In early 2023, the Heritage Alliance in association with the Jonesborough Genealogical Society (JGS) endeavored to create a Tennessee Specialty License Plate for “Historic Jonesborough, Oldest Town in Tennessee”.   The plate shows our town pride, showcases Jonesborough, and was a fundraiser for multiple terrific non-profit organizations.

After a design contest and modifications, the Historic License Plate Committee came up with one of the best-looking designs in Tennessee.  The “Historic Jonesborough, Oldest Town in Tennessee” specialty license plate, features the beloved Historic Chester Inn, the oldest commercial building in the oldest town, and the beautiful Blue Ridge mountains. 

In September 2023, a push began for the 1,000 pre-orders needed to put the plate into production. Even though we received a great deal of positive feedback this did not translate into the number of pre-orders required. In late 2024, the organizations worked with Tennessee officials to craft a bill that lowers the threshold for this and other license plates that benefit State Historic Sites of the Tennessee Historical Commission.  In early 2025, the bill made it through the Tennessee House and Senate committees and was progressing well.  Unfortunately, the bill did not pass. Without another path forward for the Historic Jonesborough specialty license plate, this project was closed.