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Jamestown, Tennessee

Fentress County’s courthouse town on the Cumberland Plateau, on Central time — the spring Mark Twain’s family drank from, the old county jail that now houses the Chamber, the school Sgt. York built, and the home base of the 127 Sale.

City · incorporated 1920Seat of Fentress County →Pop. 1,935 (2020)Central time (CT)Things to do ↓Eat & drink ↓Places to stay ↓Events ↓A short history ↓City hall & resources ↓

Checked Oct 29, 2026 · all times Central (CT) · sources at the bottom

In 30 seconds
  • Why stop: see the Mark Twain spring and the courthouse square, pick up maps at the Chamber in the old jail, sip at Highland Manor Winery — then head north to Sgt. York’s farm at Pall Mall, Pickett State Park or the Big South Fork.
  • Before you go: Jamestown runs on Central time (CT) — an hour behind Knoxville and Oneida. City Hall is open Monday–Thursday only.
  • Don’t confuse: this is Jamestown, Tennessee (Fentress County, about 1,900 people) — not Jamestown, New York, Kentucky or North Carolina. Sgt. York’s park is at Pall Mall and Pickett State Park is in Pickett County, both north of town; the 127 Sale runs the whole corridor, not just Jamestown.

Visitor directory

Things to do in and around Jamestown

In town

  • Mark Twain City Park & the Sand SpringDowntown · Jamestown was first called Sand Springs for the springs that bubbled up from the sandy soil; the last remaining spring is inside the city park named for the Clemens family — Mark Twain’s parents — who carried water from it while they lived here in the 1830s. A small, grassy stop for a picnic or a stretch of the legs. ⓘ source
  • The courthouse square & the Historic Fentress County Jail ↗The Historic Fentress County Courthouse still houses the County Executive’s office, and the Historic Fentress County Jail, at 114 Central Ave W, is home to the Fentress County Chamber of Commerce — stop in for local guides, regional maps and 127 Sale information · Chamber open Mon–Fri 8 AM–4 PM CT · (931) 879-9948. Campfire Coffee and Dairy Mart are steps from the square. ⓘ source
  • Alvin C. York Agricultural Institute (York Institute) ↗701 N. Main St · the high school Sgt. Alvin C. York founded in 1926 to give rural children a high-school education; classes began in 1929 and he turned it over to the state in 1937. It is the only comprehensive high school in the country financed and operated by a state government, and it marked its 100th anniversary in 2026. The original Institute building is on the National Register of Historic Places. It is a working school — visit for ballgames and public events, and check in at the office on school days · (931) 879-8101. ⓘ source
  • Fentress County Public Library ↗306 S. Main St · books, DVDs, computers, printing, copies and fax · free cards for Fentress County residents ($10 out of county, $20 out of state) · (931) 879-7512.

Just outside town

  • Highland Manor Winery ↗2965 S. York Hwy (US 127), south of town · billed as Tennessee’s oldest winery, making wine on the Cumberland Plateau for more than three decades — free tastings, wine by the glass and a gift shop · horse trailers and RVs welcome · open year-round, Monday–Saturday plus Sunday afternoons (the winery’s pages list slightly different hours — call ahead) · (931) 879-9519. ⓘ source

Nearby: Pall Mall, Pickett & the Big South Fork

Eat & drink

  • West End Cafe306 W. Central Ave · old-school Southern breakfast and lunch — plate-lunch specials and homemade pies · closed Sundays; closes mid-afternoon · (931) 879-6611. ⓘ source
  • Campfire Coffee ↗108 E. Central Ave, downtown (open since 2018), plus a drive-thru at 238 S. Main St · specialty coffee and energy refreshers; breakfast and lunch at the downtown shop · Mon–Sat. ⓘ source
  • Dairy MartOn the town square · homemade burgers, onion rings, breakfast plates and daily specials · (931) 879-8904. ⓘ source
  • Garcia’s Mexican RestaurantMain St · family Mexican restaurant — burritos, enchiladas, fajitas · (931) 752-8911. ⓘ source
  • Sawbriar Brewing (behind Highland Manor Winery)2965 S. York Hwy, south of town · a craft-brewery taproom right out the winery’s back door, with wood-fired pizza and wings Thursday–Sunday. ⓘ source

Places to stay

  • The Jordan Motel ↗2904 S. York Hwy (US 127), just south of town · family-built starting in 1953; 27 units and two apartments in three buildings · pet friendly · right on the 127 Sale route · (931) 879-8129. ⓘ source
  • Pickett CCC Memorial State Park cabins ↗In Pickett County, north of Jamestown — book through Tennessee State Parks (the park campground is closed for renovations).

More motels, cabins and horse camps around the national park: the Chamber’s Big South Fork Country local guide ↗.

Checked Oct 29, 2026 · businesses copied from each business’s own page or the City of Jamestown visitor site / local dining guides — free listings; call ahead, small-town hours change. All hours Central (CT).

