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TENNESSEE HISTORICAL COMMISSION MARKERS
Greene County is home to over 36 historical markers placed by the Tennessee Historical Commission. Unfortunately, many of these markers are in need of restoration due to neglect and weathering over the years. The Heritage Trust has embarked on a project to have them professionally restored by Skyline Restoration & Maintenance. The signs in Greene County have been inventoried and evaluated based on current condition and labeled A through D. Grants and sponsorships to restore the signs are being sought. Please use the donation button below to commit an amount to a sign or signs or contact us if you are interested in paying by cash or check. If there is a specific marker you'd like to see restored, please indicate that when you make your donation. Full restoration of a sign depends on its condition. "A" condition signs will be $500, "B" $650, "C" $800, and "D" will be $1,350. Conditions are listed below. Thank you!
"C" - 1C 07 Greene County (Hawkins County line)
GREENE COUNTY
Established 1783: named in honor of NATHANAEL GREENE
Major General in the Revolutionary Army. After fighting at Trenton, the Brandywine & Germantown, and serving at Valley Forge, he became Quarter-master General of the Army. He later took command of the Army in the South, where his brilliant handling helped to bring about the end of the War.
HAWKINS COUNTY Established 1786: named in honor of BENJAMIN HAWKINS
Member of Continental Congress from North Carolina, 1789-95. Signed Deed of Cession, conveying Southwest Territory (which is now the State of Tennessee) to Federal Government.
Established 1783: named in honor of NATHANAEL GREENE
Major General in the Revolutionary Army. After fighting at Trenton, the Brandywine & Germantown, and serving at Valley Forge, he became Quarter-master General of the Army. He later took command of the Army in the South, where his brilliant handling helped to bring about the end of the War.
HAWKINS COUNTY Established 1786: named in honor of BENJAMIN HAWKINS
Member of Continental Congress from North Carolina, 1789-95. Signed Deed of Cession, conveying Southwest Territory (which is now the State of Tennessee) to Federal Government.
"C" - 1C 24 Henderson's Station
About 1 mi. N., now the village of Afton, Anthony Moore settled on Sinking Creek in 1778; his daughter was the first white child born hereabouts. Daniel Kennedy came in 1779, fought at King’s Mountain and was Greene County’s first court clerk. A fort for protection of settlers, later Henderson's Mill, was nearby.
"D" - 1C 25 Carter's Station
One-half mile south of here, John Carter found an Indian fortified village, made peace with the Indians and established a camp for settlers, shortly after coming here from Surry Co., North Carolina, in 1783. Many settlers and their descendants are buried in the cemetery near the site of the fort.
1C 26 New Hope Meeting
Sign is missing. If you have information about this sign, please contact us.
"A" - 1C 27 Ebenezer Society
Formed in an early settlement on the Nolachucky River in 1792 with 31 members, the Ebenezer Society, now church, is the second oldest Methodist congregation in Tennessee. The land was donated by the Rev. Felix Earnest, which was part of the Earnest land grant of 1777. The first church building was constructed of logs. Several Western Conferences were held here beginning in 1795. Bishop Francis Asbury preached in the woods to over 1400 souls including 55 preachers. The cemetery contains the graves of early pioneers, enslaved persons, and American Revolutionary War soldiers.
"D" - 1C 28 Tusculum College
Rev. Samuel Witherspoon Doak founded Tusculum Academy in 1818. His father, Gthen president of Washington College, assisted him, and later taught here. In 1868, Tusculum merged with Greeneville College, which had been chartered in 1794. The original buildings used by the Doaks adjoin the campus.
"D" - 1C 29 Robert Kerr
On this site originally stood the house of Robert Kerr, where were held sessions of the Upper House of the State of Franklin. The first sessions of Greene County's Court were also held here. The Baptist church, established in 1872, was moved to its present location in 1948.
