James White's Fort, also known as White's Fort, was an 18th-century settlement that became

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state' ...

, in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The name also refers to the fort, itself. The settlement of White's Fort began in 1786 by James White, a

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

officer during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. When

William Blount William Blount (March 26, 1749March 21, 1800) was an American Founding Father, statesman, farmer and land speculator who signed the United States Constitution. He was a member of the North Carolina delegation at the Constitutional Convention o ...

, the territorial governor of the

Southwest Territory The Territory South of the River Ohio, more commonly known as the Southwest Territory, was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 26, 1790, until June 1, 1796, when it was admitted to the United States a ...

, moved the territorial capital to White's Fort in 1791, he renamed it Knoxville in honor of

Henry Knox Henry Knox (July 25, 1750 – October 25, 1806), a Founding Father of the United States, was a senior general of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, serving as chief of artillery in most of Washington's campaigns. Following the ...

, the American Revolutionary War general and

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

. The fort itself began when James White built a cabin near what is now the corner of State Street and Clinch Avenue. This cabin soon became the center of a cluster of fortified

log structure In algebraic geometry, a log structure provides an abstract context to study semistable schemes, and in particular the notion of logarithmic differential form and the related Hodge-theoretic concepts. This idea has applications in the theory o ...

s known as White's Fort. The original cabin later became the kitchen of the Kennedy House, which was built in the 1830s. In 1906, when the Kennedy house was demolished for development, Isaiah Ford bought the log structure and moved it to Woodlawn Pike. It was purchased again in 1960 by the City Association of Women's Clubs; in 1968, the timbers were reconstructed as part of the fort. The fort still stands on a bluff near its original location. Seven log cabins and the stockade fence remain. The cabins house pioneer artifacts and furnishings.

References

* * * Isenhour, Judith Clayton. ''Knoxville - A Pictorial History'' (Donning, 1978), pages 19 & 168. * ''Knoxville: Fifty Landmarks.'' (Knoxville: The Knoxville Heritage Committee of the Junior League of Knoxville, 1976), page 26.

External links

Official website
Buildings and structures in Knoxville, Tennessee Houses in Knoxville, Tennessee Forts in Tennessee Populated places established in 1786 Historic house museums in Tennessee Museums in Knoxville, Tennessee Pre-statehood history of Tennessee State of Franklin Relocated buildings and structures in Tennessee {{US-mil-hist-stub

See also

References

External links