A look inside the Blount Mansion

A look inside the Blount Mansion

By Pete Gawda

In 1925, Knoxville was in danger of losing a historic landmark closely tied to the origin of the state. At that time, there was a movement to tear down William Blount’s 1792 home to build a parking lot for the Andrew Johnson Hotel being built across the street. Blount built the house to serve as the Governor’s House and capitol building for the Southwest Territory, the forerunner of the present state of Tennessee.

Blount, a native of North Carolina, signed the U.S. Constitution for North Carolina, served as governor of the Southwest Territory, and was one of Tennessee’s first two U.S. Senators.

Due largely to the efforts of Mary Boyce Temple, who had purchased an option on the property, the nonprofit Blount Mansion Association was formed i