The area around present-day Knoxville was first occupied by the Woodland Tribe, hunters and trappers driven south by climatic changes in their region around the Great Lakes about 1,000 BC. The Shawnee and Creek briefly occupied the area, but little evidence has been found to support that. By the 1700s, the only Native Americans in the area were the Cherokees.

The earliest association between the Cherokee and the European settlers was peaceful and that encouraged colonial expansion into the area west of the Smokey Mountains. James White, who had been a militia officer during the American Revolutionary War, settled in the area in 1786 and White’s Fort was established. The territorial governor of the Southwest Territory, William Blount decided to move the capital to White’s Fort in 1791. He also decided to rename it Knoxville, in honor of the American Revolutionary War general and first Secretary of War, Henry Knox.

William Blount met with the Cherokees and established territorial boundaries through the Treaty of Holston. Blount thought he had acquired most of the land in east Tennessee through this treaty, signed in 1791. The Cherokee contested the treaty and violence ensued. Knoxville was attacked several times by the Cherokee and the settlers attacked the Cherokee, also. The tensions were finally resolved in 1794.

Knoxville served as the territorial capital until 1796, then Tennessee became a state. Knoxville then served as the capital of the state until 1815 when the capital was moved to Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Tennessee was a state that didn’t practice much slavery. In fact, most East Tennesseans voted against secession.

During the Civil War, the Battle of Campbell’s Station was fought near Knoxville on November 16, 1863. The Confederates attacked Union forces unsuccessfully. The next day, the Confederate forces commenced a two week long siege of Knoxville. This siege led to the Battle of Fort Sanders, which the Confederates also lost. Knoxville was in the hands of the Union.

In the 20th century, Knoxville became known as the Marble City for the quarries in the area that supplied pink marble to other areas.

Due to its large number of textile mills, Knoxville became known as the Underwear Capital of the World. In the 1930s there were 20 textile and clothing mills operating in Knoxville.