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Jonesborough, Tennessee

Washington County’s seat and Tennessee’s oldest town: old inns, log houses and shops along Main Street, the 1913 courthouse, the International Storytelling Center and the Jackson Theatre, with Johnson City a short drive east.

Town · chartered 1779Seat of Washington County →Pop. 5,860 (2020 Census)Eastern time (ET)Things to do ↓Eat & drink ↓Places to stay ↓Events ↓A short history ↓Town offices & resources ↓

Checked Oct 29, 2026 · all times Eastern (ET) · sources at the bottom

In 30 seconds
  • Why stop: walk Main Street past the Chester Inn and the courthouse, catch a story at the International Storytelling Center or a show at the Jackson Theatre, then eat downtown.
  • Before you go: Jonesborough is on Eastern time (ET). Election Day is Tue Nov 3, and the town’s mayor and aldermen races are on the ballot. The Christmas parade is Sat Dec 12 at 6 PM ET.
  • Good to know: the Visitors Center on Boone Street has the Strolling Tour map and a free history museum. Johnson City, Tipton-Haynes and the Gray Fossil Site are outside the town limits.

Visitor directory

Things to do in and around Jonesborough

In town

  • Main Street historic district & the Washington County Courthouse ↗100 E. Main St (courthouse) · most of the old town lies in a National Register district running from late-1700s log buildings to 1930s Colonial Revival: the Chester Inn, the two-story log Christopher Taylor House, Sisters Row (1820s brick row houses), the 1845–47 Greek Revival Presbyterian Church and the 1913 courthouse by the Knoxville firm Baumann and Baumann. Pick up a Strolling Tour map at the Visitors Center. ⓘ source
  • International Storytelling Center ↗116 W. Main St · the campus takes in the historic Chester Inn, the Mary B. Martin Storytelling Hall, a gift shop and the Jimmy Neil Smith Storytelling Park. Open Mon–Sat 10 AM–5 PM ET, closed Sunday. Live storytelling runs May–October; the National Storytelling Festival is always the first weekend in October. The Jonesborough Storytelling Guild meets most Tuesdays at 7 PM ET · 423-753-2171. ⓘ source
  • Chester Inn Museum (Chester Inn State Historic Site) ↗116 W. Main St · the inn that, the town says, became the place to stay and swap stories in 1797. The Heritage Alliance runs the museum and the Historic Jonesborough tours · (423) 753-9580 for tour times. ⓘ source
  • Historic Jonesborough Visitors Center & the Jonesborough/Washington County History Museum ↗117 Boone St · visitor guides, the Strolling Tour map and the Old Town Emporium gift shop; the visitors center is open Mon–Fri 8 AM–5 PM ET and weekends 10 AM–5 PM ET · (866) 401-4223. The free history museum inside shows the town’s first fire-fighting equipment and the clock from the 1847 courthouse; museum hours are Mon–Fri 9 AM–5 PM ET and, November–March, weekends 12:30–5 PM ET. ⓘ source
  • The Jackson Theatre ↗121 W. Main St · opened in 1922 as the Blue Mouse Theatre behind a furniture store, reopened as the Jackson Theatre in 1945 and closed in the early 1960s; the town bought it in 2014 and runs it as a year-round stage for films, concerts and plays · box office at 125 W. Main St, Wed–Sat 12–5 PM ET and an hour before shows · (423) 788-4909. ⓘ source
  • McKinney Center at Booker T. Washington School ↗103 Franklin Ave · the town’s arts-education center for the Mary B. Martin Program for the Arts, with classes, workshops and exhibits · 423.753.0562. ⓘ source
  • Washington County Library — Jonesborough Branch ↗200 Sabin Dr · Mon and Thu 9 AM–8 PM ET, Tue, Wed and Fri 9 AM–6 PM ET, Sat 9 AM–2 PM ET · 423-753-1800. ⓘ source
  • Wetlands Water Park ↗1523 Persimmon Ridge Rd · the town-run summer water park in Persimmon Ridge Park; check the site for the season. ⓘ source

