Town of Farragut & Farragut Folklife Museum

Town of Farragut and Farragut Folklife Museum. . In May 1979, a group of citizens began meeting to discuss the possibility of incorporation. They felt incorporation was necessary in order to control zoning, land use, signage issues and Farragut's own destiny. A small steering committee, named the Farragut Community Group, started work in October 1979 to raise funds, petition for a referendum for incorporation and work out the details of the Town's charter. The Town of Farragut's name was chosen because of the small community feel of "town" as opposed to "city" and due tot he fact that the area was already known as the Farragut community.

The referendum for incorporation was held on Jan. 15, 1980, and passed by a vote of 1,020 in favor and 320 opposed. During these early days, there were many struggles, including a lawsuit from the City of Knoxville to stop the referendum, bu the the new Town prevailed through all the court challenges. On the morning of Jan. 16, 1980, documents were filed with the Tennessee Secretary of State in Nashville, and the Town of Farragut was legally incorporated. The first Board of Mayor and Aldermen were elected on April 1, 1980, with the swearing in taking place on April 7, 1980. During the period between the incorporation vote and the election of the board members, members of the Farragut Community Group and other volunteers spent many long hours organizing and becoming educated by local providers of government services. Once the first Board of Mayor and Aldermen were elected, they met approximately twice a week in the evenings for the first year setting in place the building blocks of a municipality.

The Farragut Folklife Museum was an outgrowth of a one-time event for the State of Tennessee's Homecoming '86 project. In 1985, a small committee began organizing a historical display that would reflect the history of the Farragut and Concord communities. The display was opened on July 4, 1986, and was such a huge success that the Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted to make the museum permanent, chartering the first Farragut Folklife Museum Committee in 1987. The Admiral David Glasgow Farragut Collection was obtained in the spring of 1989 and features artifacts such as Farragut's personal china, uniform ornamentation, family photographs, manuscripts, letters of interest and a large collection of scrimshaw. Today, the museum features thousands of artifacts demonstrating the history of the area and of Admiral Farragut in three galleries located at the Farragut Town Hall. In 2010, the Town unveiled a larger-than-life bronze statue of Admiral Farragut, located in the Farragut Memorial Plaza next to Town Hall. At the time, this bronze was believed to be the only commissioned state of Admiral Farragut in over 100 years.

Admiral Farragut was born at Stoney Point, later known as Lowes Ferry. A Civil War Trails marker can be viewed at Knox County's Admiral Farragut Park located at 9950 S. Northshore Drive, Knoxville, TN 37922.