Lenoir Museum anniversary event is Thursday
The Lenoir Museum in Norris will celebrate its 50th anniversary on July 10. It opened on July 10, 1975, on land across Norris Freeway (U.S. 441) from the Clinch River donated to the state of Tennessee by TVA. - G. Chambers Williams III
Featuring hundreds of artifacts representing Appalachian history, the Will G. and Helen H. Lenoir Museum on Norris Freeway (U.S. Highway 441) opened to the public on July 10, 1975.
It’s on land that the Tennessee Valley Authority donated to the Tennessee state park system, just across the highway from the Clinch River below Norris Dam.
The museum is on property that is part of Norris Dam State Park, adjacent to the Crosby Threshing Barn and 18th-cCentury Rice Grist Mill along Lower Clear Creek Road.
Most of the museum’s displays consist of everyday items of early Appalachian life, which were collected by the Lenoirs over several decades.
Among them are Indian artifacts, fine china, pressed glass, furniture, farm implements, bottles, bells, baskets, rocks, historical documents and more.
“Mr. Lenoir enjoyed sharing his stories with museum visitors well into his 90th year, as he and Helen had done in their home for years before the museum opened,” according to a description of the facility on the state parks website (tnstateparks.com/parks/activity-detail/lenoir-museum).
