Top 5: Historic Spots to See in Knoxville, Tenn.

Headed to the South this summer? Stop in Knoxville, Tenn., for these historic attractions.

Blount Mansion
The Blount Mansion has been home to several Tennessee governors and prominent families. Built by William Blount, a signer of the U.S. Constitution, it is located on the banks of the Holston River, created from sawn lumber (an exceptional feature at the time) and originally as a hall and parlor house with a loft. A west wing was added after 1810, while the east wing was added around 1820. The detached kitchen is a recreation from the 1700s and the Governor’s Office is a typical law office of the same century. The cooling shed was excavated in the 1950s, during an on-site archaeological dig.

James White’s Fort
Originally a two-story log cabin built in 1786, the homestead owned by Revolutionary War veteran James White soon expanded to include a stockade fence, courtyard, stable and extensive gardens. Part of White’s 1,000-acre property was partitioned off in 1791, to establish the town of Knoxville. The fort was restored in 1970 and now welcomes more than 10,000 visitors per year, hosting historic interpretations and demonstrations of open hearth cooking, blacksmithing and spinning.

Knoxville National Cemetery
The Knoxville National Cemetery was established during the Civil War around the same time as the Battle of Fort Sander. The first interments were remains exhumed from Cumberland Gap and other regional sites. A National Historic Place, it’s known as “the only burial ground of Union soldiers…originally laid out and conducted to the present time in a manner and on a system that render[ed] it suitable to be converted into a national cemetery without material alteration or change, or removal of a single body.” Also on site is the Union Soldier monument, a Gothic Revival-style memorial erected in the late 1800s.

Marble Springs
The last remaining home of Tennessee’s first governor, Marble Springs is a 350-acre homestead rich with natural pink marble and springs. Governor John Sevier was a Revolutionary War hero and Marble Springs was his retreat. Visit his cabin, the detached kitchen, tavern, loom house, smoke house and spring house.

Old Gray Cemetery
First used in the 1850s, Old Gray Cemetery is part of the Civil War Heritage Trail. The 13 acres are the final resting place for several significant military and civilian individuals associated with both sides of the war, including Susan C. Boyd Barton, infamous Civil War female spy. The site is also a certified arboretum and the Knoxville Garden Club identified more than 40 species of trees on the grounds, indicated with marble placards.