H. P. Ijams

H. P. Ijams. and the Bird Club. , Harry Peale (H.P.) Ijams was born July 19, 1876. He grew up near here, went to local schools and the Cincinnati School of Art. In 1910, a short time after they married, H.P. and Alice Ijams bought the 20 acres that surround this sign. H.P., an avid birdwatcher, and Alice, a tireless gardener, transformed the site into a wildlife sanctuary. , , Birdwatching as an amateur pastime began around the turn of the century fueled, in part, by the creation of the National Audubon Society. Soon, other like-minded groups began to form. , , The statewide Tennessee Ornithological Society was founded on October 7, 1915 in Nashville. The state's second chapter was created in Knoxville at a January 13, 1924 meeting in the Ijams family home. For the first several years, the group routinely met here. , , The founding officers included H.P. Ijams (president), G. M. Bentley (vice president), Paul J. Adams (secretary-treasurer) and S.A. Ogden (curator), as well as members Brockway Crouch, C.L. Gibson, Charles Seacress, George A. Knopt and Gus L. Burdett, plus junior member H.P.'s daughter, Elizabeth. , , Eighteen years after its creation, the local group changed its name to the Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society (KTOS). They routinely held annual bird counts known as "Spring Field Days" for many years. The Ijams homesite was the center of the count circle.