"Market Square: A History of the Most Democratic Place on Earth," by Jack Neely

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Randall Brown

This building at the southwest corner of Market Square was home to Peter Kern's confectionery and ice cream saloon. It is now home to the Market Square Kitchen, the Hotel St. Oliver and Shono's Asian restaurant.

KNOXVILLE — Market Square in downtown Knoxville has undergone numerous face lifts since its 1853 inception. Likewise, its popularity as a gathering spot has waxed and waned over time.

These days, the Square is a popular spot for lunch, dinner, nightlife, concerts and - naturally - a farmer's market. It might be experiencing its liveliest time since Peter Kern ran an 1870s-era confectionery and "ice cream saloon" in a building that still stands on its southwest corner. That's the contention, at least, of Knoxville writer Jack Neely in his newly published book "Market Square: A History of the Most Democratic Place on Earth."

"You can tell the story of American history based on activities and events on Market Square," says Neely, "from Civil War to suffrage to everything."

It might sound like a bold declaration, but if anyone knows enough about Market Square to be trusted about such things, it's probably Neely.

A Knoxville boy through-and-through, Neely is a UT graduate who has seen the scruffy city's history in person. His job experience has included tours of duty with both the 1982 World's Fair and publishing house Whittle Communications.

Most notably, he has chronicled Knoxville's grand and gritty past since 1992 in "Secret History," his column for the weekly paper Metro Pulse, of which he is an associate editor.

"I've always enjoyed writing about Market Square, and I've written several columns about it over the years," says Neely.

His new book chronicles the relationships between historical figures of both local and national importance and the various businesses that have come and gone and come again on Market Square.

It all started with land speculators William Swan and James Mabry, who bought 11 acres on the spot and donated one acre to the city, with the provision that the city would build a market house. That left them with 10 acres of prime real estate surrounding the soon-to-be- busy central market.

Over the years, Market Square would see the hustle and bustle of many market days. It would also become, for a while, the site of city hall. Numerous businesses came and went along the side, from Kern's popular store to Sam Morrison's record shop - where an agent from RCA first heard the sounds of Elvis Presley - to a variety of entertainment venues (to which Neely devotes a special chapter).

Each era of Market Square's history produced volumes of stories of Knoxville's successes and failures. Neely felt that, as the town needed the Square, these stories needed a point of focus themselves.

"I always kind of wished that there was some place that you could go, some repository of information about the Square," says Neely. "Apparently other people did, too."

A couple of years ago, Neely found himself in conversation - on the Square, appropriately enough - with John Craig, president of the Market Square District Association, and representatives from the University of Tennessee Press. Craig proposed that they could all join forces toward preparing a comprehensive history of the Square.

"I said, 'Sure, I'd like to give it a try,' " says Neely. "I didn't know that it would take almost two years of weekends and evenings. I was grateful for the opportunity. It's been a fascinating and pretty satisfying kind of adventure."

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel
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