[81], Between the 1790s and 1820s, additional land cessions were negotiated with the Cherokee, who had established a national government modeled on the U.S. 502 Deaderick Street. Especially during the Americans victory at the . Archaeological excavations indicate that the lower Tennessee Valley was heavily populated by Ice Age hunter-gatherers, and Middle Tennessee is believed to have been rich with game animals such as mastodons. [373], Tennessee is home to more than 120 newspapers. [365] The Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR), also known as The College System of Tennessee, operates 13 community colleges and 27 campuses of the Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology (TCAT). [261] The state has been a top destination for people relocating from Northeastern and Midwestern states. James Robertson (1742-1814), Tennessee state legislator and founder of the Watauga Settlements. [198] Numerous tributaries join to form the Tennessee River in the Ridge and Valley region. [381] Of the state's highways, 1,233 miles (1,984km) are part of the Interstate Highway System. [367], In 2014, the Tennessee General Assembly created the Tennessee Promise, which allows in-state high school graduates to enroll in two-year post-secondary education programs such as associate degrees and certificates at community colleges and trade schools in Tennessee tuition-free, funded by the state lottery, if they meet certain requirements. [348] Parts of West Tennessee, especially Memphis, are sometimes considered part of the Deep South. [249] In addition to the major cities, the Tri-Cities of Kingsport, Bristol, and Johnson City are considered the sixth major population center. [65] North Carolina ceded the area to the federal government in 1790, after which it was organized into the Southwest Territory on May 26 of that year. [400] The Speaker of the Senate also serves as the lieutenant governor, a practice found only in one other state, and the House Speaker is third in line for the governorship. Tennessee has diverse terrain and landforms, and from east to west, contains a mix of cultural features characteristic of Appalachia, the Upland South, and the Deep South. [164], The 1982 World's Fair was held in Knoxville. Nashville is the state's capital and largest city, and anchors its largest metropolitan area. ", "Yet again, Tennessee combined state, local sales tax rates nation's highest", "McMinnville, Tennessee: Nursery Capital of the World", Economic Impacts of Forestry and Forest Product Industries in Tennessee, "Who makes the most cars in North America? [72][73] Elections for a constitutional convention were held in December 1795, and the delegates convened in Knoxville on January 17, 1796, to begin drafting a state constitution. [165] Also known as the Knoxville International Energy Exposition, the fair's theme was "Energy Turns the World". [27] The Cherokee began migrating into what is now eastern Tennessee from what is now Virginia in the latter 17th century, possibly to escape expanding European settlement and diseases in the north. List of counties in Tennessee - Simple English Wikipedia, the free [4] Tennessee is a right-to-work state, like most of its Southern neighbors. Postal Codes Tennessee, United States - GeoNames [64] Efforts to obtain admission to the Union failed, and the counties, now numbering eight, rejoined North Carolina by 1788. [312][313], Since the 1990s, the geographical area between Oak Ridge and Knoxville has been known as the Tennessee Technology Corridor, with more than 500 high-tech firms in the region. [27][28] By the early 18th century, most Natives in Tennessee had disappeared, most likely wiped out by diseases introduced by the Spaniards. Tennessee ranks number one among other states in the total number of soldiers who fought in the War Between the States. [169] The same year, the whitewater slalom events at the Atlanta Summer Olympic Games were held on the Ocoee River in Polk County. [179] The Tennessee River forms most of the division between Middle and West Tennessee. [218] Its tributaries are the Obion, Forked Deer, Hatchie, Loosahatchie, and Wolf rivers. Constitution. Rapid civilizational development occurred during the Mississippian period, when Indigenous peoples developed organized chiefdoms and constructed numerous ceremonial structures throughout the state. The Almost Straight Tennessee-Kentucky Border Tennessee and Kentucky share a boundary line to the north of Tennessee. [246] The state has 340 municipalities in total. [452] The Tennessee Smokies, which have played continuously since 1972,[453] and Chattanooga Lookouts, which have played continuously since 1976,[454] are members of the Double-A classification Southern League. The