Nearby: Johnson City, Tipton-Haynes & the Gray Fossil Site

  • Tipton-Haynes State Historic Site ↗Not in Jonesborough — 2620 S. Roan St, Johnson City · 45 acres with eleven historic buildings, a cave and a spring, site of the 1788 Battle of the State of Franklin · November–February Tue–Sat 9 AM–3 PM ET · (423) 926-3631. ⓘ source
  • Gray Fossil Site & Museum (ETSU) ↗Not in Jonesborough — 1212 Suncrest Dr, Gray (outside any town) · ETSU’s Pliocene fossil dig and museum, shared with Hands On! Discovery Center · Tue–Sat 10 AM–5 PM ET, Sun 1–5 PM ET, closed most Mondays · (423) 434-4263. ⓘ source
  • Buffalo Mountain Park ↗Not in Jonesborough — 570 High Ridge Rd, Johnson City · 725 acres and 8.2 miles of trails on Buffalo Mountain’s north slope · November–February 7 AM–7 PM ET; the upper lot closes Dec 15–March 15. ⓘ source
  • Tweetsie Trail ↗Not in Jonesborough — Johnson City to Elizabethton · a 10-mile rail trail on the old “Tweetsie” railroad, nearly flat, for walking, running and biking. ⓘ source
  • Visit Johnson City ↗Not in Jonesborough — Visitor Center, 302 Buffalo St, Johnson City · trails, downtown, places to stay and events in the county’s largest city. ⓘ source

Eat & drink

We list only places whose own sites we could open today. Call ahead — hours change.

Places to stay

  • The Historic Eureka Inn ↗127 W. Main St · nine rooms with private baths in an inn the town dates to 1797, next to the Jackson Theatre; from $189 a night Sunday–Thursday · (423) 873-8735. ⓘ source
  • Franklin House ↗116 Franklin Ave · a short-term guest apartment with kitchen and continental breakfast, a four-minute walk from downtown · 423-677-3819. ⓘ source

For chain hotels, see Visit Johnson City ↗ (not in Jonesborough). Other county-seat guides with lodging: Greeneville (Greene County) and Rogersville (Hawkins County).

Checked Oct 29, 2026 · in or out of Jonesborough checked against the Census town boundary. Call ahead — hours change. All hours Eastern (ET).

Coming up in Jonesborough

  • Thu Oct 29 — Last day of early voting9 AM–5 PM ET at Old Jonesborough Middle School, 308 Forest Dr. Bring a federal or Tennessee government photo ID unless an exception applies. ⓘ source
  • Fri Oct 30 — Halloween Haunts & Happenings5:30–8 PM ET downtown · trick-or-treating at downtown businesses, games and spooky music in front of the courthouse; costume contest at 7 PM ET. ⓘ source
  • Sat Oct 31 — Jonesborough Farmers Market8 AM–12 PM ET on Courthouse Square. ⓘ source
  • Tue Nov 3 — Election DayPolls open 8 AM–8 PM ET at your own precinct. The Town of Jonesborough’s mayor and aldermen races are on the ballot along with state and federal races; see the sample ballot on the Election Commission site. ⓘ source
  • Fri–Sat Nov 6–7 — Made Around Here Market10 AM–5 PM ET at the Visitors Center, 117 Boone St · the 44th year of the regional craft show. ⓘ source
  • Mon Nov 9 — Board of Mayor and Aldermen6 PM ET in the Board Room at Town Hall, 123 Boone St · regular meetings are usually the second Monday. ⓘ source
  • Wed Nov 11 — Veterans Day in Jonesborough11 AM–2 PM ET · see the town calendar for the program. ⓘ source
  • Sat Nov 14 — No Trash November clean-up9 AM–12 PM ET · volunteers meet in the Food City parking lot and ride a bus to clean-up spots; bring old electronics for e-waste recycling. ⓘ source
  • Fri Nov 27 — Shop Small Sip & Stroll and the Lighting of the TreeSip & Stroll 4–6 PM ET, tree lighting 6–8 PM ET downtown. ⓘ source
  • Sat Nov 28 — Whoville & Shop Small Saturday11 AM–3 PM ET downtown; the Heritage Alliance reads the Grinch at the Chester Inn, 1–2:30 PM ET. ⓘ source
  • Sat Dec 5 — Doggone Christmas11 AM–3 PM ET downtown. That evening the Heritage Alliance holds its 48th Progressive Dinner, 4–7 PM ET (ticketed). ⓘ source
  • Sat Dec 12 — Santa’s Christmas Village and the Christmas ParadeChristmas Village 11 AM–3 PM ET; the nighttime parade, “A Vintage Christmas,” starts at 6 PM ET along Boone and Main streets, with floats, bands, classic cars and Santa. Parade entries are due Nov 30. ⓘ source
  • Sat Dec 19 — Christmas Church Stroll11 AM–3 PM ET downtown. ⓘ source

More shows, films and tours are on the Historic Jonesborough events calendar ↗ and the Jackson Theatre site ↗. We’ll refresh this list after the Dec 19 Christmas Church Stroll.

Checked Oct 29, 2026 · times Eastern (ET) · dates from the Town of Jonesborough, the Washington County Election Commission, the Heritage Alliance and WJHL. More Washington County events are on the county guide.

