Tennessee’s earliest residents were the prehistoric Mound Builders. The Cherokee, Chickasaw, Creek and Shawnee inhabited the region when Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto first explored it in 1540. The Town of Jonesborough is located on land belonging to the Cherokee and Yuchi peoples.
History comes to life in this 18th-century town. Its well-preserved Main Street will take you on a beautiful journey through the past. Jonesborough is proud of its diverse history and the people who’ve made Tennessee’s Oldest Town so special. Today, we continue to celebrate culture, heritage and history through education, events, and preserved architecture.
Warner Institute Students
Jonesborough’s past has crafted the beautiful, diverse, and vibrant patchwork for who we are today. Below is a sneak peek into what you’ll uncover through the rich history of Tennessee’s Oldest Town.
One of our favorite stories of Jonesborough’s welcoming nature dates back to 1843. Merchants Herman Cone and his brother-in-law Jacob Adler arrived in Jonesborough with a small, covered wagon. Cone and Adler, two Jewish immigrants from Bavaria (Germany), tried to set up shop in Virginia but were met with discrimination. They moved their families with what little they had to Jonesborough and started a new chapter. The Town welcomed them and the merchants established a very successful business across the street from the Chester Inn on Main Street. Warm welcomes remain ever-present in modern-day Jonesborough.
The McKinney legend lives on today, but do you know how it began? In 1968, on the same day that Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Ernest McKinney was elected as an alderman in Jonesborough. Mr. McKinney was the first African American to be elected to the Board of Mayor and Alderman. His wife, Marion McKinney, was instrumental in the fight to desegregate Washington County Schools. In 1988, their son, Kevin McKinney, was the first African American to be elected as Jonesborough’s Mayor.
In 1973, a local teacher, Jimmy Neil Smith, pulled a hay wagon into the shadow of the courthouse and invited Appalachian storytellers to share their stories. No one knew it at the time, but a renaissance was about to ignite. From these humble beginnings, the International Storytelling Festival was born. The Festival takes place on the first full weekend of October. During those three days of storytelling, over 15,000 visit Jonesborough to listen and share.
We invite you to dive deep into the rich stories from our past and the people who shaped Jonesborough today. You’ll discover stories of a courageous buffalo solider, the autonomous Lost State of Franklin, and Jonesborough’s first female Mayor.
Jonesborough’s Timeline
Indigenous Peoples
1769 English Colonists Move into the Region
William and Lydia Bean, the first permanent white settlers, build a cabin on the Watauga River in Northeast Tennessee. New settlers begin to come into the area from Virginia and North Carolina.
1772 The First Constitution
A group of settlers form their own government called the Watauga Association. They create one of the first written constitutions in North America. The Watauga Association at Sycamore Shoals, near Elizabethton, was the first group of European settlers to draft a constitution on American soil. The Association’s formation marked the first attempt by white settlers at complete self-government.
1775 A Changing Landscape
The Transylvania Company buys a large piece of land from the Cherokees. Daniel Boone, who worked for the company, maps a trail from Virginia across the mountain at Cumberland Gap to open the land to settlement. His trail is called the Wilderness Road and becomes the main route to the new settlements. The settlers on both the Watauga and Nolichucky Rivers purchased great acreages of land from the Cherokee people, comprising almost all the six upper counties of the present Tennessee (then within North Carolina). Desiring their own government, these settlers petitioned the Provincial Council of North Carolina to be annexed as an official entity.
1777 The First Over Mountain County
Washington County was created by Act of North Carolina as one of six counties on the western frontier in what later became the State of Tennessee. It was the first county west of the mountains.
1779 Jonesborough is Established
Jonesborough, the oldest town in Tennessee, is established seventeen years before Tennessee was granted statehood. The General Assembly of North Carolina established it as the county seat of Washington County. It was named after North Carolina legislator Willie Jones, who supported North Carolina’s westward expansion over the Appalachian Mountains. The first meeting to decide the location of the new courthouse was at the home of Charles Robertson, and it was decided that John Carter, Andrew Greer, William Cobb, Jacob Womack, George Russell, John Sevier and James Stuart would lay out the plans and location of the new courthouse. One hundred acres was purchased from David Hughes and laid out into lots for the Town of Jonesborough. The lots were offered in lottery.
1780 The Land They Fought For
The “Over-Mountain men” gathered at Sycamore Shoals on the Watauga River on September 25th to march over the Great Smoky Mountains. Led by John Sevier, they helped to defeat the British at the Battle of King’s Mountain on October 7th.
