. He negotiated several of their treaties with the
settlers and they came to his home in peace and to trade with him.
The courtyard of the Fort was used as a stable for the domesticated
animals such as horses, cows, pigs and sheep. The area around the
Fort would have been cleared of trees, and the vegetable gardens along
with tobacco would be grown there. James White laid off part of his
land in October 1791 to establish a town which would become known as
Knoxville, named for Henry Knox, president Washington's Secretary of
War. Sixty-four lots were laid off in 16 blocks, each lot being one
half acre in size. The cost was $8.00 per lot and a lottery drawing
was held to assign the lots. James White continued to live in his
Fort until early 1793 when he moved upriver to another home near the
present site of the South Knoxville Bridge. In later life he was
promoted to a General in the War of 1812 and continued to be a guiding
force in the development of Knoxville. He gave land for the First
Presbyterian Church and cemetery in Knoxville and also for the
establishment of Blount College, which would later become the University
of Tennessee. He died at his home in 1821 and is buried beside his
wife Mary Lawson White at First Presbyterian.
 The Fort was restored and opened to the public in 1970 through the
efforts of the City Association of Women's Clubs. Today 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. Special events are held throughout the year
including: Cherokee Heritage Days, August 5th & 6th; HEARTHSCARES-The
Ghost Tour of Downtown Knoxville and October 24th through 29th (tentative
dates) and "Christmas Past Tours", December 5th through the 22rd.
Come visit the Fort and bring your friends and family when they visit
Knoxville.
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