Stop Eight: Knoxville's First Courthouse

The county’s first courthouse is where the Howard H. Baker Jr. United States Courthouse stands today. This first courthouse was a small one story log structure about 30 feet long and 24 feet wide. Everyone thought that it was an eyesore! It may have looked something like the photo above. Thomas William Humes wrote that a “frolicsome Irishman” burned the first courthouse down within a few years of construction, to the delight of Knoxvillians! Knox County’s second courthouse was built around 1797 on this same spot. This second courthouse was the setting for a George Washington Harris short story. Harris described the "old stone Court-house" as having a "steep gable front to the street," a "disproportionately small brick chimney," "well-whittled door-jambs," "dusty windows," and "gloomy walls and ghostly echoes.” It was on the steps of Knoxville’s second courthouse that a bitter argument between Andrew Jackson and John Sevier broke out. The bitter feud between Sevier and Jackson grew out of a dispute over military appointments with Sevier backing Jackson's opponent. The relationship between Sevier and Jackson deteriorated after Jackson accused Sevier of land fraud. On October 1,1803, the two men met on the steps of the courthouse on this spot and traded heated words. Sevier drew his sword, dared Jackson to draw arms, then insulted Jackson's wife, Rachel, by accusing her of adultery since, after two years of marriage, they discovered that her divorce was not yet final. Jackson lunged at Sevier with his cane, then friends of both parties drew pistols, and shots rang out as a bullet grazed at least one bystander. After allies of both men separated the two, a war of words between the governor and the judge quickly escalated in an exchange of letters. In their correspondence, Jackson requested an 'interview' with Sevier--a commonly understood term for a duel. Dueling, however, was prohibited within the borders of Tennessee, so Sevier offered to meet Jackson at any time and place not within the State of Tennessee. Thereafter the two men argued over the timing and location to settle their dispute. Eventually, Jackson met Sevier near present-day Kingston, Tennessee, where a failed attempt at a duel took place. Ultimately, tempers cooled, but the animosity between Sevier and Jackson remained until Sevier's death in 1815. Several historians argue that the rivalry between John Sevier and Andrew Jackson was the root of the factionalism that divided East Tennessee from the rest of Tennessee in subsequent decades. East Tennessee, because of its rocky geography, was dominated by small farms whose owners generally had few slaves. Middle Tennessee had numerous plantations and slave owners, who grew crops such as tobacco and hemp with slaves. West Tennessee was dominated by large cotton plantations with numerous slaves. East Tennesseeans were mostly pro-Union during the Civil War, unlike the rest of Tennessee. Tennessee was the last state to leave the Union during the Civil War. When the Union army arrived in Knoxville in 1863, they were viewed as liberators. Following the war, East Tennessee remained one of the South's few predominantly Republican regions into the early 20th century.

Standard Tour Mission:

The Old Court House across the street that you see today is the fourth Knox County Courthouse. A large hotel was on that lot across the street in 1884 and was known as The Mansion House. The county purchased the hotel and began construction on the building you see now in 1884. This courthouse was considered fireproof and built at great expense for the time. Take a photograph of the Old Courthouse across the street.

Virtual Tour Trivia Questions:

Who wrote “The Knoxville Courthouse Blues” whose lyrics start out like this?: (Hint: His father’s last night alive was spent in Knoxville across the street at the Andrew Johnson hotel.)

I'm sittin' in Knoxville courthouse ain't got a thing to do

I don't wanna go to the movies couldn't if I wanted to cuz I'm on trial for lovin' you

Now this all started in a honky tonk just the other side of town

Thomas Williams Humes parents started building their home in 1816. When his father, Thomas Humes died, the building was converted into a famous hotel that hosted presidents! It is now the Bijou Theater. What was the hotel’s name?