1784 - 1790 The Lost State of Franklin
Prior to Tennessee statehood, the east Tennessee region almost became the State of Franklin. After Jonesborough was founded, a group of citizens from this and the surrounding area (then a part of the Western District of North Carolina) felt they were not represented fairly nor protected by their state leaders. On December 14, 1784, delegates from these areas convened in Jonesborough to approve the formation of a new state, the State of Franklin, named after Benjamin Franklin. Jonesborough served as the capital of Franklin until a new capital was established in nearby Greeneville. John Sevier, one of the most influential leaders in the development of Franklin, was elected its first governor in March, 1785. Franklin functioned as the nation’s fourteenth state until 1788, but was never recognized by Congress. After many negotiations and skirmishes which climaxed in the Battle of the State of Franklin, North Carolina once again reclaimed the lands. Today, the State of Franklin is often remembered as the “Lost State of Franklin”.
1788 President Andrew Jackson Gets His Start
President Andrew Jackson was no stranger to Jonesborough. A self-taught lawyer and young man of 20 years, Jackson had been working in Salisbury, North Carolina, when the opportunity arose for him to travel to the western lands and help open court on the Cumberland (now Nashville). Jackson came to Jonesborough in 1788 to await a caravan to travel westward. While in Jonesborough, he took the oath of office to practice law in the western district of North Carolina and served as an attorney in Jonesborough. He lodged at a two-story log home owned by Christopher Taylor. Though small by today’s standards, the two-room home accommodated boarders, the Taylors, and their 10 children. The 1788 Christopher Taylor Home, one of Jonesborough’s oldest buildings, has since been restored and moved to Main Street’s Historic District.
1796 Tennessee is the 16th State
Tennessee adopts a constitution on February 6th in preparation for statehood – Andrew Jackson helps to draw it up. Tennessee becomes a state on June 1, 1796. John Sevier is elected the first governor. The total population of Tennessee is 77,000. Tennessee’s first constitution provided for universal male suffrage, including free blacks, prompting Thomas Jefferson to call it “the least imperfect and most republican” of any state. The first local post office was established in 1796 with John Waddell as postmaster.
1797 The Inn Where Presidents Stayed
The Chester Inn is the oldest building original to Jonesborough’s commercial district. William Chester, a medical doctor, constructed the building in 1797 to capitalize on those traveling through Jonesborough along the Stage Road. Now fully restored, the wooden frame building is owned by the State of Tennessee and is a State Historic Site. Many famous guests stayed at the Chester Inn during its successful days of operation as an inn including Presidents Andrew Jackson, Andrew Johnson, and James K. Polk. During one of Andrew Jackson’s stays, he helped fight a nearby fire. At another visit, Andrew Jackson was reportedly threatened with tarring and feathering by John Sevier’s supporters.
1800 Word Traveled Slowly but Steadily
Around 1800 a postal route was started and mail was carried by horseback twice a week. Increasing demands of passenger travel and mail delivery resulted in more stage coach lines which increased from once a week in 1825 to three times a week in 1834.
1820 A Historic First in the Cause of Abolitionism
The Emancipator, published and funded by Quaker Elihu Embree, began circulation on April 30, 1820, from the town of Jonesborough and was printed in Jacob Howard’s print shop. The Emancipator was the first periodical dedicated exclusively to the cause of abolitionism. Jacob Howard’s print shop, now destroyed, stood on the corner of Main Street and First Avenue in Jonesborough’s Historic District. The paper had seven editions and readership in Boston and Philadelphia. Elihu Embree passed away in December of 1820. His will manumitted his enslaved woman Nancy and her five children. In stark contrast to his beliefs, Embree was an enslaver for most of his life. He was honest, to a degree, about his shortcomings in The Emancipator. Despite these shortcomings, his paper helped influence and champion the cause of abolitionism.
1834 A Little Town’s Occupations
According to the 1834 Tennessee Gazetteer, in 1833 Jonesborough “contained a population of about 500 inhabitants; eleven lawyers, four physicians, two clergymen, two churches, two academies, four schools, one printing office, four carpenters, three cabinet makers, two bricklayers, one blacksmith, four taverns, two hatters, four tailors, four shoemakers, one silversmith, two wagon makers and one mill.” The town experienced a building boom during the early 1840s when many of the existing Federal style brick structures were built.
