Things to Do in Jonesborough, Tennessee

The center opened as the first facility devoted entirely to storytelling, and its campus takes in the Chester Inn, the Mary B. Martin Storytelling Hall and Jimmy Neil Smith Storytelling Park. From May through October, its Storytelling Live series brings a different nationally known teller each week for 2 p.m. matinees, Tuesday through Saturday. The series has run for more than 20 seasons.

★ Good to know On Tuesday evenings, the Jonesborough Storytellers Guild tells stories at the Mary B. Martin theater to anyone who wants to listen.

The festival started in 1973 with a few listeners gathered around a farm wagon in Courthouse Square. Now about 10,000 people come, and big tents go up in parks around town. It takes place the first full weekend in October, and passing Norfolk Southern trains still interrupt a tale now and then.

★ Good to know Can’t be there in person? The center has offered a free livestream of the festival’s Friday program.

Built in 1797, the Chester Inn still stands on Main Street and is now a state historic site and museum run by the Heritage Alliance. Its exhibits rotate, so check what’s on before you go. It opens seasonally, March through October.

★ Good to know Guided town tours leave from the Chester Inn on a seasonal schedule, so check the Heritage Alliance tour calendar.

The historic district joined the National Register in 1969, and Main Street is lined with Federal and Greek Revival buildings from the early 1800s. The 1777 Christopher Taylor House, a log cabin, was moved into a town park in 1974. Andrew Jackson lodged there in 1788 while practicing law in Jonesborough.

★ Good to know Prefer your own pace? The town publishes a self-guided walking tour of the district.

Founded in 1982, this museum fills a gallery inside the Historic Jonesborough Visitors Center. You’ll see the town’s first firefighting equipment from the late 1800s and the clock from the 1847 Washington County Courthouse. Its photo collection runs from the 1850s to the 1980s.

Tennessee Hills started in the Salt House, an 1840s building that stored the town’s salt during the Civil War. Today it’s a working distillery with a tasting room, gift shop and bar. It’s the original of the company’s three East Tennessee locations.

This building opened as the Blue Mouse Theatre in 1922 and reopened as the Jackson Theatre in 1945. It closed in the early 1960s, and the town bought it in 2014 and renovated it into a year-round performance venue. The Jonesborough Repertory Theatre also stages community productions in town.

★ Good to know Check the Jackson’s calendar for concerts and shows before your trip.

The 130-acre Persimmon Ridge Park, about a mile from downtown, has hiking trails and is the town’s flagship park. It also holds Wetlands Water Park, with slides up to 200 feet long, a lazy river and a zero-depth kids’ area.

★ Good to know Wetlands opens Memorial Day through Labor Day; the parks are open dawn to dusk all year.