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Knoxville News

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• First Creek: Treaty of the Holston
• Gay Street Bridge: Divided Loyalties
• Volunteer Landing: Main Pavilion
• Secret History Walk
• Spy Glasses

The term Tennessee "Volunteers" refers to a long-standing history and reputation of the state's residents to offer themselves for a greater good. In one early example of this "Volunteerism," the Battle of Kings Mountain in 1780, so many East Tennesseans volunteered to fight with John Sevier that straws had to be drawn to see who would have to return home.

This willingness to fight for their country continued well into the next two centuries. In the Civil War, Tennessee sent more men into the Confederate Army than any Southern state except North Carolina. Tennesseans also sent more men into the Union Army than four Northern states.

In contemporary times, evidence of sacrifice for the common good is seen in the people's willingness to give up their homeland for the creation of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Oak Ridge, and the Tennessee Valley Authority. The land for Great Smoky Mountains National Park was, in fact, partially purchased by donations from East Tennesseeans, including pennies collected by school children. That park is the only one in the system given to the country by two states. Today, giving of self in terms of time, money, and spirit continues to be part of the fabric of life in East Tennessee.

Located literally at the center of the riverfront pathway at the Volunteer Landing Central Pavilion, a sculptural piece symbolizing the eternal nature of volunteerism was commissioned in stone and selected by a juried competition among Tennessee artists.