Area news

Headlines · Jonesborough

  • WJHL 11 · Oct 28, 2026

    The town buys its Main Street pumpkins, mums and hay bales from local farms, and after Halloween a farm collects the carved pumpkins to feed livestock.

    Read at WJHL 11 →
  • WJHL 11 · Oct 27, 2026

    Downtown celebrates Halloween with the Great Jonesborough Pumpkin Party on Wednesday and Halloween Haunts & Happenings on Friday, 5:30–8 PM ET, with a 7 PM ET costume contest.

    Read at WJHL 11 →
  • Heritage Alliance · Oct 19, 2026

    A $100,000 Tennessee State Museum grant will replace old exhibit walls in the Jonesborough/Washington County History Museum; the current currency exhibit stays open through January before work begins.

    Read at Heritage Alliance →
  • WJHL 11 · Oct 16, 2026

    BWX Technologies has begun building a 325,000-square-foot facility at its Jonesborough site and expects full production by the end of 2029.

    Read at WJHL 11 →
  • WJHL 11 · Oct 8, 2026

    The town’s Christmas parade returns Dec 12 at 6 PM ET with the theme “A Vintage Christmas”; cash prizes go to the top four entries.

    Read at WJHL 11 →

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

A short history

The Tennessee Encyclopedia calls Jonesborough the oldest town in Tennessee. North Carolina chartered it in 1779, two years after it created Washington County, and the town was laid out in 1780 and named for Willie Jones of Halifax, North Carolina, who supported the western settlements. Source conflict: the University of Tennessee’s MTAS directory dates the town’s incorporation to North Carolina’s 1779 act; the Tennessee Encyclopedia says North Carolina chartered the town in 1779 and it was incorporated in 1815. We print both.

After North Carolina ceded its western lands in 1784, settlers met at Jonesborough and organized the State of Franklin, with John Sevier as governor; the town was its capital in 1784–85. A young Andrew Jackson lived here in 1788 while waiting to travel west, and in 1819 the Quaker Elihu Embree began publishing his antislavery Manumission Intelligencer here, renamed the Emancipator in 1820 (Tennessee Encyclopedia).

The Chester Inn opened to travelers in 1797, and the house that became the Eureka Hotel went up as a residence the same year (Town of Jonesborough). The Holston Baptist Female Institute of 1853–55 later served as a Freedmen’s Bureau school, and the present courthouse dates from 1913 (Tennessee Encyclopedia).

Most of the old town is now a National Register historic district. A storytelling festival that began here in 1973 grew into the National Storytelling Festival, held each October, and the town restored the 1945 Jackson Theatre after buying it in 2014.

Today Jonesborough is an incorporated town with a mayor and board of aldermen meeting at Town Hall on Boone Street. The 2020 Census counted 5,860 people (TIGERweb).

Read more: Jonesborough (Tennessee Encyclopedia) ↗ · Washington County (Tennessee Encyclopedia) ↗

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

Town offices & local resources

Town of Jonesborough ↗ runs Town Hall at 123 Boone St, the police and fire departments, parks, the Jackson Theatre and the McKinney Center. The Board of Mayor and Aldermen usually meets the second Monday of the month at 6 PM ET in the Town Hall Board Room. Washington County’s offices are in the Historic Courthouse on Main Street.

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

Around Washington County

← Washington County guide — Johnson City, Gray, Tipton-Haynes, Buffalo Mountain, the Tweetsie Trail and county resources. Boone Lake is on our East Tennessee page.

Other Washington County places: Johnson City · Watauga · Gray · Telford · Limestone · Fall Branch · Spurgeon · Oak Grove · Embreeville. Next door: Carter · Greene · Hawkins · Sullivan · Unicoi county guides.

Other county-seat guides: Wartburg (Morgan County) · Kingston (Roane County) · Huntsville (Scott County) · Jamestown (Fentress County) · Crossville (Cumberland County) · Clinton (Anderson County) · Dayton (Rhea County) · Decatur (Meigs County) · Athens (McMinn County) · Cleveland (Bradley County) · Madisonville (Monroe County) · Loudon (Loudon County) · Maryville (Blount County) · Sevierville (Sevier County) · Knoxville (Knox County) · Newport (Cocke County) · Tazewell (Claiborne County) · Benton (Polk County) · Greeneville (Greene County) · Morristown (Hamblen County) · Rogersville (Hawkins County) · Jacksboro (Campbell County) · Maynardville (Union County) · Rutledge (Grainger County) · Dandridge (Jefferson County) · Sneedville (Hancock County) · Blountville (Sullivan County). Nearest seats with guides: Blountville (Sullivan), Greeneville (Greene) and Rogersville (Hawkins).

Sources

Checked Oct 29, 2026