1. Charles McClung was an American pioneer, politician, and surveyor best known for drawing up the original plat of Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1791.
14 Facts About Charles McClung
1. 2.
Charles McClung helped draft Tennessee's constitution in 1796, surveyed and planned what is Kingston Pike in 1792, and served as Knox County's first court clerk.
3.
Charles McClung later claimed that due to his mechanical aptitude, his father gave him an unfair amount of work on the family farm.
4.
In 1778, Charles McClung ran away to Philadelphia where he found work as a clerk.
5.
Charles McClung's employer was impressed with McClung's penmanship and record-keeping ability, and McClung gradually accumulated over $1,000 in savings.
6.
Charles McClung was fired after he was caught flirting with his employer's daughter.
7.
Charles McClung subsequently returned home and used his earnings to help his parents make improvements to the family farm.
8.
Charles McClung's design consisted of a rectangular grid with the Tennessee River as its southern boundary and First Creek as its eastern boundary.
9.
In 1792, Charles McClung surveyed and planned what is Kingston Pike from Knoxville to Campbell's Station.
10.
Charles McClung was present at the Tennessee constitutional convention in 1796 and helped draft the state's initial constitution.
11.
In 1805, Charles McClung hired prominent early Knoxville architect Thomas Hope to build his country home, Statesview, about 10 miles west of Knoxville, just off the Kingston road.
12.
Charles McClung lived in the house until his death in 1835.
13.
Charles McClung died while vacationing at Harrodsburg Springs, Kentucky, in 1835, and was initially buried in a private cemetery in Harrodsburg.
14.
For over a century after his death, Charles McClung's descendants continued to play prominent roles in the cultural and economic affairs of Knoxville.