Tennessee Sites
Sites From Across the State of Tennessee
Tennessee Sites
Alvin C. York Historic Park
General Delivery-Highway 127
Pall Mall, TN 38577
931-879-6456
www.state.tn.us/environment/parks/parks/Sgt
Alvin C. York Historic Park is named for Tennessee native, Alvin York, one of the most decorated soldiers of World War I. The museum contains a collection of wartime and personal mementos, including historic photographs and family portraits. The York family farm, gravesite, school, and grist mill once operated by Alvin York on the banks of the Wolf River are included in the historic site.
Andrew Johnson National Historic Site
121 Monument Avenue
Greeneville, TN 37743
423-638-3551
Andrew Johnson National Historic Site, located in Greeneville honors the life and work of America's 17th president. His two homes, tailor shop, and gravesite are preserved at the site. The President Andrew Johnson Museum and Library is also located at nearby Tusculum College in Greeneville. For more information call 1-800-729-0256.
Doak House Museum
P O Box 5026
Greeneville, TN 37743
1-800-729-0256
www.tusculum,edu/pages/doakhouse
Home of Samual Witherspoon Doak, the Doak House Museum is a part of TusculumCollege, the oldest college in the state of Tennessee and the oldest co-educational college related to the Presbyterian Church in the United States. Collections include Doak family artifacts (1830-1860), and educational and religious artifacts.
Fort Donelson National Battlefield
PO Box 434
Dover, TN 37058
931-232-5706
The Fort Donelson National Battlefield was the site of the North's first major victory of the Civil War, opening the way into the heart of the Confederacy. February 14, 1862 marks the date of the furious battle on the Cumberland River, northwest of Nashville.
James K. Polk Home
301 West 7th Street
Columbia, TN 38402
931-388-2354
Built in 1816 by Samual Polk, father of James K. Polk, the 11th president of the United States, the James K. Polk Ancestral Home houses over 1000 objects that belonged to President and Mrs. Polk including furniture, paintings, china, and silver. In addition to the main house is an adjacent ca. 1820 house where two of the President's sisters lived at different times. The site also has a detached kitchen building reconstructed in 1946 on the original foundation. Visitors can see period cooking implements and household accessories in the kitchen. Occasionally early 19th century crafts and chores are demonstrated.
The Hermitage
4580 Rachel's Lane
Hermitage, TN 37076
615-889-2941
Home of seventh president of the United States, Andrew Jackson, the Hermitage consists of the main mansion, slave quarters, several other buildings, a tomb and garden areas. As a major general during the War of 1812, Jackson became a national hero for his defeat of the British at New Orleans.
The National Civil Rights Museum
450 Mulberry Street
Memphis, TN 38103
901-521-9699
The National Civil Rights Museum opened in 1991 at the site of the Lorraine Motel in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, place of Civil Rights leader, Dr Martin Luther King's assassination. Through its collections, exhibitions, research and educational programs, the museum exists to assist the public in understanding the lessons of the Civil Rights Movement and its impact and influence on the human rights movement worldwide.
Parks As Classrooms
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Judy Dulin
Coordinator
Pi Beta Phi Elementary
125 Cherokee Orchard Rd
Gatlinburg, TN 37738
865-436-5076
http://www.nps.gov/grsm/pphtml/forkids.html
Parks As Classrooms is an interdisciplinary learning experience for students in grades k-8. This environmental education program allows teachers in communities surrounding the park to bring their students to the park for a hands-on learning experience. The program integrates the natural and cultural resources of Great Smoky Mountains National Park with North Carolina and Tennessee curriculum objectives.
Pink Palace Museum
3050 Central Avenue
Memphis, TN 38111
901-320-6320
The Pink Palace Family of Museums is operated by the City of Memphis. Included in the assortment of attractions are the original Pink Palace Mansion built in the 1920's by wealthy entrepreneur and founder of Piggy Wiggly grocery store chain, Clarence Saunders, the Pink Palace Museum where the history of Memphis is traced from Spanish explorers to the Civil War to the development of medical care as the largest industry in that region, the Mallory-Neely House built in 1852 tributing the splendor of the Victorian period and the Magevney House built in the 1830's by Irish immigrant, Eugene Magevney. Typical of a pre-civil war middle-class home, the Magevney House features an herb garden, grape arbor, and renovated stables.
Shiloh National Military Park
1055 Pittsburg Landing Road
Shiloh, TN 38376
731-689-5696
www.nps.gov/shil/pphtml/contact.html
Shiloh National Military Park was established in 1894 to preserve the scene of the first major battle in the Western theater of the Civil War. The two-day battle, April 6 and 7, 1862, involved about 65,000 Union and 44,000 Confederate troops. This battle resulted in nearly 24,000 killed, wounded, and missing. It proved to be a decisive victory for the federal forces when they advanced on and seized control of the Confederate railway system at Corinth, Mississippi. The battlefield contains about 4,000 acres and has within its boundaries the Shiloh National Cemetery along with the well-preserved prehistoric Indian mounds that are listed as a historic landmark. The park is located in Hardin County, on the west bank of the Tennessee River, and about nine miles south of Savannah, Tennessee.
Stones River National Battlefield
3501 Old Nashville Highway
Murfreesboro, TN 37129
615-893-9501
This 600-acre National Battlefield includes Stones River National Cemetery, established in 1865, with more than 6,000 Union graves; and the Hazen Brigade Monument, believed to be the oldest, intact Civil War monument still standing in its original location. Portions of Fortress Rosecrans, a large earthen fort constructed after the battle, still stand and are preserved and interpreted by the National Park Service. Much of the nearly 4,000-acre battlefield is in private hands.
Tennessee State Museum
Polk Cultural Center
505 Deaderick Street
Nashville, TN 37243
The Tennessee State Museum is one of the largest state museums in the nation with more than 60,000 square feet of permanent exhibits and a 10,000 square foot changing exhibition hall. The museum's interpretive exhibits begin 15,000 years ago and continue through the early 1900s interpreting Tennessee's history. These sections include special displays of furniture, silver, weapons, quilts, and paintings produced by Tennesseans. There are reproductions of an early 19th century grist mill and authentic settings of an 18th century print shop, frontier cabin, Antebellum parlor, and Victorian painting gallery.
The Tennessee State Museum's Civil War holdings of uniforms, battle flags and weapons are among the finest in the nation. The museum also has many one-of-a-kind items associated with such famous Americans as Andrew Jackson, Daniel Boone, James K. Polk, Andrew Johnson, David Crockett, Sam Houston, Alvin York, and Cordell Hull. In addition, there are exhibits about African-American soldiers in the Civil War, a free black family living in Knoxville before and after that war, and the women's suffrage movement. A changing gallery features special history, art or cultural exhibitions.
The Military Museum, a branch of the Tennessee State Museum, is located in the War Memorial Building across the street from the main facilities. Exhibits cover America's overseas conflicts, beginning with the Spanish-American War and ending with World War II in 1945.
The museum also offers interpretative services for the historic Tennessee State Capitol.