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park features a replica of the log cabin where Davy Crockett—bear hunter, congressman,
and Alamo martyr—first saw daylight in 1786. In honoring Crockett, the cabin serves also
as a tribute to the hardiness of that first generation of settlers born west of the Appalachi-
ans.
9.
Jonesborough
Jonesboroughlookslikethetownthattimeforgot—infact,itwasoncethecapitalofastate
all but forgotten by history. In 1784, when North Carolina gave the federal government all
its lands west of the Appalachians, the local yeomen, left without a government, met at
Jonesborough to organize the state of Franklin. Never recognized by Congress, Franklin
struggled along for less than five years and ultimately became part of the new state of Ten-
nessee.
Jonesborough is Tennessee's oldest town, and it looks the part—not through neglect,
but because of its conscientious program of historic preservation. Take a walking tour of
the downtown historic district—a living scrapbook of American architectural styles, stud-
dedwithgemssuchasstep-gabledbrickhouses,venerableVictorianhomes,andanoldinn
that once provided board for a young law student named Andrew Jackson.
In1788thehot-temperedJacksonfacedanotherlawyerinaduelhere—atalethatmight
provide grist for a participant in the National Storytelling Festival, held in Jonesborough
each October.
10.
Elizabethton
AtSycamoreShoalsStateHistoricAreanearElizabethton,youcanvisitreconstructedFort
Watauga,oneofthefirstwhitesettlementstobefoundwestofthethirteenBritishcolonies.
Here, in 1775, the future of westward expansion was sealed when speculators bought 20
million acres of land from the Cherokee Indians.
At Elizabethton's John and Landon Carter Mansion, built in the 1770s, visitors can
stroll around the grounds and tour the home's elegant interior, much of it original. Nearby,
at the Doe River, you can visit an old covered bridge—a cool, dark tunnel into the
1880s—that is still open to pedestrians.
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