Immigrant Impressions of Knoxville
Knoxville was a small and inconsiderable place
with a population of about two thousand souls
-- with no railroads, no turnpikes -- and no means
of getting merchandise to and from the place,
but such were offered by a few small
sternwheel boats, running about six months
in the year.
Parson William G. Brownlow,
recalling Knoxville as he found it upon his
arrival in 1849.
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We had never seen fireflies before our
approach to Chattanooga. At Chattanooga we took
a steamer for Knoxville and arrived at this
place around noon on the Fourth of July in
1849. We took our first dinner in Knoxville at
the Mansion House... The streets were not
paved. Gay Street was a bed of stiff red
mud most of the time...
Young French-Swiss immigrant Alfred Buffat,
recalling his arrival in Knoxville at the age
of 12. Several other Swiss immigrants
arrived on the same boat.