1C 30 Bull's Gap
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In this gap in Bay's Mountain, John Bull, a gunsmith from Pennsylvania, settled about 1794. The last rail on the East Tennessee & Virginia Railroad was laid here, May 14, 1858. The gap was the scene of several heavy skirmishes during the War between the States and traces of fortifications can still be found.
In this gap in Bay's Mountain, John Bull, a gunsmith from Pennsylvania, settled about 1794. The last rail on the East Tennessee & Virginia Railroad was laid here, May 14, 1858. The gap was the scene of several heavy skirmishes during the War between the States and traces of fortifications can still be found.
"C" - 1C 46 David Crockett
A flat limestone slab, said to be the doorstone of the original cabin, marks the birthplace of this pioneer. Before his death at the Alamo Massacre in 1836, he had been soldier, trapper, explorer, member of the State Legislature and Representative in Congress for three terms.
1C 48 Bright Hope Industries
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North about one mi. on Furnace Creek was the Bright Hope Iron Works, built about 1830. Mining and smelting of iron ore and manufacturing of cast and wrought iron products were joined by a paper mill, pottery works, and several other establishments in an early industrial complex. The industries are believed to have failed as a result of the panic of 1837, but their operations are still recalled in the place names of early Furnace Creek and Ore Bank.
North about one mi. on Furnace Creek was the Bright Hope Iron Works, built about 1830. Mining and smelting of iron ore and manufacturing of cast and wrought iron products were joined by a paper mill, pottery works, and several other establishments in an early industrial complex. The industries are believed to have failed as a result of the panic of 1837, but their operations are still recalled in the place names of early Furnace Creek and Ore Bank.
"C" - 1C 50 Andrew Johnson National Historic Site
Three miles west is the central unit of the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site which includes the 17th president’s small tailor shop, the home in which he lived from 1838 to 1851, a museum, and administrative offices. Other units are the homestead where Johnson lived from 1851 until his death in 1875 and the cemetery where he is buried. Johnson served his city, his state, and his country as alderman, mayor, governor, congressman, senator, vice-president, and president.
"B" - 1C 51 Death of John Morgan Sept. 4, 1864
The center of the present block was once the garden of the Williams house where Brig. Gen. John Hunt Morgan of Morgan's Raiders fame and his staff were billeted. Just after dawn a detail from Brig. Gen. Alvan C. Gillem's Federal forces slipped past Confederate outposts, surrounded the house, surprised and killed Morgan, and captured his staff.
"D" - 1C 52 Old Harmony Graveyard
This burying ground, established in 1791 in connection with Harmony Presbyterian Church, contains the graves of the Scotch-Irish Covenanters who established Greeneville in 1783. Among these are Dr. Hezekiah Balch, Dr. Charles Coffin, William Dickson, Mordecai Lincoln, Valentine Sevier, and others.
"B" - 1C 53 Benjamin Lundy
Here from 1822-1824 Lundy, a Quaker, published the "Genius of Universal Emancipation," a small monthly paper devoted exclusively to the abolition of slavery. While here he also published a weekly paper, the "Economist and Political Recorder." After 1824, the "Genius" was published in Baltimore.
"B" - 1C 54 Greeneville Union Convention
On June 17, 1861, delegates from every East Tennessee county except Rhea convened here for four days. The purpose was to keep East Tennessee in the Union after secession of the state. Leaders of the movement were Thomas D. Arnold, William G. Brownlow, William B. Carter, Andrew Johnson, Horace Maynard, Thomas A. R. Nelson, and Connolly F. Trigg. Tennessee's reply was the occupation of East Tennessee with Confederate troops under the command of General Felix Zollicoffer.
"B" - 1C 58 Greeneville Cumberland Presbyterian Church
Rev. Isaac S. Bonham founded the congregation with thirty charter members in 1841. The present church was begun in 1860 on land purchased from Andrew Johnson by Rev. John P. Holtsinger. The church was shelled on September 4, 1864, the day Confederate General John H. Morgan was killed across the street. This is also the site where The American Presbyterian, a Cumberland Presbyterian newspaper, was published in the 1850's by Rev. Joseph B. Dobson.
