Tennessee’s rich culture and history offer countless itinerary options for groups, particularly for those with a passion for connecting to the past. From its robust music heritage to its central role in the Civil Rights Movement, Tennessee embodies a vivid patchwork of stories well worth exploring.
The state’s many historic tours specialize in not only preserving this history, but also bringing it to life in a way that’s memorable. When a tour guide does their job just right, the gap between past and present dissolves just a bit.
Actively engaging in a historic tour makes the people and places of the past seem present again. It’s an opportunity to walk in their footsteps and see what they saw. In the process, you’ll come away with insights beyond what’s possible from reading a history book.
Civil Rights Trail Sites
Tennessee is rich in Civil Rights history, featuring 15 sites on the U.S. Civil Rights Trail. The Lorraine Motel in Memphis, site of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination in 1968, now operates as the National Civil Rights Museum. There, exhibits provide a lasting reminder of the heroism and bravery of those who fought for racial equality in America.
A Tour of Possibilities, operated by Carolyn Michael-Banks, offers African American history tours of Memphis. In addition to visiting the National Civil Rights Museum, other stops include the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, Beale Street and the historic Mason Temple, where Dr. King delivered his famous “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech the day before his death.
“The tour explores Memphis through an African American historical lens,” Michael-Banks said. “It is dedicated to sharing powerful stories of resilience, struggle and triumph that are often left untold.”
Participants in United Street Tours’ Civil Rights Tour of Nashville also get to explore landmarks of the Civil Rights Movement first-hand, including the Woolworth on Fifth Avenue, one of the sites of the city’s influential lunch counter sit-ins. For additional information on Nashville’s Civil Rights history, groups can peruse the Nashville Public Library’s online collection, which contains a large archive of photographs and recordings related to the movement.
Presidential History
The Tennessee Presidential Trail includes the homes of former U.S. Presidents Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk and Andrew Johnson, the seventh, 11th, and 17th U.S. heads of state, respectively. Guided tours of the homes offer insights into not just who those men were as political figures, but also how they lived their personal lives — both before and after office.
The Hermitage, Andrew Jackson’s elaborate mansion in Nashville, is preserved to look much as it would have when he owned the property from 1804 until his death in 1845. In fact, more than 80% of the artifacts and decor on display are original, making it one of the most well-preserved presidential homes in America.
Tours of the President James K. Polk Home & Museum in Columbia include access to the historic Federal-style home, which is outfitted with the Polk family’s original furniture, paintings and White House china.
In Greeneville, the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site comprises multiple locations across town, including the National Cemetery where he is buried. View an interpretive film and Presidential Library holdings at the Visitor Center and explore Johnson’s early home on East Depot Street. Then head to The Homestead on South Main Street, where Johnson resided both before and after his presidency.
Civil War Tours
Tennessee played a pivotal role in the Civil War, thanks to its strategic geographic importance to both sides. From the Battle of Shiloh in 1862, one of the war’s bloodiest early battles, to the battles of Franklin and Nashville in 1864, near the war’s end, both sides fought bitterly over control of Tennessee throughout the conflict.
At the Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park, ranger-led tours provide a deep dive into the history and military tactics behind two critical 1863 battles over control of Chattanooga.
Ranger-led group tours are also available at the Fort Defiance Civil War Park & Interpretive Center in Clarksville, site of Civil War-era earthwork fortifications built by Confederate troops to defend against advancing Union forces.
In Nashville, the Belle Meade Historic Site & Winery offers traditional tours of its 1853 Greek Revival mansion as well as a one-hour Battle at Belle Meade walking tour, which follows in the footsteps of Union and Confederate soldiers who clashed on the property in 1864.
Thirty minutes south of Nashville, groups can tour three historic homes that played a role in a brutal 1864 Civil War conflict dubbed the Battle of Franklin. While the battle lasted only a few hours, it forever changed the lives of families living nearby. The Carter House, built in 1830, was overtaken by Union soldiers, while the Carnton House, an 1826 mansion, became a field hospital. The nearby Lotz House also saw its share of the battle. Available tours at the restored properties offer a unique, personal lens from which to view the war’s difficult aftermath.
Paranormal
For those who don’t mind their history on the scary side, paranormal tours provide a fun means to explore historic sites — with the added possibility of experiencing the unexplained.
Historic Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in Petros offers paranormal tours of its imposing grounds, which once housed as many as 1,200 inmates. Dubbed the “End of the Line” for its notorious reputation, the high-security prison housed several infamous inmates, including James Earl Ray, Martin Luther King’s assassin. Both nightly and overnight paranormal tours are available.
In Adams, groups can explore the history and lore surrounding the “Bell Witch,” an entity that tormented the area’s Bell family, allegedly leading to John Bell’s death in 1820. The Bell Witch Cave, the witch’s reputed lair, has been an oft-filmed site for various ghost hunting documentaries and TV series. Tours include time in the cave as well as in a replica cabin, which serves as a museum of Bell family artifacts.
The Appalachian GhostWalk tour in downtown Jonesborough — Tennessee’s oldest town — may be more urban in its setting than some others, but it’s no less goosebump-inducing. The guided downtown walk explores ghost sightings, mysterious sounds of horses and unexplained phenomena near the city’s train tracks. The tour company also offers several ghost tour itineraries in nearby Johnson City, including one on the campus of East Tennessee State University.
Music History
Tennessee has a wealth of museums devoted to showcasing its rich music history, and many offer guided tours of their collections. At the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, one-hour, docent-led tours showcase the stories and lore behind the property’s star-studded memorabilia. Beyond the museum, the Hall of Fame’s Historic RCA Studio B Tour, on Nashville’s Music Row, lets groups stand in a recording space once graced by the likes of Elvis Presley, Dolly Parton, Waylon Jennings and more. Also through the Hall, groups can schedule tours and hands-on creative workshops at Hatch Show Print, a working letterpress print shop famous for producing decades of marketing posters for country legends.
The Memphis Mojo Tour by Backbeat Tours offers a 90-minute, whirlwind exploration of the city’s rock, blues and soul heritage, with stops at Sun Studio, Stax Museum, Beale Street and more. Professional Beale Street musicians lead each tour, packaging their history lessons with a mix of live music, comedy and storytelling.
Finally, no musical exploration of Tennessee would be complete without a stop at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch in Hurricane Mills. Guided tours there include access to Lynn’s 1800s-era mansion plus an exact replica of her Butcher Holler Home. The ranch also features self-guided attractions, including a replica coal mine, a Western town and the Coal Miner’s Daughter Museum, home to a rich collection of memorabilia from across Lynn’s career.