famous Tennessee state seal displays the Roman numerals XVI, which signifies what number state Tennessee is in terms of its admission to the union (16th state). [127] But most of Tennessee's industrial growth began with the federal investments in the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and the Manhattan Project in the 1930s and 1940s. [409][410], Tennessee is divided into 95 counties, with 92 county governments that use a county commission legislative body and a separately elected county executive. [231] Some of the last remaining large American chestnut trees grow in the Nashville Basin and are being used to help breed blight-resistant trees. Memphis is Tennessee's most populous city and is at the centre of the state's second largest metropolitan area. [354] The 1927 Victor recording sessions in Bristol generally mark the beginning of the country music genre and the rise of the Grand Ole Opry in the 1930s helped make Nashville the center of the country music recording industry. History of Tennessee - Wikipedia Cumulative Estimates of the Components of Resident Population Change for the United States, Regions, States, and Puerto Rico: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2017 (NST-EST2017-04)", "Population and Population Centers by State: 2000", "Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data, Tennessee", "Welcome to the Volunteer State! [34][35][36] In 1673, English fur trader Abraham Wood sent an expedition from the Colony of Virginia into Overhill Cherokee territory in modern-day northeastern Tennessee. The state's highest point, which is also the third-highest peak in eastern North America, is Clingmans Dome, at 6,643 feet (2,025m) above sea level. [43] Settlers from the Colony of South Carolina built Fort Loudoun on the Little Tennessee River in 1756, the first British settlement in what is now Tennessee and the westernmost British outpost to that date. [360] Public primary and secondary education systems are operated by county, city, or special school districts to provide education at the local level, and operate under the direction of the Tennessee Department of Education. [333] The park anchors a large tourism industry based primarily in nearby Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, which includes Dollywood, the most visited ticketed attraction in Tennessee. [310] A number of well-known brands originated in Tennessee, and even more are produced there. A website directory of all branch departments, boards, commissions, and agencies within Tennessee State Government. [249] Murfreesboro is the sixth-largest city and Nashville's largest suburb, with more than 150,000 residents. Tennessee reaches lowest number of distressed counties [296], The state ranks fourth nationwide in the production of tobacco, which is predominantly grown in the Ridge-and-Valley region of East Tennessee. [208] This results in karst that forms numerous caves, sinkholes, depressions, and underground streams. TDEC enforces state environmental laws and regulations. The state's oldest rocks are igneous strata more than 1 billion years old found in the Blue Ridge Mountains,[189][190] and the youngest deposits in Tennessee are sands and silts in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain and river valleys that drain into the Mississippi River. [198] Most of these ridges are low, but some of the higher ones are commonly called mountains. 85.9%. [70] The 13-member territorial House of Representatives first convened in Knoxville on February 24, 1794, to select ten members for the legislature's upper house, the council. [241] Tornadoes are possible throughout the state, with West and Middle Tennessee the most vulnerable. [218] The entirety of the state is in the Mississippi River watershed, except for a small sliver near the southeastern corner traversed by the Conasauga River, which is part of the Mobile Bay watershed. . Tennessee (/tnsi/ (listen) TEN-ih-SEE, locally /tnsi/ TEN-iss-ee),[7][8][9] officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee State Symbols Trivia. [220] All three of these basins are tributaries of the Ohio River watershed. The local government of the state is divided into Counties of Tennessee, government entities, Municipalities and School Associations. [463] The WGC Invitational is a PGA Tour golf tournament that has been held in Memphis since 1958. [157] King had traveled there to support striking African American sanitation workers. Immigration from outside the U.S. resulted in a net increase of 79,086, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 259,342. [22] The constitution was completed on February 6, which authorized elections for the state's new legislature, the Tennessee General Assembly. Wells, Nikki