Come see the Netherland Inn and a unique replica of one of the Donelson party flatboats, and be sure to visit the new Museum of Pioneer Transportation!  A special commemorative presentation will be held at 1 PM on Saturday, July 13, 2013, at the Historic Netherland Inn at Old Kingsport, Tennessee.  Immediately following the ceremony, Netherland Inn docents will give free tours of the Inn and the new Museum of Pioneer Transportation from 2 PM to 4 PM.

Historian James Caldwell will speak on the 1976 Bicentennial flotilla re-enactment, which covered 1,006 river miles and took nine weeks to complete.  Several Kingsport citizens participated in the historic reenactment and the Netherland Inn houses the Charlotte, one of the flatboats that made the journey, which the public can see on the museum grounds.  A second flatboat replica is located in front of the Inn on the banks of the South Fork of the Holston River.

The original journey was made by Col. John Donelson, who served in the Virginia House of Burgesses before moving to the Watauga settlements on the Holston and Watauga rivers in East Tennessee. Along with James Robertson in 1780, he co-founded Fort Nashborough, which would eventually become the city of Nashville, Tennessee.  In 1744, he married Rachel Stockley. Their daughter, Rachel, married the seventh President of the United States, Andrew Jackson.  Col. Donelson's 13 year-old daughter Rachel was part of the 1779 flatboat journey.

The Netherland Inn is located at 2144 Netherland Inn Road, Kingsport, Tennessee.  There is no admission fee for touring the Inn and Museum.  Donations will be accepted. Free parking will be available behind the Inn.   The Netherland Inn is a non-profit educational and charitable organization.  For further information, please call the Netherland Inn at (423) 247-3211.