~ from Marble Springs State Historic Site
Visit Marble Springs State Historic Site on Friday, August 21, at 6:30 PM for the first lecture in the Historic House Museums of Knoxville’s America 250 Lecture Series. This free public program commemorates the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States by exploring the people and events that shaped our nation’s early history.
Guests are invited to arrive early to enjoy free Andy’s Frozen Custard before the lecture begins. Admission is free, and all are welcome.
Award-winning historian Dr. Jim Piecuch will present “The Lost State of Franklin,” a look at the ambitious attempt to establish a new state in what is now East Tennessee following the American Revolution. The lecture will examine the people, motivations, and conflicts surrounding the movement, including the influential role of frontier leader John Sevier and the individuals who believed Franklin should become America’s 14th state.
Jim Piecuch earned B.A. and M.A. degrees at the University of New Hampshire and a Ph.D. in history from the College of William & Mary in Virginia. He is a former professor of history and the author of several books including South Carolina Provincials: Loyalists in British Service during the American Revolution; Seven Myths of the American Revolution; Three Peoples, One King: Loyalists, Indians, and Slaves in the Revolutionary South; biographies of Revolutionary officers John Eager Howard and Henry Lee, and Cavalry in the American Revolution. He has also published numerous articles and book chapters on colonial and Revolutionary history and worked as an editor on several historical encyclopedias. In 2025 he was awarded the Order of the Palmetto for his contributions to the study of South Carolina’s history.
This project was supported in part by the Tennessee Commission for the United States Semiquincentennial.
Marble Springs State Historic Site is funded under an agreement with the Tennessee Historical Commission.