Giovanni, Shelby Foote, Ann Patchett, Ishmael Reed, and Randall Jarrell. State Capital: The capital city of the state: 2. Number of Counties: The number of counties for each state: 4. [421] During this time, East Tennessee was heavily Republican and the western two-thirds mostly voted Democratic, with the latter dominating the state. [230] The Southern Appalachian sprucefir forest in the highest elevations of the Blue Ridge Mountains is considered the second-most endangered ecosystem in the country. Tennessee Rankings | US News Best States [171] In 2006, the state constitution was amended to outlaw same-sex marriage. [39] By the late 17th century, French traders began to explore the Cumberland River valley, and in 1714, under Charles Charleville's command, established French Lick, a fur trading settlement at the present location of Nashville near the Cumberland River. [270] Most Tennesseans who self-identify as having American ancestry are of English and Scotch-Irish ancestry. The governor is supported by 22 cabinet-level departments, most headed by a commissioner the governor appoints. [459], The state is home to 12 NCAA Division I programs. The capital was previously in three other cities. I-26, although technically an eastwest interstate, begins in Kingsport and runs southwardly through Johnson City before exiting into North Carolina. Rankings Details Photos Recommended Articles Overview of Tennessee Area 42,129 SQ. On Saturday, June 24, players had a chance to win $427 million. [31] Cherokee peoples in Tennessee were known by European settlers as the Overhill Cherokee because they lived west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. [368] The program has also received national attention, with multiple states having since created similar programs modeled on the Tennessee Promise. ZIP Code Type Common Cities County Area Codes 37010. [66] The act allowed the territory to petition for statehood once the population reached 60,000. [398] Senators serve four-year terms and House members serve two-year terms. It earned the nickname "The Volunteer State" early in its history due to a strong tradition of military service. [361], The state enrolls approximately 1 million K12 students in 137 districts. [396] The governor is the only official elected statewide. The state's border with North Carolina roughly follows the highest peaks of this range, including Clingmans Dome. Senator from Tennessee, failed to carry his home state, an unusual occurrence but indicative of strengthening Republican support. [279] Nashville has publishing houses of several denominations. Registered Suppliers must: Log into your Edison account to review and update your information every 90 days. [211] The plain begins in the east with low rolling hills and wide stream valleys, known as the West Tennessee Highlands, and gradually levels out to the west. As of 2022, Shelby County was both Tennessee's most populous county, with 916,371 residents, and the largest county in area, covering an area of 755 sq mi (1,955 km 2 ). [269] In 2010, the five most common self-reported ethnic groups in the state were American (26.5%), English (8.2%), Irish (6.6%), German (5.5%), and Scotch-Irish (2.7%). Abbreviation: TN Population (2019): 6,495,978; Rank: 17 of 50 | Population Quick Facts Region: South Admission to Statehood: June 1, 1796 (16th State) State Motto: Agriculture and Commerce State Nickname: Volunteer State Origin of State Name: Named after Cherokee Indian villages called Tanasi [214][215], Tennessee is drained by three major rivers, the Tennessee, Cumberland, and Mississippi. Culturally, most of the state is considered part of the Upland South, and the eastern third is part of Appalachia. [29] They forced the Creek, Yuchi, and Shawnee out of the state in the early 18th century. [351][352] Notable authors with ties to Tennessee include Cormac McCarthy, Peter Taylor, James Agee, Francis Hodgson Burnett, Thomas S. Stribling, Ida B. 'Save Tennessee Students Act' Expansion: Suicide hotline number to be [24] The Archaic peoples first domesticated dogs, and plants such as squash, corn, gourds, and sunflowers were first grown in Tennessee during the Woodland period. [217] Its principal branches in Tennessee are the Obey, Caney Fork, Stones, Harpeth, and Red rivers. Tennessee State Map | USA | Maps of Tennessee (TN) [97] After the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter in April and Lincoln's call for troops in response, the legislature ratified an agreement to enter a military league with the Confederacy on May 7, 1861. [146] As part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) was created in 1933 to provide electricity, jobs, flood control, improved waterway navigation, agricultural development, and economic modernization to the Tennessee River Valley. Department Directory - TN.gov - Tennessee State Government [325] There are sizable reserves of lignite coal in West Tennessee that remain untapped. [48][49] Most of them were English, but nearly 20% were Scotch-Irish. [386] The state also has 74 general aviation airports and 148 heliports.