The East Tennessee History Center is the region's main history museum, housed in a purpose-built building on Gay Street. The permanent collection covers the full sweep of East Tennessee's story from its pre-Columbian inhabitants through Cherokee culture, European settlement, the Civil War, the industrialisation of the Tennessee Valley, and into the twentieth century.
The Civil War galleries are particularly strong: East Tennessee was unusual in being a Unionist region within a Confederate state, and the museum handles that complexity honestly. The center also houses a genealogical library and archives that attract researchers from across the region. Admission is modest and the museum is well worth two hours.