Greeneville, a small town in northeastern Tennessee, lays claim to two famous native sons and is one of a very few towns its size to have an aircraft carrier named after it. For a brief time it was the capital of the state of Franklin, a short-lived state organized in 1784 from three North Carolina counties. The town's attractions include sites with historical significance and places connected to the region's agricultural heritage.
Andrew Johnson National Historic Site
The Andrew Johnson National Historic Site (nps.gov/anjo/index.htm) is Greeneville's most notable attraction. Johnson was the first president of the United States who had been neither a lawyer nor a war hero. He also was the first president to be impeached. The site, spread across the village, includes Johnson's early home, a visitor center that includes his tailor shop and a museum, and the Andrew Johnson National Cemetery, where he and his wife are buried. The Homestead, where Johnson lived before and after his presidency, also is part of the historic site.
Davy Crockett Birthplace State Park
David Crockett, legendary bear hunter, tall-tale teller and soldier, was born near Greeneville in 1786. He went on to serve two terms in the legislature and three terms in the U.S. Congress. A state park (tennessee.gov) at the site of his birth offers a museum with exhibits exploring the different aspects of Crockett's life and a short video presentation. A replica of the kind of cabin settlers built in that era is a short walk away. It includes the engraved footstone of the original cabin. A nearby wall incorporates stone from every state in the union.
Greene County Fair
The Greene County Fair (greenecountyfair.com) held each August embodies all that visitors expect from a county fair. Beauty queens, demolition derbies and livestock shows dominate the six-day event. A talent competition winnows out "Greeneville's Greatest" and youth talent winners move on to the Tennessee Valley Fair Youth Contest. The midway includes carnival barkers and thrill rides. Exhibits offer prize-winning canning, crafts and handwork, and 4-H and Future Farmers of American entries. Evening hours bring live musical entertainment.
Greene County is home to 51 century farms, farms owned and operated by the same family for at least 100 years. Elmwood Farm, listed on the National Register of Historic Places includes an1831 home, an original 1784-1789 blockhouse and a smokehouse. The Ebenezer Methodist Church and cemetery on the property is the oldest Methodist congregation in Tennessee. Elmwood is part of the Earnest Farms Historic District, a collection of farms and outbuildings in nearby Chuckey. The Susong Farm, open to the public during Greeneville's Historic Homes Week, includes the original farmhouse built in 1862 and several other early 19th century buildings. Susong Farm is eight miles south of Greeneville.
- North Carolina History Project: State of Franklin
- NPS.gov: Andrew Johnson National Historic Site
- NPS.gov: Andrew Johnson National Historic Site: Overview of Andrew Johnson's Life
- University of Virginia Library: Davy Crockett
- TN.gov: Tennessee State Parks: Davy Crockett Birthplace
- Greeneville County Fair: Entertainment
- John Foxx/Stockbyte/Getty Images