Chester Inn Museum Opens for 2023 Season with New Exhibit and Town Tour Times
The Chester Inn State Historic Site & Museum is now open for its 2023 season! The museum is currently on its spring hours and is open Monday and Friday-Saturday from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm and on Sunday from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Hours will expand for the summer on Wednesday, May 3rd.
In addition to the museum’s permanent exhibits about the history of Jonesborough, special exhibits focus on local historian and explorer Paul Fink and his efforts to create the Appalachian Trail, the tragedy and triumph behind the Cherokee diaspora from Appalachia, and a closer look at abolitionism in Northeast Tennessee prior to the Civil War. There museum tour also includes three; restored rooms that depict what the inn might have looked like when it was a functioning hotel at the turn of the twentieth century.
“The State of Tennessee and the Tennessee Historical Commission completed a major, capital improvement project on the building last year,” says Heritage Alliance Executive Director Anne Mason. “Thanks to their restoration efforts, the building looks closer to its late 1800s appearance now than it ever has before, at least since the 1800s. We’re also excited to re-open the historic projecting porch this season.”
Site Manger Joshua Dacey explains, “Our new exhibits not only bring to light lesser-known histories of Jonesborough, but they also humanize seminal figures from Jonesborough’s past. We hope visitors can make meaningful connections to those stories and individuals.” The current special exhibits will be on display through the summer, so make sure you stop by and check them out. There is no admission price for the Chester Inn Museum, but there is a suggested $2 donation per visitor. Keep up to date with the museum by following the Chester Inn on Facebook and YouTube! The museum will also be hosting an Open House on March 9th from 6:00 – 7:30 pm. Visit the museum after hours that evening and learn how you can volunteer to be a museum host and/or a tour guide.
Historic Jonesborough Town Tours are also back in full swing on Saturdays starting on March 4th. Town Tours are available every Saturday at 1:00 pm. This year Town Tours will also be available at 3:00 pm on Sundays before Brews and Tunes from June through September. Tickets are only $5.00. The tour leaves from the Chester Inn and costumed guides share the history of Tennessee’s Oldest Town and the people who called it home.
The Chester Inn State Historic Site and Museum is funded under an agreement with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Tennessee Historical Commission. For more information on the Chester Inn Museum or the Heritage Alliance please call our office at 423.753.9580 or the Chester Inn Museum at 423.753.4580. You can also contact the organization via email at info@heritageall.org. Additional information about the Heritage Alliance and its mission can be found online at http://www.heritageall.org/. Be sure to follow the Chester Inn and Heritage Alliance Facebook pages for updates about events at the Chester Inn and other Heritage Alliance programs.
