Allen Coggins is a toponymist (one who studies the cultural and historical heritage of a place or region). He has authored three books: Place Names of the Smokies, Tennessee Tragedies, and Escape from Bone Cave. He is presently working on a fourth book, tentatively entitled “The Meaning and Origin of Knoxville and Knox County Street Names.”

For much of his professional career, Allen was an emergency management specialist with Oak Ridge Associated Universities. He is a member of the Tennessee Committee on Geographic Names. This advisory committee reports to the U.S. Board on Geographic Names of the U.S. Geological Survey. In a previous life he was a conservationist who served as Chief Naturalist for both Georgia and Tennessee state parks.

Allan is a former president (2005) of our society. Along with Steve Hillenbrand and others, he is a member of the “Wednesday Afternoon Trailhead Beer Market Professors Roundtable.” He and wife Barbara reside in Blount County, close to their beloved Smokies. The presentation is about his upcoming book.

For more information on TSK and its meetings, please email TSK secretary, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call him at 865-679-9854.