Knoxville, seat of the University of Tennessee (founded 1794), lies in the east of the state and is a good base from which to explore the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It was the first capital of the state, as is evidenced in the Governor William Blount Mansion of 1792; today its emblem is the Sunshine Tower. Other features of interest
are General James White's Fort (1786), the Knoxville Museum of Art and the Confederate Memorial Hall, which recalls the siege of the city during the Civil War.