First Presbyterian Church Cemetery
National Register of Historic Places

First Presbyterian Church Cemetery

Knoxville, Knox County, Tennessee
Listed
December 4, 1996
Type
Site
Period
Modern
Ref No.
96001400

About this property

The First Presbyterian Church Graveyard is the oldest graveyard in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. Established in the 1790s, the graveyard contains the graves of some of Knoxville's most prominent early residents, including territorial governor and Constitutional Convention delegate William Blount and Knoxville founder James White. In 1996, the graveyard was added to the National Register of Historic Places. While platting Knoxville with his son-in-law, Charles McClung, in 1791, White ordered at least one lot to be set aside for a church and cemetery. The cemetery spot may have been used as early as the 1780s for burials, and the cemetery contained several graves by 1799, but the earliest marker is Blount's, dated 1800. While the First Presbyterian congregation was active in the 1790s, the first church was not built on the site until 1816. The graveyard was used for burials for nearly sixty years, its most active period being during the Epidemic of 1838, in which hundreds of Knoxvillians died from an unidentified illness.

Location

Knoxville, Knox County, Tennessee
35.95994, -83.92071

Categories

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTUREEXPLORATION/SETTLEMENT
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Native Heritage
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Nearby Historic Sites

Church Street Methodist Church
Industrial
0.1 mi
Medical Arts Building
Modern
0.1 mi
First Baptist Church
Civil War
0.1 mi
Knoxville Post Office
Industrial
0.1 mi
Park, James, House (Additional Documentation)
Industrial
0.2 mi

Questions about this property

When was First Presbyterian Church Cemetery listed on the National Register?

First Presbyterian Church Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 4, 1996.

What type of historic resource is First Presbyterian Church Cemetery?

First Presbyterian Church Cemetery is classified as a site in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for First Presbyterian Church Cemetery?

The period of significance for First Presbyterian Church Cemetery is recorded as the modern era, specifically around 1996.

Can I research the history near First Presbyterian Church Cemetery?

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