Editing Jonesborough, Tennessee (section)

===Modern tourism===
[[File:Jonesborough-chester-inn1.jpg|right|200px|thumb|The Chester Inn, built in 1797, still stands in downtown Jonesborough.]]
Today, Jonesborough attracts heritage tourism because of its status as Tennessee's oldest town and its rich architectural fabric, protected by local [[historic preservation]] efforts. The town's museum describes the local heritage of small-scale [[tobacco]] farming. The historic [[Chester Inn]], built in 1797, still stands in downtown Jonesborough.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tennesseeanytime.org/homework/historicsites/chestinn.html |title=Chester Inn |access-date=October 6, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121031201/http://www.tennesseeanytime.org/homework/historicsites/chestinn.html |archive-date=November 21, 2008  }}</ref>

The [[Jonesborough Historic District]] was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1969. The oldest surviving building in the town, the Christopher Taylor House (built in 1777 about a mile outside of the original town limits), was relocated to a lot within the historic district.

Jonesborough is the home of the International Storytelling Center, which holds the annual [[National Storytelling Festival]] on the first full weekend in October. The festival builds on the [[Appalachia]]n cultural tradition of [[storytelling]], and has been drawing people from around the world for more than 35 years. Large tents are pitched in parks around town, and storytellers sit on stages or at the head of the main tent to perform. Occasionally, performances are interrupted for a moment by passing [[Norfolk Southern Railway]] trains. Past storytellers included [[Carmen Agra Deedy]], [[Syd Lieberman]], and [[Kathryn Tucker Windham]]. The festival inspired the development of a successful storytelling graduate degree program at  nearby [[East Tennessee State University]].<ref>[http://www.etsu.edu/stories/ Storytelling Degree information]; East Tennessee State University online.</ref>