From the
Boyd Harvey House nestled deep in the southwest corner of the county to the
Arnweyn House that stands a stone’s throw from the Holston River, Knox County is home to many antebellum structures, sites, and districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A new theme in the
KGIS Maps website—powered by data compiled by MPC staff—makes finding those historic places as easy as clicking a mouse.
The Knoxville/Knox County/Knoxville Utilities Board Geographic Information System (KGIS) website is a tool often used by planners, developers, utility companies, and citizens to research zoning, land use, and political and school districts. With the launch of the “Historic Districts and Pre-1865 Structures” theme, historians and preservationists can be added to the ever-growing list of KGIS users.
“There’s no question that the new historic resources theme on KGIS will be an invaluable tool for MPC planning staff, but it’s also a wonderful resource for the general public,” said Kaye Graybeal, MPC’s Historic Preservation Planner. “Having all that information available at anytime and anyplace will be great for history buffs, property owners, and developers alike.”
The National Register of Historic Places is the National Park Service’s official list of places throughout the country that are worthy of preservation—buildings, sites, structures, and objects that are important to understanding local, state, and national history. To qualify for the National Register, a historic place must be:
- Fifty years old
- The work of a master or part of a collection of buildings that include materials, workmanship, or design that reflects an earlier time or sense of place; or
- Symbolic of a significant historic event or broad patterns of history; or
- Property that has yielded or is likely to yield information important to understanding history or pre-history.
Knox County hosts 112 places listed on the National Register and at least 20 others that are eligible. Popular tourist attractions, such as Blount Mansion and the Bijou Theater, are joined by private dwellings, like the Nicholas Gibbs House in Powell, and churches, like the New Salem United Methodist Church in the southern part of the county.
There are also 21 National Register districts, largely located in the older areas of the City of Knoxville. Market Square, Fort Sanders, and Fourth and Gill are a few of the better-known examples.
In addition to National Register sites, antebellum structures that do not qualify for the list—for example, James White Fort—are also displayed on the new KGIS map. “Sometimes a property is too deteriorated or has been altered too much to be listed on the National Register,” said Graybeal. “But those sites are still important in understanding local development patterns and farm layouts.”
Learn more about the National Register of Historic Places on its website or contact MPC Historic Preservation Planner, Kaye Graybeal at 215-2500 for more information.
Posted 02-25-2015. Written by Sarah Powell.