Coming up in Jamestown

  • Thu Oct 29 — Last day of early votingEarly voting for the Nov. 3 election ends today · Fentress County Election Commission, 111 N. Norris St., Jamestown · 9 AM–4 PM CT · (931) 879-7162. ⓘ source
  • Tue Nov 3 — Election Day — Jamestown city electionPolls 9 AM–7 PM CT at your own Fentress County precinct (13 precincts; find yours at GoVoteTN) · Jamestown has a city election on this ballot, along with the governor’s race and state House seats. ⓘ source
  • Mon Nov 9 — Board of Mayor and Aldermen5 PM CT at City Hall, 314 E. Central Ave (regular meetings the 2nd Monday) · agendas posted on the city site. ⓘ source
  • Tue Nov 24 — Regional Planning Commission5:30 PM CT (meets the 4th Tuesday). ⓘ source
  • Sun Dec 6 — Jamestown Christmas Parade3 PM CT down Main Street · the Jamestown Rotary Club’s parade, with the Mary Perry Ragsdale Family YMCA and the Jamestown Business Association — floats, bands, scouts and antique cars; more than 100 entries in 2025 · entries due Fri Nov 13. ⓘ source
  • Mon Dec 14 — Board of Mayor and Aldermen5 PM CT at City Hall (2nd Monday — check the posted agenda; meeting dates may change). ⓘ source

Every year: the Highway 127 Corridor Sale starts the first Thursday in August and runs through Sunday, headquartered at the Chamber in Jamestown (locals often set up the weekend before) — 127 Sale ↗. Neighboring Allardt’s pumpkin festival is each October.

Checked Oct 29, 2026 · times Central (CT) · dates from UT MTAS, the City of Jamestown, the Fentress County Election Commission / Fentress Courier Today and the Jamestown Rotary Club. More Fentress County events on the county guide.

Area news

Headlines from local outlets · Jamestown & Fentress County

  • 3B Media News · Oct 19, 2026

    Jamestown’s National Guard armory has closed and is up for sale; the city passed on its first right of refusal, and Fentress County is weighing a purchase for county services once an appraisal is done.

    Read at 3B Media News →
  • UCNow · Oct 7, 2026

    The county’s annual Fire Prevention Parade was set to roll south on North Main Street, through the courthouse square, to the library on Gaither Avenue.

    Read at UCNow →
  • Fentress Courier Today · Oct 7, 2026

    Early voting at the Election Commission in Jamestown was set for Oct. 14–29, with Election Day on Nov. 3 at the county’s 13 precincts.

    Read at Fentress Courier Today →
  • UCNow · Oct 5, 2026

    A new four-lane Clear Creek Bridge opened on the US 127 corridor south toward I-40, a step in the long-promised four-lane route.

    Read at UCNow →

Short summaries in our words — tap through to read the full story at the outlet. All area news → · Outlet requests: [email protected]

A short history

The General Assembly created Fentress County on Nov. 28, 1823, and named it for James Fentress, Speaker of the Tennessee House, who had helped pass the bill. The county seat honors him too. Its first name was Sand Springs, for the springs that bubbled up from the sandy soil; today the only one left is in Mark Twain City Park. The city dates its founding as county seat to 1823; the Tennessee Encyclopedia gives 1828.

John M. Clemens and his wife, Jane Lampton Clemens, moved to Fentress County in the 1830s. He practiced law and served as circuit court clerk and county commissioner, and he was postmaster at Pall Mall from 1832 to 1835 before the family moved to Missouri, where their son Samuel — Mark Twain — was born later in 1835. The family kept land in the county for years. For most of its history Jamestown was a small farm-trade town for corn, grain, livestock, tobacco, poultry and pumpkins.

After World War I, Pall Mall native Sgt. Alvin C. York turned his fame to rural education. He raised money across the country, won $50,000 from the legislature, and founded the York Institute in Jamestown in 1926; classes began in 1929 on a new campus on the edge of town, and in 1937 he handed the school to the state. In the 1930s the town grew from 857 people to more than 1,200, and by the 1940s six manufacturers had located here.

Jamestown was incorporated as a city in 1920 and is governed by a mayor and board of aldermen. It keeps Central time, in the Upper Cumberland. The Fentress County Chamber of Commerce, in the old county jail, is the headquarters of the Highway 127 Corridor Sale, the yard sale a Fentress County official dreamed up in 1987 to draw drivers off the interstates. It now runs some 690 miles, from Michigan to Alabama, starting the first Thursday in August.

Visit: Fentress County Chamber (Historic Jail) ↗ · Sgt. Alvin C. York State Historic Park ↗

Fentress County’s history → · East Tennessee history hub →

City hall & local resources

City of Jamestown official site ↗ — utility payments, meetings and agendas, public notices. Jamestown has an elected mayor and board of aldermen; the board meets the 2nd Monday at 5 PM CT at City Hall, and the Regional Planning Commission the 4th Tuesday at 5:30 PM CT. Fentress County government is based in Jamestown too, at the Historic Fentress County Courthouse.

Checked Oct 29, 2026 · official sites only · numbers copied from each agency’s own page — tap ⓘ to confirm. Times Central (CT). Emergencies: call 911.

Around Fentress County

← Fentress County guide — the county directory, Sgt. York’s park at Pall Mall, the Big South Fork’s west side, Pogue Creek Canyon and Northrup Falls.

Other Fentress County city: Allardt. Communities: Grimsley · Clarkrange · Pall Mall · Wilder · Armathwaite · Forbus. Next door: Pickett County guide.

Other county-seat guides: Wartburg (Morgan County) · Kingston (Roane County) · Huntsville (Scott County).

Sources

Checked Oct 29, 2026