[381]. [292][297] The Nashville Basin is a top equestrian region, due to soils that produce grass favored by horses. [311], Tennessee's commercial sector is dominated by a wide variety of companies, but its largest service industries include health care, transportation, music and entertainment, banking, and finance. [175], Tennessee is in the Southeastern United States. [339][340] Other top attractions include the Tennessee State Museum and Parthenon in Nashville; the National Civil Rights Museum and Graceland in Memphis; Lookout Mountain, the Chattanooga Choo-Choo Hotel, Ruby Falls, and the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga; the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge, the Bristol Motor Speedway, Jack Daniel's Distillery in Lynchburg, and the Hiwassee and Ocoee rivers in Polk County. [115][116] Tennessee ratified the Thirteenth Amendment, which outlawed slavery in every state, on April 7, 1865,[117] and the Fourteenth Amendment, which granted citizenship and equal protection under the law to former slaves, on July 18, 1866. [460] Through the 202122 school year, the OVC also includes the Austin Peay Governors from Clarksville, the UT Martin Skyhawks from Martin, and the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles from Cookeville. [301], Until World War II, Tennessee, like most Southern states, remained predominantly agrarian. [11] Tennessee secedes from the Union, June 8, 1861 - POLITICO [153] After the war, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory became an institution for scientific and technological research. ", States of the Union: Ranking America's Biodiversity, "World Map of KppenGeiger Climate Classification", "Nashville Weather Records (1871-Present)", "Tropical Cyclone Rainfall in the Southeastern United States", "Mean Annual Average Number of Tornadoes 19532004", "National and Local Weather Forecast, Hurricane, Radar and Report", "City and Town Population Totals: 2010-2019", "Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas Population Totals and Components of Change: 20102019", "Tri-Cities seek new name to embrace a whole region", "Historical Population Change Data (19102020)", "Table 4. It is the 16th smallest state in land area. Because Memphis International Airport is the hub of FedEx Corporation, it is the world's busiest cargo airport. Tennessee is bordered by eight other states, the most of any state besides Missouri. Public education in Tennessee - Ballotpedia [332], Tennessee is the 11th-most visited state in the nation,[334] receiving a record of 126 million tourists in 2019. [282] Unionization has historically been low and continues to decline, as in most of the U.S.[283], Tennessee has a reputation as a low-tax state and is usually ranked as one of the five states with the lowest tax burden on residents. [422] This division was related to the state's pattern of Unionist and Confederate loyalism during the Civil War. [323] Tennessee is the nation's leading producer of ball clay. [101] In March 1862, Lincoln appointed native Tennessean and War Democrat Andrew Johnson as military governor of the state. 06/08/2010 04:54 AM EDT On this day in 1861, as the Civil War entered its third month, Tennessee, a border state poised between North and South, voted 102,172-47,328 to secede from the Union. [112] On April 27, 1865, the worst maritime disaster in American history occurred when the Sultana steamboat, which was transporting freed Union prisoners, exploded in the Mississippi River north of Memphis, killing 1,168 people. [187] Its lowest point, 178 feet (54m), is on the Mississippi River at the Mississippi state line in Memphis. The Nashville Sounds, which began play in 1978,[450] and Memphis Redbirds, which began in 1998,[451] each compete in the International League at the Triple-A level, the highest before Major League Baseball. [331] Tennessee was also a top producer of phosphate until the early 1990s. Tennessee County Map, List of Counties in Tennessee with Seats [232] Middle Tennessee is home to many unusual and rare ecosystems known as cedar glades, which occur in areas with shallow limestone bedrock that is largely barren of overlying soil and contain many endemic plant species. Alabama: Mississippi, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia: 4: 2. [273], Tennessee is included in most definitions of the Bible Belt, and is ranked as one of