
The city of Knoxville was the first capital of Tennessee, but that was some 250 years after Hernando de Soto scoured part of the area in search of El Dorado. The plat for the town was surveyed by Charles McClung and included provisions for a town common along the waterfront, a church and graveyard, and a school, which was chartered as Blount College in 1794 (and was the beginning of the University of Tennessee).
Described as an “alternately quiet and rowdy river town,” Knoxville for a time was indeed part of the Wild West. The infamous Kid Curry, a member of Butch Cassidy’s Wild Bunch, was arrested and held in Knoxville’s jail. He later escaped and galloped out of town on a horse he stole from the sheriff.
Manufacturing and distributing became an important part of the local economy for Knoxville – and the Tennessee River and rail lines made much of the city’s growth possible. Gay Street was the center of commercial development and was lined with stores, warehouses, stables, and more. And then came the Million Dollar Fire of 1897.
It was 4 a.m. in the morning when flames were seen leaping through the roof of the Hotel Knoxville located right where the Mast Store is now. The fire department scrambled and got as many boarders out as possible.
Knowing that the fire could get out of hand, the fire department in Chattanooga was contacted and made the journey to Knoxville aboard a train in record time (at speeds topping 90 miles per hour). One building had to be dynamited to control the blaze. By the end of the day, only five lives were lost, the Chattanooga fire department returned home to cheers, and two blocks of Gay Street lay in smoldering ruins. The losses were valued at $1 million and the cause is yet undetermined.
Out of the ashes arose the building you see today, which was constructed in 1898.
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Enjoy a Snow Day!
Read MoreCold winter days don't mean you have to stay inside. There’s a whole new world dressed in glistening white to discover. There are winter activities for you to enjoy no matter your activity level or expertise. If you can walk, there’s something for you. So, head over to your closet and pull out those layers; we’re going to make a plan to make snow days the best days! But, you better hurry, there’s only about four or five more weeks to enjoy a good “snow day.” Read on for ways to enjoy a winter wonderland.
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Top 7 Valentine's Day Gifts!
Read MoreLove is in the air! But unless you want it to be even colder this Valentine's Day, that love better be in a nice gift bag too. Don't worry, though, we got you. We've compiled our top 7 choices for treating your sweetheart to a special gift that's sure to please-- and keep the cold at bay.
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Sweet Hearts for Sweethearts Day: Mast Store's 2019 Hunger Campaign Enjoys 16th Year
Read MoreThis year’s Be a Sweetheart campaign runs February 9th & 10th. All Mast Store locations will ask guests to open up their sweet hearts and help us make a sizeable donation to our food security partners. For each pound of candy purchased, Mast Store will donate a $1. Thus, we are encouraging guests to scoop up a traditional, sweet gift of candy for the sweethearts in their lives this Valentine’s Day and help us give back to our communities in heartwarming and meaningful ways.
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Leaving After 32 Years, But With Us Forever
Read MoreLooking back at 1986, it was a year filled with notable events including the return of Halley’s Comet on its second 20th-century tour through the solar system, the national debut of the Oprah Winfrey Show, and the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger just 73 seconds after liftoff. On a much more local level, an employee came to the Mast Store whose work can be seen in EVERY store today and whose influence will be around for a long time to come. Years of sanding, staining, designing, and building are drawing to a close for Ronnie with retirement on the horizon, but as we look around, we’ll see him every day!


In the not too distant past, Knoxville was a part of the Wild West. Just down the street from us, Kid Curry made a daring escape from the Knoxville prison..on the sheriff's horse, no less. Employees at the store, at that point in time known as M.M. Newcomer's, may have seen him making his mad dash down Gay Street. The whole block where the Mast Store in Knoxville is burned to the ground in 1897 in the Million Dollar Fire. Most of it was rebuilt in 1898!
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