By Joel Spears

KNOXVILLE — Hawkins County history is rarely seen outside the confines of a local history book, but a Knoxville museum’s newest showcase has helped change that.
    “Voices of the Land,” a new $3 million, 8,500 square-foot exhibit located in the East Tennessee History Center on Gay Street in downtown Knoxville, tells stories from more than three centuries of life in the region.
    Organizers with the East Tennessee Historical Society said the exhibition is the only one to encompass East Tennessee’s entire 35-county history.  Much of it includes artifacts on display from Hawkins County, as well as information about some of its citizens.
    “Voices of the Land,” which has been intimately condensed into a sensory experience through time, uses state-of-the-art technology to display historical artifacts through music and sound, text, in-person interviews, and historical audio dramatizations.
    More than 500 artifacts and 350 stories of individual East Tennesseans are featured, as well as 25 media programs that include touch screen interactive areas and three feature videos.
    One such story is that of Rogersville’s Eliza Rhea Anderson Fain who in 1842 freed two slaves to join missionary efforts in Liberia.
    Fain is also depicted by an actress for a brief educational video that discusses the importance of women in East Tennessee’s mostly pro-Union Civil War days.
    Another more recent story features the antics of Archie Campbell from Bulls Gap and how his legacy as a comedian and musician impacted East Tennessee culture at home and abroad.
    Other Hawkins County artifacts featured include farm and home equipment, a footed dish made of red marble that was mined from Rogersville’s Hasson Marble Company, and a carpet bag from the Civil War era displayed beneath a photo of the ruins of Chattanooga’s historic Craven’s House.
    From “blue bloods” to blood that runs “Big Orange,” ETHS has highlighted many important artifacts from one end of East Tennessee to the other. 
    Arguably, the exhibit features a great deal more Hawkins County history than visitors might realize.  According to the Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, the original boundaries of Hawkins County extended from its present border with Sullivan County all the way to Chattanooga.  The counties of Knox (Knoxville), Hamilton (Chattanooga), Hancock, Grainger, Jefferson, Roane, and Meigs were reportedly created from what was Hawkins County soil.
    Voices of the Land has been designated as a “We the People” project from the National Endowment for the Humanities for its role in incorporating local history into the national story.
    Funding has been provided by a $2.5 million grant appropriation from the State of Tennessee legislature, federal grants, and private donations.
    For nearly 170 years, the East Tennessee Historical Society has maintained East Tennessee heritage and history by way of recording events, collecting artifacts, and saving stories. The historical society pursues its educational mission through publications, lectures, conferences, school programs, exhibits, and heritage programs such as the popular First Families of Tennessee and the new Civil War Families of Tennessee.
    The East Tennessee History Center houses staff and programs of the East Tennessee Historical Society, the Museum of East Tennessee History, the Calvin M. McClung Collection and the Knox County Archives.  It is located at 601 South Gay Street in downtown Knoxville. 
    To learn more about ETHS, the “Voices of the Land” exhibit, or to become an ETHS member, visit the organization’s Web site www.EastTNHistory.org or call (865) 215-8824.