Historic Sites - Blount Mansion
31 Blount Mansion
- Blount Mansion
In 1792, the four-room Blount Mansion became the talk of the town. Knoxvillians were amazed as materials and furnishings were brought in over the mountains for the home of William Blount, an influential politician and businessman who signed the U.S. Constitution, drafted Tennessee’s Constitution, and was the Governor of the Southwest Territory. Watching as window glass arrived from Virginia and sawn lumber from North Carolina excited Knoxville’s residents, most of whom crafted their own cabins and homes with local logs. But William Blount’s wife, Mary, had insisted on a proper wooden home. The mansion featured a main room for family activities, a parlor for more formal activities, a hall, and a single sleeping chamber upstairs. Later wings were added to the east and west sides. The Governor’s Office was built on a corner of the property. By 1925, the mansion had deteriorated seriously and faced demolition to make way for a hotel parking lot. But local residents spearheaded efforts to preserve and restore the mansion, which opened for tours in 1930. Now Blount Mansion is the only National Historic Landmark in Knoxville and Knox County. The historic site includes the mansion, the governor’s office, a recreation of a 18th century kitchen that sits where the original detached kitchen was, and a cooling shed, uncovered during an archeological dig in the 1950s. The mansion is open to the public and tours are offered.
Blount Mansion Web Site
200 W. Hill Avenue,
Knoxville, TN 37902
(865) 525-2375