1838 - The Trail of Tears
After a long, legal battle with state and federal governments, the Cherokee people are forcibly removed from their ancestral lands, including northeast Tennessee, and marched over 5,000 miles under armed guard to reservations in Oklahoma. 2,000 enslaved people who were owned by members of the Cherokee Nation marched with them. It is estimated that between 2,000-8,000 people died during the relocation. During this same period of time the Choctaw, Creek, Chickasaw, and Seminole peoples were also forcibly removed from their ancestral lands.
1842 Ford vs. Ford: A Historic Court Case Challenges Perceptions
In 1842, Washington County farmer Lloyd Ford, Sr. passed away and left a large amount of his estate to his enslaved people and children, including Peggy, Rhoda, and Edward. He also manumitted them in his will. His white children protested the will and the case went first to the Washington County Court before making it to the Tennessee Supreme Court. Ford’s enslaved heirs were not allowed to stand trial, so Phoebe Stuart, a white woman, agreed to be their “Next Friend” and testify on their behalf. In his final judgement, Supreme Court Justice Nathan Green upheld the decision of the Washington County Court and ruled in favor of Peggy, Rhoda, and Edward saying, “A slave is not in the condition of a horse or an ox. His liberty is restrained, it is true. . . . But he is made after the image of the Creator. He has mental capacities, and an immortal principle in his nature, that constitute him equal to his owner but for the accidental position in which fortune has placed him. . . .” Finally, in 1850, Ford’s enslaved children gained their freedom and their rightful portion of the estate. Today, members of the Ford family, both black and white, gather for a family reunion.
1853 – A Welcoming Town
Merchants Herman Cone and his brother-in-law Jacob Adler arrive in Jonesborough with a small, covered wagon. Cone and Adler, two Jewish immigrants from Bavaria (Germany), had tried to set up shop in Virginia but had met with discrimination. They moved their families with what little they had to Jonesborough and started a new chapter. The Town welcomed them and the merchants established a very successful business across the street from the Chester Inn on Main Street. They sold a number of things including ready to wear clothing, which was a wild concept in the mid-1800s. The families moved to Baltimore in 1873, but the Cone family sent money back to Jonesborough that summer during the cholera epidemic. The Cone family also sent money to the Town in the 1980s to help construct the Visitor’s Center and Town Hall. For more information on the family and their successes, we suggest you do a web search on Moses and Caesar Cone and their sisters Calribel and Etta Cone.
1857 – The Railroad Comes to Jonesborough
The people of Jonesborough finally got their railroad in 1857 after a long endeavor. For more than a decade, the Town’s merchants, doctors, and politicians had worked to bring the train to Tennessee’s Oldest Town. The “Immortal Thirty,” including world renowned surgeon Dr. Samuel Cunningham and merchant A.E. Jackson, took out mortgages on their homes and businesses in order to personally fund the East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad Company. Their gamble paid off and Dr. Cunningham drove the final spike on the line in 1858. The railroad led to another building boom in Jonesborough following the Civil War. The ETN & VA became part of the Southern Railroad line and is today part of Norfolk Southern. If you spend any time in Jonesborough, you’ll hear and see the train come through.
1861-1865 - A Town Divided
The residents of Jonesborough and Washington County are divided during the Civil War. There were no battles fought in Jonesborough, but the Town felt the impact of the war all the same. In a close vote, Washington County voted against secession twice, but Tennessee still seceded from the United States. The first regiments that came out of Jonesborough were in support of the Confederacy and several of the Town’s prominent citizens, including A.E. Jackson, became higher ranking officials within the Confederate Army. Per the 1860 census, there were 952 enslaved people in Washington County. A.E. Jackson was the largest enslaver at the time of the census. Throughout the war, both the Confederate and Union armies came through town. There was rationing and families were divided. This included the Mason and Dillworth families. These longstanding friends shared a duplex on West Main Street. During the war they worked to make sure neither of them lost any property, despite their divided loyalties. Their friendship survived intact. At the end of the war, the Town was pro-Union and several citizens who had supported the Confederacy, including A.E. Jackson, were driven from town for a number of years.
1874 - A Historic Election
James C. Cousins and James A. Bailey run for Trustee and Register in the local election. They were the first African Americans to run for office in Jonesborough. James C. Cousins was a barber and his barbershop was on Main Street near the courthouse. He also owned a candy store. The two men were ultimately defeated in the election, but the Herald & Tribune reported on their historic run, saying, “They are both industrious men and their claims are entitled to consideration.”
