Patricia Bernard Ezzell

The origins of the Tennessee copper mining industry can be traced back to 1843, when a gold prospector discovered copper near Potato Creek in the southeast corner of Polk County. Copper mining began in 1847, and the Hiwassee mine became…

Dragging Canoe, Cherokee warrior and leader of the Chickamaugas, was born in one of the Overhill towns on the Tennessee River, the son of the Cherokee diplomat Attakullakulla. Historians have identified Dragging Canoe as the greatest Cherokee military leader. Even…

Hales Bar Dam has the distinction of being the first main-river, multipurpose dam built on the Tennessee River. In order to improve navigation on the Upper Tennessee and provide electricity to the city of Chattanooga, Jo Conn Guild Sr., a…

Lewis Hine was an established documentary photographer when Arthur E. Morgan, first chairman of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), approached him to document life in the region. Recognized as a socially concerned photographer, Hine had earlier documented the abusive conditions…

Described as the most historic, yet little known, site in East Tennessee, Long Island played a significant role in the state's early history. Situated on the outskirts of present-day Kingsport on the Holston River, the island was located on the…

Constructed in 1933 by the Tennessee Valley Authority to provide housing for the construction workers building Norris Dam, the agency's first hydroelectric project, the town of Norris is listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places.…

Born in 1850 in Indiana, Newell Sanders moved as an adult to Chattanooga at the encouragement of General John T. Wilder. Recognizing the need in the South for reliable farm machinery, Wilder encouraged Sanders to produce plows. His Chattanooga Plow…

The origins of the Washington Manufacturing Company can be traced to 1812, when William Chester bought 260 acres near the mouth of Bumpass Cove in iron-rich Washington County and built a forge. He later sold this forge to third generation…