Historic Jonesborough Tennessee

Jonesborough has the distinction of being the oldest town in Tennessee. When Tennessee became the sixteenth state in 1796, the town of Jonesborough was already 17 years old. The town continued to grow as pioneers passed this way on their journey westward.

We stopped first at the Visitors Center to pick up brochures of the town. We also browsed through the gift shop, museum, and availed ourselves of their facilities. We left the truck in the parking lot and started our walking tour of the town. The tour has 40 points of interest and is well worth the time.

Chester Inn

The Chester Inn, the oldest building in town built in 1797, has been restored and is used currently by the International Storytelling Center as offices. Among the guests who stayed at the Chester Inn were Presidents Andrew Jackson, Andrew Johnson, and James K Polk.

The Christopher Taylor House, a two-story log structure, was a boarding house in the late 1700s. Andrew Jackson lived here for a short time before traveling on to what became Nashville.

Perhaps Jonesborough is best known for its annual National Storytelling Festival. Each fall thousands descend on this small town to listen to the world’s best storytellers. One of the highlights of our previous visit was an after dark stroll around town as our guide told ghost stories. Very scary.

Main Street

Today, we came to Jonesborough in search of a unique wedding gift so we took our time browsing through the many, many shops along Main Street. Of course, we also happened to find a coffee shop along the way.

Pals

Occasionally, we eat someplace just because of the way it looks. Today was one of those occasions. We stopped on our way home at Pals. Yes, we got a hotdog with chili!