1876 – Commitment to Equal Education
Yardley Warner opens the Warner Institute, a school for the Freedmen, at the top of East Main Street. Jonesborough has always been committed to education. In addition to schools for boys, the Town housed the Holston Baptist Female Institute and the Oddfellows Female Academy. Following the Civil War, Yardley Warner worked with the Friends Freedmen’s Association to establish a school for people recently manumitted from enslavement in Jonesborough. The school was maintained until 1887 by teacher and principal Julia Bullard Nelson. Nelson was very firm in her beliefs, and she had an ongoing war of the words and opinions with the Jonesborough Journal. In one of her replies to them she stated, “I do believe that a black heart is infinitely worse than a black skin.” In 1895, Miss Cordy Bayless became the first alumnus from the school to be a teacher there. The school continued to serve the African American community until 1917 when it was sold and became a private residence. The brick house stills stands today beside the Old Jonesborough Cemetery.
1896 – College Hill Cemetery Established
The Colored Peoples Cemetery Society establish College Hill Cemetery at the top of East Main Street as a final resting place for the African American Community. The Town’s “publick burying ground” was laid out in 1803 and called Rocky Hill. College Hill is located behind Rocky Hill and was accessible by Boone Street and Cemetery Lane. Prior to College Hill Cemetery, African Americans were restricted to burial in the back section and slope of Rocky Hill. Society and nature segregated the two cemeteries, but those boundaries have been removed and today the two cemeteries can be viewed one from the other. They are commonly referred to as the Old Jonesborough Cemetery. Their stories are shared together on cemetery tours and ongoing preservation efforts continue to take place.
1896 – “Only Hospital Trained Nurse in East Tennessee”
Nurse Ella Russell, graduate of Howard Medical Training School in Washington, D.C., advertises herself as the “only hospital trained nurse in East Tennessee.” At the time she was residing with James C. Cousins in his house on West Main Street. She was his live in nurse, but she was “ready, at any time to go when called upon.” An African American woman, she treated both black and white patients and was recommended by local physicians including Doctors J.S. Stuart, T.W. Whitlock, and Niles N. Warlick. When Mr. Cousins passed away, he left Ella his house as back payment for his medical debts. Ella sold the property on the corner of West Main and First Avenue, the same location of Elihu Embree’s historic paper all those years earlier, and moved to Washington, D.C. with her husband.
1898 – Schubert Club Founded
A group of Jonesborough women establish the Schubert Club to help promote music and literacy in Tennessee’s Oldest Town. Named in honor of composer Franz Schubert, the members of the club helped to form the Town’s first library, purchase books for it, and provide a librarian. They also supported musical events and protested against censorship of cabaret artists in the 1950s. The Schubert Club is still active in Jonesborough today.
1900s – Hometown Hero Returns
Alfred Martin Ray returns home to retire in Jonesborough after more than twenty years in the United States Army. Alfred Martin Ray and his twin brother John were born enslaved. They were enslaved by Dr. Joseph Rhea and were most likely his biological children. After the Civil War and emancipation, Alfred enlisted in the U.S. Army. They changed the spelling of his last name from Rhea to Ray. He was a part of the 10th U.S. Calvary known as the “Buffalo Soldiers.” He fought in the Spanish American War at the Battle of San Juan Hill where he was credited with helping carry the American flag to the top of the hill. In 1898, he married Etta Smith of Jonesborough, and when he retired from the Armed Forces, they settled in town on West Woodrow Avenue. He passed away on July 11, 1917, and is buried in College Hill Cemetery.
1919-1920 – Women Exercise their Right to Vote
The women of Jonesborough and Washington County turn out to vote. Women’s suffrage was a hotly contested issue, and a debate on the topic filled the Washington County Courthouse to capacity in 1915. A change in the law allowed women to vote in local elections in 1919 and at least 720 women in Washington County registered to vote and did vote in a June election. The following year, the 19th Amendment was ratified, granting universal suffrage to female voters. Over 300 women in Washington County, including several African American women, registered to vote in 1920.
1930 – Jonesborough’s Sesquicentennial
Jonesborough turns out in style that summer to celebrate the Town’s 150th birthday. The event was supposed to take place in 1929, but the Town was installing its sewer system that year and Main Street was torn up.
1940 – Booker T. Washington School Opens
The Booker T. Washington School opens on October 7, 1940, to students from the African American community. The school was a Works Progress Administration project and it replaced the Jonesborough Colored School, also known as the “School on the Rocks” on Spring Street. The school housed grades first through eighth. African American students had to be bussed to Johnson City to the segregated high school at Langston. Booker T. Washington School closed in 1965 when Washington County Schools were finally integrated. Today, the building belongs to the Town of Jonesborough and is an arts center for the entire community. It is named in honor of the McKinney family and their legacy. Ernest McKinney was a teacher and principal at the school from 1956-1957.
