White's Fort

White's Fort is a reconstructed frontier settlement in Knoxville built around a defensive palisade that encloses several log structures. The compound contains period furnishings and tools arranged to show how settlers organized and used the space in the late 1700s.

James White founded the settlement in 1786 as a defensive outpost in the Tennessee wilderness. The site became the foundation for Knoxville when William Blount selected it as the territorial capital and renamed the area in 1791.

The fort demonstrates traditional crafts that early settlers used in daily life, which visitors can watch during demonstrations throughout the grounds. These hands-on displays show how people actually worked and lived during the frontier period.

The site is an open-air museum where visitors walk between all buildings and displays on unpaved ground. Wear comfortable shoes and check weather conditions before visiting, as the area offers little shelter from sun or rain.

The original main cabin from the settlement was moved and used as a kitchen building for a nearby house in the 1830s. A local preservationist recovered and relocated the structure back to the fort grounds in 1906 to save it from being lost.