This surprising story focuses on a Spanish-speaking police chief beginning in the 1850s during Knoxville’s murky antebellum era.  Christopher Columbus Carlos, a tailor-turned-policeman had a reputation as an especially tough cop—a Town Marshall even—who was so skilled with a long stick and a thrown brick that he never carried a gun.

A legend in his own time, stories of Marshall Carlos continued even when he was an old man in a rapidly growing city of tall buildings. Old folks would tell stories about him, just like they had about Robin Hood or William Tell. He himself liked to amuse the disbelieving with tales that he remembered Knoxville when everything north of Clinch Avenue was wild, and you could hunt foxes and possums in the wilds of what only later became Market Square.

After he died, one newspaper wrote that he “was one of the best known and most highly respected citizens of this city. His name will always be familiar in the annals of East Tennessee and Knoxville.” That hasn’t proven to be the case, but we respectfully remember his fascinating story here, preserved for future generations.

Join us on this extended episode written by Jack Neely and narrated by Don Thress. Special thanks to producer Pete Carty. 

Knoxville Chronicles is brought to you by the nonprofit Knoxville History Project. 
  
Learn more at KnoxvilleHistoryProject.org

Groundhog Day is a peculiar holiday. We don’t expect Groundhog Day dinners, Groundhog Day gifts, Groundhog Day songs. But still, there it is, every February 2nd. It’s almost like the 1993 film starring Bill Murray and Andie McDowall: it always seems the same. Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, and we always have six more weeks of winter. Repeat.

Numerous holidays seemed to pop up in the years just after the Civil War, especially between 1865 and 1880, including Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Memorial Day, and Halloween. Others like Independence Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas became more popular and more extravagantly celebrated that they ever had been before. 

If you’ve lived in Knoxville for more than a couple of months, you likely already know that we’re well within Groundhog Country. But what is its history here?

Join us on this short episode of how Groundhog Day is grounded in the ancient Catholic holiday of Candlemas, held on the second of February, and how it developed here in the second half of the 19th century.

Written by Jack Neely and narrated by Josh Brandon. Special thanks to producer Pete Carty. 

Knoxville Chronicles is brought to you by the nonprofit Knoxville History Project. 
  
Learn more at KnoxvilleHistoryProject.org

Imagine October in Knoxville, and subtract Volmania, drives in the Smokies, and Halloween decorations, and what would you have? But on certain Octobers between 1884 and 1913, we had more creative and unpredictable fun than we ever have today. 

The four-day event involved “a parade representing 65 or so local industries, 50 horse-drawn floats, a regatta on the Tennessee River, horse racing at the southside river park and a jousting tournament involving dozens of local “knights” in medieval plumage The festival often ended with a “Coronation” at Staub’s Opera House. In later year, the Prophet of the Great Smoky Mountains made extravagantly optimistic predictions about Knoxville’s future. 

The event also presented an early flowering of African American culture, including a Negro Building organized by remarkable local African Americans, and described as “a wonder to behold.” Exhibits included agricultural displays, a museum of historical curios, and artworks. The building later moved to Chilhowee Park where it served as a major part of the cultural expositions held between 1910 and 1913.

Written by Jack Neely and narrated by Alex Haralson. Special thanks to producer Pete Carty. 

Knoxville Chronicles is brought to you by the nonprofit Knoxville History Project. 
  
Learn more at KnoxvilleHistoryProject.org

For anyone who has spent much time in Knoxville, there is one thing that you’ll encounter in almost every part of the city, and that’s Tennessee marble. It graces several impressive downtown buildings, and you can see where it was once extracted at several abandoned or reclaimed quarries, particularly at Ijams Nature Center, now part of the city’s expansive Urban Wilderness in South Knoxville.  

While the nature center still retains the original acreage where the Ijams family originally developed their own farm into a semi-private bird sanctuary, across Island Home Avenue you’ll find two distinctly different reclaimed quarries amid an extraordinary landscape like nothing else anywhere.     

This extended podcast episode looks back at the history of the marble industry in Knoxville, once called “Marble City,” and includes a reflective interview with Ben Nanny, Conservation Director, who has been directly involved in the reclamation of these quarries during his more than 20 years at Ijams.  

Written by Paul James with Ben Nanny and read by Josh Brandon.  Sound design and editing by Pete Carty. Theme song composed by Mike Stallings.

Knoxville Chronicles is brought to you by the nonprofit Knoxville History Project. 
  
Learn more at KnoxvilleHistoryProject.org

In early 1794, barely just over two years after the town of Knoxville was established, a short but strange news item appeared in the Knoxville Gazette. A detachment of soldiers, 30 miles outside of Knoxville, encountered a “creature” that appeared nothing like they had ever seen or heard about before. And it wasn’t happy to see these soldiers in its own woods. Soon, the story was run in the Belfast Northern Star in Ireland and the English paper, the Derby Mercury, always crediting the Knoxville Gazette. Some reprints added: “The following account of a wonderful animal, lately discovered in the Cumberland Mountains, may be acceptable to the curious, and oblige a constant reader, it being a fact.” Fact or not, the Creature of the Cumberlands was real enough to those soldiers. And they weren’t afraid to report it.

