Events & Programs

East Tennessee Historical Society Programs

As the public programming arm of the East Tennessee History Center, the East Tennessee Historical Society presents a variety of programs on historical topics featuring diverse subjects, speakers, and formats. These include a Brown Bag and quarterly lecture series, conferences, tours, “A Tennessee Conversation” series with special speakers, a history fair, and teacher and student programs.

Upcoming Events

  • Stories of Landscape and Community in the Mountain South
    March 29, 2023 - 12:00pm to 1:00pm

    Kami Ahrens will introduce us to the women featured in Foxfire's newest publication, The Foxfire Book of Appalachian Women: Stories of Landscape and Community in the Mountain South. This edited volume features twenty-one oral histories from Appalachian women from the Foxfire archive, magazine, and book series. These remarkable...

  • A history program for preschoolers
    Repeats every 2 weeks until Mon Jun 05 2023 except Mon May 29 2023. Also includes Mon Jun 05 2023.
    April 3, 2023 - 10:30am to 11:00am

    It's never too early for some Little History Lessons. During each session, caregivers and kids will learn about history through stories, games, crafts, and examining artifacts. Each session, we will introduce a new topic using themes and objects in our signature exhibition.

    Where

    Museum of East Tennessee History, 601 S....

  • hosted by Chris Blue & Crockett
    April 10, 2023 - 5:00pm to 7:00pm

    Join us at the next live taping of the Appalachia Sessions! Experience all the show-stopping performances, bloopers, and interviews. The live taping takes about two hours and will be cut down to a one-hour TV show broadcast across the Appalachian region. Come cheer, clap, stomp your feet, and be a part of the show! 

    Head over to...

  • Genealogy Workshop
    April 11, 2023 - 6:00pm to 8:00pm

    Historic newspapers are secondary sources that can provide both genealogical and biographical information. Participants in this session will discover techniques for searching digitized newspapers online, including repositories on Chronicling America and Newspapers.com. The session will focus on Tennessee newspapers.

    This workshop is free...

  • April 12, 2023 - 12:00pm to 1:00pm

    In her book East Tennessee Newsmakers, columnist Georgiana Vines pays tribute to 47 remarkable individuals and their contributions to Knoxville and the history, civic and cultural life, and politics of East Tennessee. Anyone who has resided in the region knows that it derives its glow from its people— the ones who built it and...

  • A history program for preschoolers
    April 17, 2023 - 10:30am to 11:00am

    It's never too early for some Little History Lessons. During each session, caregivers and kids will learn about history through stories, games, crafts, and examining artifacts. Each session, we will introduce a new topic using themes and objects in our signature exhibition.

    Where

    Museum of East Tennessee History, 601 S....

  • April 22, 2023 - 10:00am to 4:00pm

    Join the East Tennessee Historical Society as we celebrate the Everyday Arts! Throughout history, people created items they needed – often in artistic ways. These crafts served a purpose, while also lending beauty to everyday life. From basket weaving to chair caning, spinning to quilting, meet modern-day artists who have mastered these ancient...

  • April 26, 2023 - 12:00pm to 1:00pm

    Sam Orleans opened Knoxville’s first motion picture production studio in 1946.. Over the next three decades, his company produced over 100 industrial films, focusing on such subjects as . Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection Manager Eric Dawson will offer an overview of Orleans’ life and career, illustrated by clips from films shot in...

Previous Events

  • From a Small Coal Camp to Olympic Podium to Courtside with Michael Jordan
    March 27, 2023 - 6:00pm to 7:00pm

    Bill Schmidt discusses his new memoir Southview to Gettysvue, which begins with his childhood growing up in the small Appalachian Pennsylvania coal camp Southview. Though he suffered from family tragedy and personal struggles his interest in sports helped create a path forward. After graduating from college he made the 1972 US Olympic...

  • Genealogy Workshop
    March 25, 2023 - 1:00pm to 3:00pm

    Coinciding with Women’s History Month, this workshop will explore resources for researching, documenting, and interpreting women’s stories, as well as hints on how to overcome challenges inherent to women’s history.

    Instructor: Lisa Norwood Oakley, vice president/curator of education, East Tennessee Historical Society

    This...

  • A history program for preschoolers
    March 20, 2023 - 10:30am to 11:00am

    It's never too early for some Little History Lessons. During each session, caregivers and kids will learn about history through stories, games, crafts, and examining artifacts. Each session, we will introduce a new topic using themes and objects in our signature exhibition.

    Where

    Museum of East Tennessee History, 601 S....

  • The Past, Present, and Future of Film Preservation in East Tennessee
    March 15, 2023 - 12:00pm to 1:00pm

    Join Tennessee Archive of Moving Image and Sound (TAMIS) archivists past and present as they explore the history of the audio-visual division of the Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection. With audience favorite films and recently discovered footage, they will explore the past, present, and future of TAMIS, a unique Knoxville institution....

  • Genealogy Workshop
    March 14, 2023 - 6:00pm to 8:00pm

    If a house’s walls could talk, what would they tell you? This session introduces participants to techniques and resources for discovering the history of houses. Participants are encouraged to bring information that they have already collected about their own house to the session.

    This is workshop is free and open to the public; however,...