"A" - 1C 59 First Presbyterian Church
Founded in 1780 under the trees at the Big Spring by the Rev. Samuel Doak, it was originally called Mount Bethel Presbyterian Church. The first settled pastor was the Rev. Hezekiah Balch in 1783. Fifteen years later the name was changed to Harmony Church. The present building dates from 1848 and was restored after a disastrous fire in 1928.
"B" - 1C 60 Samuel Doak House
The house was begun by the Rev. Samuel Witherspoon Doak and occupied by the elder Samuel Doak until his death in 1829. It remained in the Doak family until Tusculum College acquired the property. Tusculum College was founded in 1818; fifty years later Greeneville College, which was founded by the Rev. Hezekiah Balch in 1794, merged with Tusculum College.
"A" - 1C 61 Harmony House
Built in 1851 by Dr. and Mrs. William Andrew Harmon, this house was used as a place of refuge during the Civil War. Soldiers from both Confederate and Union armies camped in the back yard. Of Federal architecture, the interior contains prime examples of Tennessee craftmanship. Restoration was completed in 1980.
"B" - 1C 62 Cabin of Three States
West 1/2 mile is the Couch cabin. When Spencer County, State of Franklin, became Hawkins County, North Carolina, the cabin was moved across the road (1786 state line) south from its location on Little Gap Creek (west 200 yards). In 1796 the State of Tennessee was created from this part of The Territory of the United States South of the River Ohio.
"B" - 1C 63 The Big Spring
The site of Greeneville was a juncture of two Indian trails, and the presence of the Big Spring furnished a stopping off place for the weary Indian traveler. The Scotch-Irish pioneers made the spring the reason for the founding of Greeneville in 1783. As early as 1780, the Rev. Samuel Doak preached to the settlers at this spot.
"B" - 1C 65 Valentine Sevier Home
Oldest house standing in Greeneville. Built circa 1795 by Valentine Sevier, wealthy political leader and philanthropist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, it was later owned by President Andrew Johnson. After the War Between the States it became the residence of the Marshall, Arnold, O'Keefe and Susong families, including Quincy Marshall O'Keefe and Edith O'Keefe Susong, only mother and daughter in the Tennessee Newspaper Hall of Fame.
"A" - 1C 68 Olde Greene County Gaol
A jail commissioned by the Greene County Court has been on this site since 1806. The present structure was built by Turner and Lane in 1882 using limestone and wrought iron from the previous jail built with slaves' labor. This followed the original log jail, replete with stocks dating from 1794.
"A" - 1C 70 Capitol of State of Franklin
This is a replica of the building which is believed to have served as the capitol of the State of Franklin from 1785 until 1788 and which originally stood near the intersection of Main and Depot Streets. At constitutional conventions held there, competing proposals engendered bitter controversy and resulted in the first political pamphlets produced west of the Appalachians. Chief protagonists were three Presbyterian clergymen, Rev. Samuel Houston, Rev. William Graham, and Rev. Hezekiah Balch. The Franklin Legislature, which also met there, challenged the authority of North Carolina by passing laws to levy taxes, raise a militia, establish courts, authorize the performance of marriages, and open a land office.
"B" - 1C 71 Sgt. Elbert L. Kinser
For conspicuous gallantry as a leader of a First Marine Division Rifle Platoon on Okinawa Shima on May 4, 1945, this Greene County native was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously by President Harry S. Truman. Attacked by Japanese forces, Sgt. Kinser engaged the enemy in a fierce hand grenade battle. Quick to act when a grenade landed, he threw himself on it, absorbing the explosion, and saving his men at the expense of his own life. He is buried in the Solomon Lutheran Church Cemetery in Greene County.
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