Written by Jack Neely and read by Alex Haralson.  Sound design and editing by Pete Carty. Theme song composed by Mike Stallings.

Knoxville Chronicles is brought to you by the nonprofit Knoxville History Project. 
  
 Learn more at KnoxvilleHistoryProject.org

Following on from "Halloween Begins," the holiday puts on a mask and heads out on to Knoxville city streets.  Although trick or treating and jack-o-lanterns were uncommon here until the early 1900s, by the roaring twenties, Halloween began to take on a livelier, and sometimes a darker turn. Costumed revelers paraded all parts of downtown, especially up and down Gay Street, blowing horns and displaying general merriment. By the early 1940s, the boisterousness had turned into mayhem and the police department began declaring a state of emergency on Halloween nights in a bid to stem widespread vandalism. It was a trend that would continue until the early 1970s.

Written by Jack Neely and read by Josh Brandon.  Sound design and editing by Pete Carty. Theme song composed by Mike Stallings.

Knoxville Chronicles is brought to you by the nonprofit Knoxville History Project. 
  
 Learn more at KnoxvilleHistoryProject.org

Some holidays haven't changed much over the years. Fourth of July has always been noisy, public, and hot; Easter is always centered around church, and Thanksgiving mainly revolves around a family meal. But Halloween is the shape-shifting monster of holidays. And like the Blob, it just keeps getting bigger. In this episode, take a brief historical journey through the evolution of Halloween in Knoxville, from its initial stirrings in the mid-1800s, through to its increasing popularity in the 1870s and ‘80s when "little maidens" would have all-female parties based around festive decorations in the hope that they could predict who they were going to marry. Adults began to embrace the holiday by the end of the 19th century, but it wouldn’t be until just after World War II that trick or treating really began.

Written by Jack Neely and read by Josh Brandon.  Sound design and editing by Pete Carty. Theme song composed by Mike Stallings.

Knoxville Chronicles is brought to you by the nonprofit Knoxville History Project. 
 
Learn more at KnoxvilleHistoryProject.org

There are some names in Knoxville history that seem rarer than others. Cansler is one. In Mechanicsville, there’s a Cansler Street, and on University Avenue, a Cansler Building. Off Western is the old Laura Cansler School, a former “colored” elementary school, now home to Wesley House. And in East Knoxville, there’s the Cansler Family YMCA.

 The Cansler family had a big impact on Knoxville in the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th. And that name wouldn’t be here if not for a love story. Maybe a couple of love stories.

 Most love stories never get written down, at least not in places where historians can find them. Love stories often die with the lovers. But we’re grateful to Charles W. Cansler for writing down his family story, and having it published in his 1939 book Three Generations: The Story of a Colored Family in East Tennessee. That book, narrating the story of Cansler’s unusual family, preceded Alex Haley’s Roots by 37 years. Indeed, Cansler could be called a pioneer of the African American genealogical narrative. Join us in this podcast for a look at his fascinating story. 

Written by Jack Neely and read by Don Thress. Sound design and editing by Pete Carty. Theme song composed by Mike Stallings.

 
 Knoxville Chronicles is brought to you by the nonprofit Knoxville History Project. 
 
 Learn more at KnoxvilleHistoryProject.org

The elegant old weather kiosk on the corner of Clinch Avenue and Market Street looks like something built for an Exposition of the beaux-arts era. But in fact, it was originally installed in 1912, not long before Knoxville’s gigantic and elegantly appointed National Conservation Exposition of 1913. 

People used to gather around it to see what the federal weatherman had observed, and what they could expect next. Checking on the weather was a social event. So many people hung out around it, they earned a nickname – the Kiosk Leaners. 

Today, the big relic is said to be one of America's only remnants of the Weather Kiosk Era.  It’s both a rarity and a landmark, and one very hot day, more than 90 years ago, it attracted a very large crowd.  

Written by Jack Neely and read by Richard Lee. Sound design and editing by Pete Carty. Theme song composed by Mike Stallings.

This episode is funded in part by federal award number 21.027 awarded to the City of Knoxville by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Arts & Culture Alliance. 

Knoxville Chronicles is brought to you by the nonprofit Knoxville History Project. 

Learn more at KnoxvilleHistoryProject.org

In 1856, before the Civil War, Dr. William J. Baker, with assistance from a few others including his suffering patient, hurried medical science along a bit by performing one of the first hysterectomy surgeries in the United States here on Gay Street. 

Of that historic team of four surgeons, the youngest is the one best remembered today. Knoxvillians may recognize the name, even if they don’t remember right away where they’ve seen it. It’s the name of “Our Beloved Physician,” memorialized with the stout marble arch at the Knox County Courthouse corner of Gay Street and Main Street. At 23, Dr. John Mason Boyd was the youngest of the team that performed surgery on an African American woman named Matilda. 

But Matilda’s story doesn’t end there. She lived 34 more years and there’s much more to tell…

Written by Jack Neely and read by Chrissy Keuper. Sound design and editing by Pete Carty. Theme song composed by Mike Stallings.

 This episode is funded in part by federal award number 21.027 awarded to the City of Knoxville by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Arts & Culture Alliance. 
 
 Knoxville Chronicles is brought to you by the nonprofit Knoxville History Project. 
 
 Learn more at KnoxvilleHistoryProject.org