Forgotten History: An Archaeological Perspective on John Sevier at Marble Springs (40KN125)

Marble Springs State Historic Site was the last home of John Sevier, the first governor of the late State of Franklin and the State of Tennessee. Historic documentation verifies that the Sevier family moved to the city of Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1797, after John Sevier became Governor, but the date of their move to Marble Springs plantation repeatedly has been disputed. The site is located approximately six miles south of Knoxville, Tennessee, at the foot of Bays Mountain.

Archaeological investigations at Marble Springs have aimed to document the domestic habitation of the site by John Sevier and his family from the late 1790s through 1815. Testing took place around the main cabin and attached kitchen to document significant archaeological features and produced an artifact assemblage pertaining to the entire occupation period of the site, from the late 1700s through the 1940s. These investigations determined that this location was indeed the original site of the Sevier family home kitchen. It provides an archaeological sample that can be used to compare Sevier to other financially, politically, and socially distinguished citizens of early Knoxville.