Historical Museum Guide for Tennessee

Tennessee History Museums

Considered to be the most authentic replica of pioneer Appalachian life, activities seem to offer a taste of life as seen through our ancestors' eyes.

Exhibits include the Irwin Chapel, the Arnwine Cabin, and the Mark Twain family cabin.

The small log field school where Sam Houston taught school before the War of 1812.  Located in Marysville, TN at 3650 Old Sam Houston School Road.

The 1935 McKenzie Post Office is the home of the Gordon Browning Museum.  Collections include historical manuscripts, documents and photos.  There is a genealogical library on the main floor of the museum.  Located at 640 N. Main Street in McKenzie,TN.

Clover Bottom Mansion - Tennessee Historical Comm.

The Tennessee Historical Commission is housed inside Clover Bottom Mansion.  The mansion was built in 1858 by Dr. James Hogatt in the Italian villa style.  Address is 2941 Lebanon Road in Nashville, TN.

Tennessee Agricultural Museum  [Photo Gallery]

Housed inside the Ellington Agricultural Center in Nashville, the museum features 19th and 20th century home and farm artifacts as well as a collection of Tennessee folk art.

Tennessee State Library and Archives

Ames Plantation

Cogbill Store and Museum

Organized by the Vardy Community Historical Society and dedicated to the preservation of the history of the Vardy Valley and the collection of artifacts, oral histories and other cultural objects.  They have also restored Mahala Mullins Cabin.  See interesting information about the old Vardy Community School.

Loretta Lynn Ranch

Loretta Lynn's Coal Miners Daughter Museum

East Tennessee Historical Society and Museum

Glenmore Mansion   [Photo Gallery]

This Victorian home was completed in 1869.  Now a museum with period furnishings.

East Tennessee Historical Society Museum

Marble Springs State Historic Site   [History of John Sevier at Marble Springs]

38 acre homestead of Governor John Sevier, Tennessee's first Governor.  The site has 5 buildings dating from 1780 and is a living history museum where interpreters demonstrate the history of early Tennessee.

Located at 1220 John Sevier Highway in Knoxville, TN.

Boyhood home of Pulitzer Prize winner Alex Haley, the author of "Roots".  Located at 200 South Church Street in Henning, TN

The museum contains artifacts and exhibits depicting the life of Davy Crockett and a replica of the birthplace cabin is included at the park.  The park is located at 1245 Davy Crockett Park Road in Limestone, TN.

Ancestral home to the 11th President of the United States.  The Federal style home was constructed in 1816 by Samuel Polk.  The home is filled with over 1000 objects which belonged to President Polk and his wife Sarah Childress Polk. Next door, there is a house built in 1820 which was home to the President's sisters.

Birthplace and home to Cordell Hull who was Secretary of State 1933-1934.  Famous for his role in establishing the United Nations, he received the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1945.  The museum is located west of Byrdstown and is devoted to the history of Cordell Hull.

Cookeville Depot Museum

Housed in the 1909 Cookeville Railroad Depot, the museum features railway artifacts, railroad photos, a caboose and other railroad memorabilia.  Located at the corner of Broad Street and Cedar Avenue in Cookeville, TN.

Mansion home of Elvis Presley.  The unique home draws visitors by the scores.  You will see how the king of rock and roll lived and played.  On display are his clothes, cars, platinum and gold records and other Elvis memorabilia.

Located at 3765 Elvis Presley Boulevard in Memphis, TN.

This living history museum and historic site is located in Piney Flats, Tennessee.  U.S. Territorial Capital from 1790-1792, this home of William Cobb saw Governor Blount in residence, who was conducting the business affairs of the new Southwest Territory.  Rocky Mount has been open to the public since 1962 and today you will see history in motion when you visit this fine living history site.

Bledsoe's Fort Historical Park

This historical site and park is preserved by the Bledsoe's Lick Historical Association.  Included in the 80 acre park are an archaeological dig of Isaac Bledsoe's Fort, constructed in 1780 along with the Nathaniel Parker cabin, Wynnewood, the Irish Cottage of Hugh Rogan, Thomas Sharp Spencer monument and remainders of an old Native American town.  The area is well known for it's refreshing mineral springs.

Cragfont Mansion 

[History of Cragfont]  [Winchester Descendants]

Known as the finest mansion on the Tennessee frontier, this majestic home was completed in 1802 and was home to General James Winchester. 

Rock Castle Historic Home

This rock home owned by Daniel and Sarah Michie Smith of North Carolina, was constructed in 1784.  It was once part of a plantation which comprised over 3000 acres.  Today, it is a museum located on 18 acres in Hendersonville, TN.  Amidst the grounds is the old smokehouse and a family cemetery.

Sumner County Museum

The museum houses 3 floors of exhibits and memorabilia related to early life in Sumner County, TN.  Located at 183 W. Main Street in Gallatin, TN.

The museum is working on a new website for Sumner County Museum.

Wynnewood Log Inn

Constructed in 1828 by A. R. Wynne, Stephen Roberts and William Cage as a Stagecoach Inn and Mineral Springs Resort.  Possibly the largest log building ever built in Tennessee, it is 142 feet long.  It is found in the Castalian Springs area of TN.

This Victorian mansion was built by entrepreneur Clay Faulkner in 1896 to entice his wife to move next to the woolen mill where he made Gorilla Pants -- "so strong even a gorilla couldn't tear them apart." Called "Tennessee's Biltmore" by PBS, it had all the "modern conveniences" -- electric lights, indoor plumbing, central heat and more. Today, the National Trust award winning property is filled with museum quality Victorian antiques. Some say it's presided over by a friendly ghost, perhaps the proud builder himself. Located on Faulkner Springs Road in McMinnville, TN, the mansion is open for guided tours.

Tipton - Haynes Historical Home and Site   [History]

This historic structure began with the 25x35 foot log cabin belonging to Colonel John Tipton.  It has been expanded and the cabin is now contained inside the large white house.  There are 11 buildings at this homestead including a smokehouse, loom house, pigsty, still house, springhouse, a large barn and corncrib along with the home of slave George Haynes.  The museum houses exhibits and archives relating to the early history of Tennessee and the families who lived here.  Location is 2620 South Roan Street in Johnson City, TN.

Built between 1835 and 1839 by Barlow Fiske, it was part of a popular stage stop and saw such visitors as James K. Polk, Sam Houston, Frank Clement and Andrew Jackson.  This small stone house is located on Highway 70 in Sparta, TN and is preserved by the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution).

Built 1830 and located at 1140 Columbia Avenue just south of Franklin, Tennessee, the house was occupied by three generations of the Fountain Branch Carter family.  It was used as a command post during the Civil War by Major General Jacob D. Cox and was the location of some of the fiercest battles.  There have been many claims made by folks who have seen ghosts roaming the home.

Museum Index for Other States

Tennessee Census Records