Knox Area Weekend To Do List, October 7-9, 2022

Storyteller Laura Still helps you live the stories of pioneers, soldiers, outlaws, and even fictional characters who walked these streets before you.

Knoxville has a rich history full of colorful characters and famous, and infamous, figures whose lives have been the inspiration for books, movies, and works of art. Take a stroll through history in beautiful downtown Knoxville while listening to true tales of the heroes, heels, and hardened criminals that are part of the hidden lore of this unique East Tennessee town.

The struggle for women’s right to vote spans over 70 years and culminates in the passage of the 19th Amendment on August 18, 1920. The national movement couldn’t succeed without work at the local level, and in Knoxville women have a proud heritage of misbehaving in the cause of justice. Meet the stalwarts of suffrage who began by refusing to lower their heads and accept the status quo and ended by changing history.

Highlights:

• Suffrage Statue on Market Square: hear the story of three women who led the fight in different parts of the state and beyond
• Farragut Building: early home of East Tennessee’s not-so-secret weapon
• Old Courthouse: scene of an exciting showdown between nationally known suffragist Maud Younger and the Knox County Sheriff
• Story of the Female Institute: where young ladies learned not just to read and write, but science, history, and higher mathematics. And not so accidentally, to speak for themselves. 
• The Lyceum and Park House: where the ground work of women’s rights was begun and built upon in Knoxville
• Harry and Febb Burn statue: the dramatic victory where every vote counted—and opposing forces intensified the pressure by fair means or foul.