Through the Keyhole: Knoxville’s Extraordinary Marble World

Knoxville Chronicles

For anyone who has spent much time in Knoxville, there is one thing that you’ll encounter in almost every part of the city, and that’s Tennessee marble. It graces several impressive downtown buildings, and you can see where it was once extracted at several abandoned or reclaimed quarries, particularly at Ijams Nature Center, now part of the city’s expansive Urban Wilderness in South Knoxville.

While the nature center still retains the original acreage where the Ijams family originally developed their own farm into a semi-private bird sanctuary, across Island Home Avenue you’ll find two distinctly different reclaimed quarries amid an extraordinary landscape like nothing else anywhere.

This extended podcast episode looks back at the history of the marble industry in Knoxville, once called “Marble City,” and includes a reflective interview with Ben Nanny, Conservation Director, who has been directly involved in the reclamation of these quarries during his more than 20 years at Ijams.
Written by Paul James with Ben Nanny and read by Josh Brandon. Sound design and editing by Pete Carty. Theme song composed by Mike Stallings.

Knoxville Chronicles is brought to you by the nonprofit Knoxville History Project.
Learn more at KnoxvilleHistoryProject.org