East Tennessee Historical Society and Museum, Knoxville: Photos, Reviews & Location

Regional history is preserved in permanent & visiting exhibits of artifacts, art & Civil War items.

At a glance

#6 of 23 Tourist attractions in Knoxville

LocalGuideWorld score: 4.70

0.5 km from the center of Knoxville

Rating breakdown

5 ★81%
4 ★15%
3 ★4%
2 ★0%
1 ★1%

601 S Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37902

easttnhistory.org

(865) 215-8830

Photos of East Tennessee Historical Society and Museum (68)

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East Tennessee Historical Society and Museum, Knoxville – photo 1

East Tennessee Historical Society and Museum, Knoxville – photo 2

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East Tennessee Historical Society and Museum, Knoxville – photo 11

East Tennessee Historical Society and Museum, Knoxville – photo 12

Quick facts

What is the rating of East Tennessee Historical Society and Museum?: East Tennessee Historical Society and Museum is rated 4.7 out of 5 based on 1,077 reviews.
How does East Tennessee Historical Society and Museum rank in Knoxville?: East Tennessee Historical Society and Museum is #6 of 23 Tourist attractions in Knoxville by LocalGuideWorld score (rating weighted by number of reviews).
Where is East Tennessee Historical Society and Museum located?: 601 S Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37902 — 0.5 km from the center of Knoxville.
How can I contact East Tennessee Historical Society and Museum?: Phone: (865) 215-8830 · Website: easttnhistory.org

Reviews (10)

HaveANiceDay Smith 2023 Dec 13

Not to be missed. I have been to many historical museums far and wide but this museum is at the top of the very best list.
Careful thought went into the collection and the information/ history of East TN. People who truly cared put this together. They have a nice gift shop and a wonderful staff.

S hart 2023 Dec 05

East Tennessee Historical Society and Museum

We loved this museum! Parents, teens and a toddler all loved learning about East TN. The children’s area was well done! Captured my 3 year old’s attention and she didn’t want to leave! Great price and worth the visit!

Pat Corbley 2023 Oct 10

Unfortunately we only had an hour to spend because to really be able to experience the whole museum you really need 2 to 3 hours. I felt the history was honestly displayed, the good and the bad. I would recommend this to anyone interested in east Tennessee history.

Nicole Brisson 2023 Aug 14

Such a lovely gem of a place. Very organized so you walk through time of eastern Tennessee. Some verbiage sugar coated real events but overall was a great museum. They also had a great section for young kids.

Anthony Yuill 2023 Aug 07

I visited the lobby. Nice! I hear there's a Hootinanny event coming up soon! I'm going to check it out.

Billy Allen 2023 Jan 24

Stopped by near closing time and were just going to look through the gift shop, but afterward, the staff encouraged us to take a look around the museum. The trolley car is a must-see. The museum is loaded with musical memorabilia. Can't wait to go back when we have more time to tour all the nostalgia!

Dan Reamer 2022 Sep 08

No complaints here! Admission was free and the place was very clean and well laid out. It’s definitely on the small side but they have a little bit of everything. There’s a lot of good Tennessee history on display and they had a really nice temporary exhibit on the 1982 World’s Fair.

Jason Henry 2021 Oct 10

This museum is fantastic. I have maintained a membership for several years now. They rotate the temporary exhibits, and change and update permanent exhibits on a reasonably basis. They feature many different types of exhibits and from different time periods. They just added a children's activity room that is extremely popular.

Kasey Raia Stout 2020 Oct 11

This is a cute little museum!! Admission is only $5, and there are a couple exhibits, but the main/permanent one was the best. It had a lot of historical pieces so there was a lot of things to look at! We were there for about an hour and a half. It is definitely worth a visit if in the area!

Nushrat Humaira 2019 Oct 22

Quite informative, lots of artifacts, nice displays full of history. Museum officials are very nice and explain. Free entry but donations would be very welcome. Exhibits on mountain dew and local music scene in early days caught my eye.