1968 – Ernest McKinney Elected Alderman
On the same day that Martin Luther King, Jr. is assassinated in Memphis, Ernest McKinney is elected alderman in Jonesborough. Mr. McKinney was the first African American to be elected to the Board of Mayor and Alderman. His wife Marion McKinney was instrumental in the fight to desegregate Washington County Schools and worked as a guidance counselor within the system for a number of years. In 1988, their son Kevin McKinney was elected Mayor of Jonesborough.
1969 – Jonesborough Becomes a Historic District
On December 23, 1969, Jonesborough’s Historic District is placed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is the second district to be added to the Register behind Beale Street in Memphis. The National Register had only been in existence for three years. Jonesborough was early to the preservation movement. The community organizers recognized historic preservation as a way to save the Town’s buildings and bring people in to appreciate them. A concerted effort was made to fix up Main Street, starting with putting the electrical wires underground. Jonesborough’s building stock ranges from the 18th century to the 21st century and features a number of architectural styles including Federal, Victorian, Greek Revival, Italianate, Craftsman, and more. Several community organizations, including the Civic Trust and the Historic Jonesborough Foundation were founded to create events and maintain the preservation efforts. Formed in 2001, the Heritage Alliance of Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia continues their efforts today.
1973 – Storytelling Comes to Jonesborough
Local teacher Jimmy Neil Smith sets up a makeshift stage beside the “Mail Pouch” sign and Appalachian storytellers, including Ray Hicks, share their stories with a small crowd. From these humble beginnings, the International Storytelling Festival was born. The Festival takes place the first, full weekend of October. During those three days of storytelling, over 15,000 visit town to listen and share. The International Storytelling Center on Main Street offers programs throughout the year including Teller in Residence.
1976 – Grace Haws Elected Mayor
Grace Haws is the first woman to be elected Mayor of Jonesborough. Grace was the ex-wife of former Town Mayor Lyle Haws. She went door to door for her campaign. “I went up and down the street and knocked on every door. I didn’t ask anyone to vote for me, I just said I hoped they would.” Grace attributed her historic win to that fact that “people have faith and trust in me. They thought I could do the job and serve with integrity.” Grace’s win paved the way for other female candidates including Mayor Tobie Bledsoe.
1980s – George Dukes Captures Jonesborough’s Multicultural Life
Local artist and sculptor George Dukes plans a series of bronze statues that will help tell the story of Jonesborough’s multicultural life. The statutes were designed to be hung on the Visitor’s Center. There were supposed to be three sets total, but George Dukes sadly passed away after completing the first set. This set depicts African American life in Jonesborough. It was removed from the building for a while, but it has since been reinstalled and greets visitors as they arrive. Dukes supposedly based one of the statues on famed African American baseball player Curt Flood.
2004 – Migrant March fills Main Street
Local immigrants from Mexico and Latin America march down Main Street in celebration of their heritage and their new lives in Jonesborough. The event was organized by multiple community groups and the street was lined with flags representing the various countries. To this day, the march is remembered highly in the minds of the residents and the members of the Latinx community who marched. In a story circle from 2010, Alma Vasquez shared, “that’s one of my favorite memories of Jonesborough, the willingness of the officers to let us (have) a right to express ourselves. So we did the march and everything was very nice.”
History Resources
The Heritage Alliance of Northeast Tennessee & Southwest Virginia
From cemetery preservation programs, managing historical museums, to walking tours of the historic district, the Heritage Alliance keeps history alive in Jonesborough. They invite you to visit their historic sites and learn more about Tennessee’s Oldest Town.
StoryTown Radio Show
A local story performance group performs a monthly radio show based on true regional stories along with live music, comedy and audience sing-a-longs. Performances are held the fourth Monday of every month at 7 pm at the International Storytelling Center. Admission is required.
Historic Zoning Commission
The task of the Historic Zoning Commission is to maintain the historical character of downtown Jonesborough. The Town created a Historic District that includes most of downtown Jonesborough. Before building, demolishing, or making any exterior changes to property located in the Historic District, the proposed improvements must be presented to the Historic Zoning Commission for review and approval.
Historic Markers in Washington County, Tennessee
Historical markers are put on display to commemorate a historic figure, an event, or former use of the building or location. Click below for more information on the Historic Markers along the Washington County roads.
