The National Conservation Exposition was an exposition

World's Fair

World's fair, World fair, Universal Exposition, and World Expo are various large public exhibitions held in different parts of the world. The first Expo was held in The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London, United Kingdom, in 1851, under the title "Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All...

 held in Knoxville

Knoxville, Tennessee

Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...

, Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, between September 1, 1913 and November 1, 1913. The exposition celebrated the cause of bringing national attention to conservation

Conservation ethic

Conservation is an ethic of resource use, allocation, and protection. Its primary focus is upon maintaining the health of the natural world: its, fisheries, habitats, and biological diversity. Secondary focus is on materials conservation and energy conservation, which are seen as important to...

 activities, especially in the Southeastern United States

Southeastern United States

The Southeastern United States, colloquially referred to as the Southeast, is the eastern portion of the Southern United States. It is one of the most populous regions in the United States of America....

. The fair was held in what is now Knoxville's Chilhowee Park

Chilhowee Park

Chilhowee Park is a public park, fairgrounds and exhibition venue in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA, located off Magnolia Avenue in East Knoxville. Developed in the late 19th century, the park is now home to the Tennessee Valley Fair, and hosts several dozen expositions annually...

.

History

Inspired by the successes of Knoxville's Appalachian Expositions of 1910 and 1911, civic leaders sought to bring greater national exposure to the community with a third exhibition in 1913. In 1912, at the convention of the National Conservation Congress, the organization endorsed Knoxville as the conservation fair site. The National Conservation Exposition Company was established and funded by the Tennessee legislature

Tennessee General Assembly

The Tennessee General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee.-Constitutional structure:According to the Tennessee State Constitution of 1870, the General Assembly is a bicameral legislature and consists of a Senate of thirty-three members and a House of Representatives of...

 with passage of the Senate Bill #1, Chapter 19 of the general appropriation bill passed during the 58th General Assembly. Additional federal funding was secured for the fair by May 1913.

Although a national exhibition, it primarily focused on the environment and natural resources of the South

Southern United States

The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...

. The two month exhibition drew over one million visitors, with nine major and six smaller buildings constructed on-site to house its exhibits and demonstrations.

External links

• The First Exposition of Conservation and Its Builders — Google Books