Wildlife Photograph

From the Ground Up: The Story of the Land

Tuesday October 03, 2006
As it turns out, people have been appreciating the beauty of Ijams for much longer than you might think. Read here to see for yourself.

    Recent deed research of Ijams Nature Center has shed light on many interesting historical facts.  The land was once owned by some of the first settlers to the Knoxville area and has served as a nature preserve for many years. The oldest records date back to the late 1700s when James Boyd, a Revolutionary war soldier, claimed the land for a farm.  After his death, his wife, Catherine, sold two land tracts, including an Island south of the Holston River, to Colonel John Williams in December of 1846.                                                                
    Colonel Williams served in the Sixth Infantry during the War of 1812 and later became a U.S. Senator.  He purchased adjoining lands from Robert Talbott to expand his land holdings.  Talbott had previously purchased this property from Stephen Boyd.  Upon William’s death his land passed on to his brother Thomas L. Williams, a prominent Knoxville judge and Tennessee Congressman.                                                                               
    In 1886, Perez Dickenson purchased the Williams’ land.  The transaction was described as 600 acres including William’s Island and several tracts to the south of the Tennessee River. Dickenson was a merchant and operated a store for wholesale dry goods and later a grocery store.  He named his property the Island Home Farm and improved the land with flower gardens and picket fences.  He held parties in his home and people came to have picnics in the gardens.  Today, the Dickenson home is located on the campus of the Tennessee School for the Deaf.                                                                                   
     In 1910, Alice Ijams purchased 26 acres of farmland that had once belonged to Dickenson.  Harry and Alice Ijams carried on the tradition of open gardens and the property became known as the Island Home Sanctuary.                                                                                                                                                                           In 1964, the Ijams’ property was purchased by the Knox County Council of Garden Clubs to be preserved as a community park.  Ijams Audubon Nature Center was established in 1968 and in 1990 expanded to 60 acres of the aforementioned lands to the southeast.

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