Tag: History
-
Centennial of the Dobyns-Bennett High School Band
Kingsport is celebrating a milestone this year: the Centennial of the Dobyns-Bennett High School Band—100 years of music, discipline, school spirit, and community pride. For generations, the band has helped define the Dobyns-Bennett experience: representing Kingsport on a national stage, elevating parades and civic events, and setting the tone on Friday nights at J. Fred—but…
-
Zinc Mines in Fall Branch?
A while back, I was asked if I’d ever heard of zinc mines in Fall Branch. I replied that I had seen some mining symbols on a map near Fall Branch, but that’s the extent of what I knew. When researching the Hicks Block Building in Downtown Kingsport, I came across a 1916 article in…
-
Hicks Block, Reborn
CONDENSED VERSION Perhaps you, like me, have been following the renovation of the Hicks Block Building at Broad and Market in downtown Kingsport. If not, search “Hicks Block – Kingsport” on Facebook and look through the photos. Architect Kattie Stanton-Casebolt and her husband Eric bought the building just in time to save it from demolition…
-
Hicks Block, Reborn
THE FULL STORY (THERE’S A CONDENSED VERSION, TOO) Perhaps you, like me, have been following the renovation of the Hicks Block Building at the corner of Broad and Market Streets in Downtown Kingsport. If you haven’t, I encourage you to go to Facebook and search “Hicks Block – Kingsport” and browse through the photographs. Architect…
-
The Founding Father Hidden in Kingsport’s Land Records
I find tidbits of Kingsport history in the most unexpected places. This week, it came from a Retired Police Officers magazine out of Long Island, New York, where Kingsport has quietly placed a small ad for years. Inside was an article on the burning of Norfolk in 1776, and there, in the middle of that…
-
Allandale and the Rise of Angus in America
Chances are that if you order a steak at one of America’s finest steakhouses—or a burger at almost any restaurant—the beef is Angus. But that wasn’t always the case. In the early 1900s, Angus cattle competed with Herefords and Shorthorns for commercial dominance. Angus had been imported from Scotland beginning in 1873, and the American…
-
How Our Region Shaped the Course of the American Revolution
Mark your calendars for 6pm, April 9, at the Kingsport Center for Higher Education (invitation attached) as the Friends of Kingsport Archives and Sullivan 250 committee present “The Overmountain Men” in honor of America’s 250th birthday celebration. Imagine living in our region before it was officially the United States of America. In 1761, the Virginia…
-
Where Tennessee Begins
A friend recently observed that the Holston River just upstream of Kingsport cuts across the ridges, carving a circuitous channel and steep bluffs. You can see exactly what he means as you cross the I-81 bridge and look down at the sheer rock faces dropping into the water. But just a few bends later, the…
-
Sullivan 250 | From Fort Robinson to Fort Patrick Henry: Building a Defense Network in the Holston Valley
Second in a 12-part monthly series to commemorate Sullivan County’s role in the 250th birthday of the United States of America February 2026 | 2 of 12 As British colonial interests pushed beyond the Appalachians, travel followed established Indigenous routes such as the Warriors’ Path through Virginia’s Great Valley to Long Island of the Holston—an…
-
Kingsport: A Tale of Two Cities
Long before it had a name, geography made this place significant. Long Island of the Holston — four miles long and nearly half a mile wide — was a Cherokee sacred ground used for diplomacy. Situated where Reedy Creek meets the Holston River as it bends around Bays Mountain, it anchors a 6,000-acre basin known…
Kingsport Spirit 