Community Calendar

Blount Mansion History Lecture Series - Lincoln’s Other Proclamation: The Origin of America’s Thanksgiving Holiday Tradition

Join us for a fascinating evening with Dr. William E. Hardy!

Dr. William E. Hardy is the Lincoln Scholar and Assistant Professor of History, as well as the Executive Director of The Abraham Lincoln Center for Leadership and Public Policy in the Paul V. Hamilton School of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at Lincoln Memorial University.

Though Thanksgiving traces its roots to the 1621 Pilgrim harvest feast in Plymouth Colony, the practice of celebrating the holiday in late November was not firmly established until the American Civil War. During his presidency, Abraham Lincoln issued several thanksgiving proclamations to help the nation cope with the tragedy of war while remaining grateful that things were not worse. However, none of these proclamations specified a single day as a national day set aside for prayer.

Then, in October 1863, President Lincoln, prompted by a famed poet, novelist, and editor who had been vigorously pushing for a national Thanksgiving Day for nearly two decades, issued yet another Thanksgiving proclamation that established the modern holiday tradition.

-The special speaking event will be at Blount Mansion Visitors Center, 200 West Hill Avenue, Knoxville TN 37902.
-Limited free parking onsite
-$5 Donation suggested at the door. Cash and card accepted
-RSVP to Rose@BlountMansion.org

Join Us on Thursday, November 13th at the Blount Mansion Visitors Center for the Book Signing of NETHER LAND by Kem Hinton!

When Kem Hinton learns of the murder of his former classmate in high school and at the University of Tennessee, Ed Netherland, he’s stunned to unravel this individual’s wild career after serving as a football trainer for the Vols (1972-1976), Smart, inventive, and super ambitious, Ed soared to great wealth in toxic waste disposal schemes and enormous life insurance investments. Yet in 2014, he was killed in the USVI. This nonfiction saga documents Ed’s roller coaster lifestyle and attempts to answer questions that still exist about a crime in paradise that remains unsolved…

By Kem Hinton, FAIA, B. Arch, 1977 (Torchbearer Award)

The special speaking event will be at Blount Mansion Visitors Center, 200 West Hill Avenue, Knoxville TN 37902.

Limited free parking onsite

$10 Donation suggested at the door, Cash and Card accepted

RSVP to Rose@BlountMansion.org