Guided Tour
Blount Mansion Historic Site Tour
Guided tour of the 1818 Federal-style house museum, paired with adjacent Blount Mansion, covering early Knoxville history and the Craighead and Jackson family ownership.
- Duration:
- 1 hr
Photo coming soon
Museum / Historical Site
Craighead-Jackson House
1818 Federal-style brick house in downtown Knoxville, managed by the Blount Mansion Association, where local lore tells of a domestic servant who burned to death in a kitchen fireplace and whose footsteps are reported on the front stairs.
1000 State Street, Knoxville, TN 37902
Age
All Ages
Cost
$
Tour combined with Blount Mansion admission
Access
Limited Access
Two-story historic house with stairs; limited accessibility on upper floors
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1818 · Federal-style brick residence; one of Knoxville's oldest surviving brick houses · Built by John Craighead, a Knoxville alderman and First Presbyterian Church elder · Owned by the Jackson family from the late 1850s to circa 1885 · Listed on the National Register of Historic Places (1973) · Operated by the Blount Mansion Association since 1962 as part of the Blount Mansion historic site
The Craighead-Jackson House was built in 1818 by John Craighead (1783-1826), a Knoxville city alderman who served in 1824 and was an elder at First Presbyterian Church. He is buried in the First Presbyterian Church Cemetery a few blocks away. The brick, two-story Federal-style residence sits at the corner of State Street and Hill Avenue, directly across State Street from Blount Mansion. It is generally considered one of the oldest surviving brick houses in Knoxville.
Following Craighead's death the property passed through several hands. William Swan, who later served in the Confederate Congress, owned the house briefly in the 1850s. The Jackson family, headed by George Jackson, acquired the home in the late 1850s and held it until roughly 1885. The Craighead-Jackson name reflects this combined chain of ownership rather than a single family.
The Blount Mansion Association acquired the building in 1962 and integrated it into its historic site complex with the adjacent governor's mansion. Today the house serves as a visitor and education center for the Blount Mansion museum and as an interpretive space for early-Knoxville domestic life. A $75,000 restoration grant was obtained in September 2020.
The Craighead-Jackson House was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 20, 1973 (Reference No. 73001801). Its Federal-style brickwork, original mantelpieces, and surviving interior trim make it one of Knoxville's most important pre-Civil War domestic buildings, and it is interpreted alongside Blount Mansion as part of the founding-era story of the city.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craighead%E2%80%93Jackson_House
- https://www.visitknoxville.com/blog/post/haunted-places-in-knoxville/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Blount_Mansion
- https://usghostadventures.com/knoxville-ghost-tour/craighead-jackson-house/
Footsteps on the front staircaseDoors found unlocked or open after closingWindows discovered raised after the building was secured
The principal ghost story attached to the Craighead-Jackson House centers on a female servant who is said to have burned to death after her skirt caught fire while she was working at a fireplace in the home. Two independent sources document this lore: VisitKnoxville's haunted-places writeup and US Ghost Adventures, which maintains a dedicated page for the property. US Ghost Adventures specifies that the servant was working at a 'large fireplace' in the home's basement and that her death occurred just after the Civil War, during the period of Jackson family ownership. VisitKnoxville's account is more general about location but consistent on the basic narrative. Neither source names the woman or supplies a precise date.
Reports collected on the US Ghost Adventures Knoxville Ghost Tour and recounted by VisitKnoxville describe footsteps heard on the front staircase, doors found unlocked or open after the building has been secured for the night, and windows discovered raised after closing. The lore is sometimes mis-attributed to neighboring Blount Mansion, but published accounts on visitknoxville.com explicitly assign the servant-fire story to the Craighead-Jackson House.
The Craighead-Jackson House is a regular stop on the US Ghost Adventures Knoxville Ghost Tour, which has the property on its dedicated tour-stop page, and on at least one other downtown Knoxville ghost walking tour. While no formal paranormal investigation report has been located, the lore is corroborated across at least two independent ghost-tour and tourism sources, anchored to a consistent historical-sounding domestic tragedy.
Notable Entities
Unnamed female domestic servant (purported fire victim)
Plan Your Visit
2 ways to experience Walking Tour Booking Required
Knoxville Ghost Tour Stop
Featured stop on several downtown Knoxville ghost walking tours covering the servant-fire legend and historic State Street.
- Duration:
- 30 min
Sources & Further Reading
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is Craighead-Jackson House family-friendly?
Daytime museum tours are family-friendly; the historical content includes a fatal house fire from the early 1800s. Overall family fit: High.
How much does it cost to visit Craighead-Jackson House?
Tour combined with Blount Mansion admission
Do I need to book in advance?
No advance booking is required, but checking availability is recommended.
Is Craighead-Jackson House wheelchair accessible?
Craighead-Jackson House has limited wheelchair accessibility. Terrain: Two-story historic house with stairs; limited accessibility on upper floors.