James White ( General ) James White ( 1747 – August 14 , 1821 ) was an American pioneer and soldier who founded Knoxville , Tennessee , in the early 1790s . Born in Rowan County , North Carolina , White served as a captain in the county ' s militia during the American Revolutionary War . In 1783 , he led an expedition into the upper Tennessee Valley , where he discovered the future site of Knoxville . White served in various official capacities with the failed State of Franklin ( 1784 – 1788 ) before building White ' s Fort in 1786 . The fort was chosen as the capital of the Southwest Territory in 1790 , and White donated the land for a permanent city , Knoxville , in 1791 . He represented Knox County at Tennessee ' s constitutional convention in 1796 . During the Creek War ( 1813 ) , White served as a brigadier general in the Tennessee militia . White had a reputation for patience and tactfulness that was often lacking in his fellow Euro - American settlers on the Appalachian frontier . As lieutenant colonel commandant of the Knox County militia , White managed to defuse a number of potentially hostile situations between the settlers and the local Native Americans . He donated the land for many of Knoxville ' s early public buildings , and helped establish Blount College ( now the University of Tennessee ) . White ' s descendants continued to play prominent roles in the political and economic affairs of Knoxville into the twentieth century . Biography . Early life . White was born in what is now Iredell County , North Carolina , but was then part of Rowan County , to Moses White and Mary McConnell White , who were of Scots - Irish descent . In 1770 , White married Mary Lawson . White served as a captain in the Rowan County militia during the American Revolution , which would subsequently entitle him to a tract of land as payment for his service . As a result of North Carolina ' s Land Grab Act , which opened up lands in what is now East Tennessee to settlement , White and several others explored the Tennessee Valley as far west as what is now Lenoir City in 1783 . White eventually obtained a grant for a tract of land at what is now Knoxville , and in 1784 he was elected to the senate of the new State of Franklin , a position which kept him preoccupied for the next two years . White relocated to what is now Knox County in 1785 , initially settling at the Riverdale community east of modern Knoxville . Within a year , however , he had moved to his tract along the confluence of First Creek and the Tennessee River , and built what became known as White ' s Fort . White ' s Fort . In 1786 , White and fellow explorer James Connor erected White ' s Fort on a hill overlooking the confluence of First Creek and the Tennessee River . William Blount , governor the Southwest Territory ( created in 1790 ) , chose the fort as the Territory ' s capital , and appointed White justice of the peace and a major in the Hawkins County militia . The following year , White set aside a portion of his land for the creation a territorial capital , named " Knoxville " after Secretary of War Henry Knox . The new city was platted by White ' s son - in - law , Charles McClung , and lots were sold in October 1791 . Upon creation of Knox County in 1792 , White became lieutenant colonel commandant of the new county ' s militia . This appointment came during the latter years of the Chickamauga Wars , a period of heightened hostilities between the Chickamauga Cherokee and the white settlers . In 1793 , White defused a potentially violent situation when he dispered a mob of angry settlers that had amassed at Gamble ' s Station for a march against the Overhill towns . The Cherokee considered White a man of honor , and the Creeks praised his " goodness . " In 1798 , White helped negotiate the First Treaty of Tellico . In 1796 , White represented Knox County at Tennessee ' s constitutional convention ( which took place near his fort ) . After the admission of the state to the Union , White was elected brigadier general of the new state ' s Hamilton District ( which included what is now Knox , Jefferson , Blount , and Sevier counties ) , and was elected to the state senate . Upon William Blount ' s return from the U . S . Senate in 1797 , White resigned to allow Blount to run for the seat . Creek War . Following the Fort Mims massacre of August 1813 , Andrew Jackson and John Coffee led the Tennessee militia into northern Alabama in October of that year to engage a contingent of hostile " Red Stick " Creeks . The militiamen scored victories at the Battle of Tallushatchee ( November 3 ) and at the Battle of Talladega ( November 9 ) . In the aftermath of the latter , one of the hostile tribes , the Hillabee , made peace arrangements with Jackson . However , the Tennessee militia ' s East Tennessee contingent , led by John Cocke , had arrived around the same time , and was unaware of the peace negotiations . On November 11 , Cocke ordered James White , leader of the Hamilton District militia , to destroy the Hillabee towns . Over the next several days , White attacked the villages of Little Oakfusky and Genalga , burning 123 houses and capturing several Hillabees . On November 18 , White dispatched a force of allied Cherokee under Gideon Morgan to surround the main Hillabee town . The Hillabee , believing they had made peace , were unprepared for an attack , and were unable to resist Morgan ' s assault . The town was destroyed , 64 Hillabees were killed , and several hundred were captured . The destruction of the Hillabee towns , sometimes called the " Hillabee Massacre , " greatly agitated Jackson , who believed the withdrawal of the Hillabee would demoralize the remaining Red Sticks . To further complicate matters , the East Tennesseans ' terms of service were about to expire . In December , Jackson ordered Cocke and the East Tennessee militiamen to return home . The enraged Hillabee quickly rejoined the Red Stick Confederacy , and fought until the end of the war . Later life . In 1800 , White moved to his country estate east of Knoxville , perhaps having grown weary of the city , which had developed into a rowdy frontier capital . He was again elected to the state senate in 1801 and 1803 . White served as an elder in the Lebanon - in - the - Forks Presbyterian Church , and later served as an elder in the First Presbyterian Church in Knoxville , which stood on land White had set aside for a church in the 1790s . White died in 1821 at his country estate , and was buried next to his wife in the First Presbyterian Church Cemetery . Legacy . White ' s descendants played prominent political and economic roles in Knoxville ' s development for more than a century after his death . His eldest son , Hugh Lawson White , was a United States Senator , and ran for president on the Whig ticket in 1836 . Along with Charles McClung , White ' s sons - in - law included Judge John Overton ( married to Mary White ) , a cofounder of Memphis , Tennessee , and Senator John Williams ( married to Melinda White ) . His other descendants include Congressman Joseph Lanier Williams , railroad magnate Charles McClung McGhee , Admiral Richmond P . Hobson , and playwright Tennessee Williams . In 1970 , White ' s Fort was reconstructed as a museum in downtown Knoxville . White ' s cabin , which provides the fort ' s southwest corner , is the only surviving authentic part of the fort , although it had been dismantled and moved several times over the years before being reassembled at its present location . White ' s other namesakes in Knoxville include the General James White Memorial Civic Coliseum , the James White Parkway , and the James White Greenway .