Museum of Appalachia, Living history museum in Clinton, Tennessee
The Museum of Appalachia is an open-air museum in Tennessee spread across 65 acres with more than 35 historic buildings including log cabins, barns, churches, and schoolhouses. The structures and grounds show how people worked and lived in America's mountain regions.
The museum was founded in 1969 to preserve mountain heritage and later became a Smithsonian Affiliate institution. The founder and his team gathered over 250,000 objects across decades to document this way of life.
The collection displays handcrafted items like baskets, quilts, and traditional musical instruments that show how mountain people created and used everyday objects. These pieces reveal the skills and traditions that shaped daily life in the region.
The site is open daily and gives you plenty of time to walk through the different buildings and outdoor areas at your own pace. A restaurant on-site serves regional food, and a shop offers local crafts and books.
Peacocks and other farm animals roam the grounds and can be seen during your visit. One of the preserved cabins has a connection to writer Mark Twain.
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