Polk County artifacts, including a ring belonging to Nancy Ward, will be included in an upcoming exhibit by the East Tennessee Historical Society. The bone ring belonged to Mattie Day Lowery of Ocoee, a direct descendent of the Cherokee Beloved Woman. Richard Lowery Lawrence, Lowery’s grandson, provided it for the exhibit. Copper mining artifacts are also included.

The Grand Opening of the East Tennessee Historical Society’s (ETHS) new signature exhibition, Voices of the Land: The People of East Tennessee, will be held August 22- 24, at the East Tennessee History Center, 601 South Gay Street in downtown Knoxville. The events kick off with an official ribbon-cutting ceremony by ETHS and Knox County officials on Friday, August 22 at 5 p.m. Following the ribbon cutting, ETHS members are invited to attend the event and tour the exhibit until 7 p.m.

On August 23-24, the public is also invited to a History Street Fair at Krutch Park and Clinch Avenue and for free tours of the new museum exhibition at the adjacent History Center. The events will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and noon-5 p.m. on Sunday. Detailed event schedule for the History Street Fair can be found at www.EastTNHistory.org.

Visitors will find fun and entertainment provided by area historical societies, historic attractions, and associations featuring exhibits, activities, games, and re-enactments. County Historian Marian Presswood will have a table with books and information about Polk County on Sunday. WDVX radio will present area musicians performing throughout the day on the Clayton Music Stage. Downtown businesses, neighboring churches, and the Knox County Public Library are also joining the fun to offer a History Scavenger Hunt in downtown Knoxville. All grand opening events are sponsored by the Knoxville and Holston River Railroad and the Central Business Improvement District.

The Tennessee Theatre will join the celebration, courtesy of A.C. Entertainment. The theater will be open from 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. on Saturday, August 23, showing cartoons and movie clips ending with a special showing of the Cas Walker show clips produced by Tennessee Archive of Moving Image and Sound. The full- length movie, Gone with the Wind, will be showing at the Tennessee Theatre on Friday evening, August 22 & Sunday, August 24 as part of the Historic Film Series.

Also joining the festivities is the Suffrage Coalition who will sponsor two ticketed events on August 23—a re-enactment of the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention, at which was drawn up a declaration stating that “all men and women are created equal,” followed by an antebellum ball. For tickets or for more information on these events contact Wanda Sobieski of the Suffrage Coalition at 865-546-7770.

Media sponsors for the grand opening events include Comcast, Knoxville News Sentinel, East Tennessee Public Television, WBIR-TV 10, and WDVX Radio.

About Voices of the Land: The People of East Tennessee

The $3 million, 8,500 square-foot exhibition tells the story of more than three centuries of life in the region and is the only exhibition to encompass the entire history of East Tennessee. The museum will feature more than 500 important historical artifacts, and include more than 350 stories of individual East Tennesseans, as well as 25 media programs, including touch screen interactives and three feature videos.

Voices of the Land has been designated as a “We the People” project from the National Endowment for the Humanities for its role in incorporating local history into the national story. Funding has been provided by a $2.5 million grant appropriation from the State of Tennessee legislature, federal grants, and private donations.

About the East Tennessee History Center and the East Tennessee Historical Society

For nearly 170 years, the East Tennessee Historical Society has been helping us hold on to our unique heritage -recording the events, collecting the artifacts, and saving the stories that comprise the history we all share. The historical society pursues its educational mission through publications, lectures, conferences, school programs, exhibits, and heritage programs such as the popular First Families of Tennessee and the new Civil War Families of Tennessee.

The East Tennessee History Center houses the staff and programs of the East Tennessee Historical Society, the Museum of East Tennessee History, the Calvin M. McClung Collection and the Knox County Archives.