Robert Hansen

Finally got to see the house as part of the East Tennessee Historical Society's annual "History Hootenanny" last Saturday. Ordinarily the house is not open on the weekends so I've never been able to go.

I don't know if they always operate this way or if it was special-event staffing, but there was a different docent in every room (all very elderly, a couple of whom I worried about because they had difficulty walking) who spoke extensively about each room. While very informative, it provided no opportunity to just take the room in without someone yakking at you and pushing you from room to room. The woman at the front door, who was the great-granddaughter of the owner, was the most interesting and informative, but also seemed the most eager to move people on into the next room. If they have that many people staffing the house, it's no wonder they're never open on weekends.

Don't waste your time. It's a recreation of a fort which wasn't originally on this site - the original fort was somewhere else! Materials inside aren't original to the original fort. The buildings aren't even original to the original fort. It's all fake.

What's more, the cranky old dude at the front counter dared to make a snarky comment that I went the "wrong way" around the fort... counter-clockwise instead of clockwise.. I don't remember which way.