James White, The Founder of Knoxville, came here in the early 1780′s from North Carolina. He had fought in the Revolutionary... War and was given a land grant of 1,000 acres for his service. He built his 2-story log house on the present site of Knoxville in 1786. Two years later he enclosed the house and other buildings with a stockade fence for protection from the wild animals. James White was...