Tennessee's Most Historic Towns

Tennessee's history spans Native American civilizations, the Revolutionary frontier, the Civil War, and the birth of American country and blues music.

Jonesborough
Founded in 1779, Jonesborough is the oldest town in Tennessee and one of the oldest in the entire trans-Appalachian South. The brick Federal and Greek Revival buildings along Main Street date largely to the 1820s–1850s; the town was briefly the capital of the State of Franklin (an attempted 14th state, 1784–1788). The National Storytelling Festival, held every October in Jonesborough, is the most important gathering in American oral storytelling tradition.

Franklin
Site of the Battle of Franklin (November 30, 1864) — one of the most costly battles of the Civil War, where Confederate General John Bell Hood's Army of Tennessee suffered catastrophic losses in a frontal assault. The Carter House (a family's home at the center of the battle) and Carnton Plantation (converted to a field hospital after the battle) are the key sites. Franklin's downtown has exceptional antebellum architecture and is one of the wealthiest small cities in Tennessee.

Lynchburg
Home of the Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey Distillery (established 1866, the oldest registered distillery in the US) and home to the annual "Iron Man Ironman Triathlon" of Tennessee tradition: visiting the distillery in a county that, by law, has been dry since Prohibition (Moore County does not permit alcohol sales, so visitors cannot taste the whiskey on premises — the world's most ironic tourism situation).

Dayton
Site of the 1925 Scopes "Monkey" Trial, where high school teacher John Scopes was prosecuted for teaching evolution. The Rhea County Courthouse — where the trial was held — is a National Historic Landmark. The trial attracted Clarence Darrow (defense) and William Jennings Bryan (prosecution) and put Dayton on the national map.

Rugby
A utopian community founded in 1880 by English author Thomas Hughes (author of Tom Brown's School Days). The colony attempted to create a self-sufficient English-style community in the Cumberland Plateau. Rugby survived partially — several original Victorian buildings remain, including Christ Church Episcopal (1887) and the Thomas Hughes Public Library, which preserves its original book collection.