the nation's most religious states. State park rangers are responsible for all activities and law enforcement inside the Tennessee State Parks system. [381] These include the Mississippi, Tennessee, and Cumberland rivers. [52] The next year, after an unsuccessful petition to Virginia, North Carolina agreed to annex the Washington District to provide protection from Native American attacks. [390] Norfolk Southern Railway also operates lines in East and southwestern Tennessee. [242] They can be severe, and the state leads the nation in the percentage of total tornadoes that have fatalities. To pay off debts and alleviate overcrowded prisons, the state turned to convict leasing, providing prisoners to mining companies as strikebreakers, which was protested by miners forced to compete with the system. [249] Clarksville is a significant population center, with about 170,000 residents. The Nashville market is the third-largest in the Upland South and the ninth-largest in the southeastern United States, according to Nielsen Media Research. [229] Appalachian oakpine and cove hardwood forests are found in the Blue Ridge Mountains and Cumberland Plateau, and bottomland hardwood forests are common throughout the Gulf Coastal Plain. [105] Union strength in Middle Tennessee was tested in a series of Confederate offensives beginning in the summer of 1862, which culminated in General William Rosecrans's Army of the Cumberland routing General Braxton Bragg's Army of Tennessee at Stones River, another one of the war's costliest engagements. Tennesseans narrowly supported Warren G. Harding over Ohio Governor James Cox in 1920,[428] and more decisively voted for Herbert Hoover over New York Governor Al Smith in 1928. 16 Top-Rated Tourist Attractions in Tennessee | PlanetWare [209], West of the Highland Rim is the Western Tennessee Valley, which consists of about 10 miles (16km) in width of hilly land along the banks of the Tennessee River. [304] Two other automakers have assembly plants in Tennessee: General Motors in Spring Hill and Volkswagen in Chattanooga. [464], .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct,.mw-parser-output .geo-inline-hidden{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}36N 86W / 36N 86W / 36; -86 (State of Tennessee). [268] In 2020, Non-Hispanic or Latino Whites were 70.9% of the population, compared to 57.7% of the population nationwide. Memphis 901 FC has played in the second-tier USL Championship since 2019. Tennessee Ridge, Tennessee Rdg Houston County Area Code 931. I-24 is an eastwest interstate that enters the state in Clarksville, passes through Nashville, and terminates in Chattanooga. [119], The years after the Civil War were characterized by tension and unrest between blacks and former Confederates, the worst of which occurred in Memphis in 1866. 7,134,327 The last official population count for the state of Tennessee was taken during the last nationwide census held in 2010. The Chattanooga Mocs and Johnson City's East Tennessee State Buccaneers are full members, including football, of the Southern Conference. [192][193] The Eastern Tennessee Seismic Zone spans the entirety of East Tennessee from northwestern Alabama to southwestern Virginia, and is considered one of the most active zones in the Southeastern United States, frequently producing low-magnitude earthquakes. [177] It borders eight other states: Kentucky and Virginia to the north, North Carolina to the east, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi on the south, and Arkansas and Missouri on the west. The executive branch is led by the governor, who holds office for a four-year term and may serve a maximum of two consecutive terms. That number reflects a rise of 11.5% on the statistics from the previous census held in 2000. [378] Tennessee is currently one of five states with no transportation-related debts. [364], Public higher education is overseen by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC), which provides guidance to the state's two public university systems. [142] Scopes was prosecuted by former Secretary of State and presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan and defended by attorney Clarence Darrow. A local activist group spent many years contesting the project, and in 1971, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with the group and established the framework for judicial review of government agencies in the landmark case of Citizens to Preserve Overton Park v. [148][149] The agency quickly grew into the country's largest electric utility and initiated a period of dramatic economic growth and transformation that brought many new industries and employment opportunities to the state. [369], Tennessee has 107 private institutions.
