The Partners in the Field (PIF) grant, sponsored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) and the Robert Wilson Charitable Trust, challenges established preservation organizations, such as Knox Heritage, to expand their reach. Specifically, the initiative encourages organizations to either expand their technical reach or their geographic reach. Either way, the end goal is the same, “more boots on the ground” advocating for the places that matter. For Knox Heritage, the PIF program has allowed us to expand our services geographically beyond Knox County to the wider region of East Tennessee. By partnering with other like-minded organizations, East Tennessee Preservation Alliance (ETPA) was formed.

ETPA currently represents Anderson, Blount, Grainger, Jefferson, Knox, Loudon, Roane, Sevier, and Union counties. These nine counties were part of the Nine Counties One Vision process that helped counties think regionally about a wide variety of issues, including historic preservation. The Nine Counties Preservation Alliance was born from this process and was active for several years. Without dedicated staff support, the Alliance went dormant for a couple years until the NTHP grant was awarded to Knox Heritage. With the help of the grant-funded personnel addition, the Alliance was re-formed in January 2009. New board members were elected in April and by June the group voted to change the name from Nine Counties Preservation Alliance to the more aptly titled East Tennessee Preservation Alliance. As the organization grows, the Alliance hopes to add members from additional counties. In the meantime, they assist all communities and individuals as resources allow.

One of the most important roles of ETPA is to help educate the region about the values of historic preservation. As you may imagine, this education comes in many shapes and sizes since historic preservation is a wide ranging discipline. For instance, in June the Alliance hosted their first Preservation Toolbox workshop in Dandridge. The Preservation Toolbox is an ongoing series of workshops and lectures about myriad preservation topics. In Dandridge, Maria Fisher, Director of Tourism for Morristown Area Chamber of Commerce, shared information about the National Scenic Byways program. Specifically, Fisher shared her experience with the proposed Highway 25 East Scenic Byway that she and others have been working on for several years. On the surface, a Scenic Byway may not seem like an obvious topic for a historic preservation session. However, it doesn’t take too much imagination to see that the designation of the Highway 25 East would help heritage tourism in the region and continue to promote East Tennessee as a travel destination. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a vital part of the tourism package, but it’s important to maximize those visitors by drawing them to other parts of our beautiful state before they leave. Maria also reported Highway 321 just received a feasibility grant to pursue Scenic Byway status, which would be another tourism asset in our region.

In addition to the Preservation Toolbox series, ETPA is sponsoring the East Tennessee Regional Preservation Conference on September 18 & 19 in Townsend. Based at the Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center, the conference will feature speakers from across the Southeast. Reminiscent of Townsend’s tagline, “The Peaceful Side of the Smokies,” the conference theme is “The Peaceful Side of Preservation.” After a brainstorming session with ETPA members, the conference committee developed a list of topics and matched experts in the field with the subjects. For instance, Myrick Howard, President of Preservation North Carolina and author of Buying Time for Heritage, will share his thirty years of experience with protecting endangered properties in North Carolina. Tennessee’s own Dr. Carroll Van West, Director of MTSU’s Center for Historic Preservation, will come to share his knowledge on heritage and sustainable tourism, which are vital to the economy of Tennessee. Patrick McIntyre, Executive Director and State Historic Preservation Officer for the Tennessee Historical Commission (THC), will talk about THC grant opportunities and initiatives.

In addition to the dynamic speakers, the setting is an idyllic spot for a preservation conference. Recently awarded a Certificate of Merit from THC, the Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center is one of East Tennessee’s newest heritage tourism jewels. Established to preserve, protect and promote the unique history and rich culture of the residents who inhabited the East Tennessee mountain communities that were incorporated into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and its surrounding, the Center is home to log cabins, a cantilever barn, a moonshine still, galleries, a transportation exhibit, gift shop, 500 seat amphitheater, and hands-on exhibits. When you step into the Cardwell Family cabin, you can sit on the rope bed, smell the fire smoldering in the fireplace, and listen to stories about the family. You won’t find any velvet ropes or “do not touch” signs here. In fact, the Center prides itself on interacting with visitors, especially the younger ones. Be sure to ask Kathy, the Center’s Director of Education, about the greased pig contest they do for the school groups.

As ETPA continues to grow, keep reading this column for updates on projects, educational sessions, and stories from the region. East Tennessee is a beautiful, sacred place so it’s easy to understand why preservation of our past is so important to the success of our future.

For more information about ETPA and to register for the East Tennessee Regional Preservation Conference, please contact Ethiel Garlington at 865-523-8008 or egarlington@knoxheritage.org.