Tennessee - Fun Facts, State Symbols, Photos, Visitor Info

“No free Government can stand without virtue in the people, and
a lofty spirit of patriotism;
and if the sordid feelings of mere selfishness shall usurp the place

which ought to be filled by public spirit, the legislation of Congress will soon

be converted into a scramble for personal and sectional advantages.”

President

James K. Polk

"It becomes us in humility to make our devout acknowledgments to the Supreme Ruler of the Universe for the inestimable civil and religious blessings with which we are favored."

President

Andrew Jackson

"The Bible is the Rock on which this Republic rests."

President

James K. Polk

"The gratitude of the nation to the Sovereign Arbiter of All Human Events should be commensurate with the boundless blessings which we enjoy."

President

Davy Crockett

"I have acted fearless and independent and I never will regret my course. I would rather be politically buried that to be hypocritically immortalized."

Frontiersman and Politician

Elvis Presley

“I believe in the Bible. I believe that all good things come from God. I don't believe I'd sing the way I do if God hadn't wanted me to.”

Pop Music Star

Amy Grant

"I think that if my kids are completely convinced of God's unfailing love for them, whether they fail or not, they'll have confidence to persevere in life."

Pop Music Star

Davy Crockett

“We have the right as individuals to give away as much of our own money as we please in charity; but as members of Congress we have no right to appropriate a dollar of the public money."

Frontiersman and Politician

Entered the Union: June 1, 1796 (16)		Capital: Nashville
Origin of Name: from the old Yuchi Indian word, "Tana-see," meaning "The Meeting Place."
State Nickname: Volunteer State		State Bird: Mockingbird
State Slogan: America at its Best		State Flower: Iris
State Motto: Volunteer State		State Tree: Tulip Poplar
State Horse: Tennessee Walking Horse		State Animal: Raccoon
State Songs: My Homeland, Tennessee • When It's Iris Time in Tennessee • My Tennessee • Tennessee Waltz • Rocky Top
National Forest: 1 • State Forests: 15 • State Parks: 54
Famous For: Grand Ole Opry, Music Row, Beale Street Blues, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Country Music Hall of Fame, Graceland (home of Elvis)
Famous Tennesseans: Samuel Carter (Navy Admiral & Army General), Davy Crockett (frontiersman), Andrew Jackson • Andrew Johnson • James K. Polk (Presidents), Tennessee Ernie Ford, Aretha Franklin, Amy Grant • Dolly Parton, Justin Timberlake, (singers), Minnie Pearl (entertainer), Sequoyah (Cherokee Scholar), Dinah Shore (actress), Wilma Rudolph (sprinter), Lester Flatt (bluegrass musician)
Native Animals and Birds: Click on photos of the animals and birds on this page to find out more about them and to hear the sounds they make.

State Fair: Nashville
















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Tennessee National Forest

Tennessee State Forests

Tennessee State Parks

Tennessee Historic Sites

Tennessee Attractions

Grand Ole Opry

Elvis Presley - Graceland

Fishing in Tennessee

Hunting in Tennessee

Skiing in Tennessee

Memphis Grizzlies (NBA)

Nashville Predators (NHL)

Tennessee Titans (NFL)

Tennessee Homeschooling

Tennessee Wildlife

Listen to Mockingbird's Song

Tennessee Wildflowers Photo Gallery

Tennessee Photo Galleries :

Nashville Photo Gallery

Tennessee Butterflies

Tennessee Resorts

Tennessee RV Parks

Tennessee Hotels & Reviews

Tennessee Restaurants & Reviews

Three groups of Native Americans lived in the Tennessee region. Cherokee claimed Middle Tennessee for hunting, Chickasaw lived in West Tennessee, and Creek lived in the southeastern region.

First visited by the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto in 1540, the Tennessee area would later be claimed by both France and England as a result of the 1670s and 1680s explorations of Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet, Sieur de la Salle, and James Needham and Gabriel Arthur. Great Britain obtained the area after the French and Indian Wars in 1763.

In 1769 Tennessee saw its first 'settlement' when William Bean built his cabin on Boone's Creek near the Watauga River and several families from North Carolina joined him.

“The Volunteer State” nickname originated during the War of 1812, in which the volunteer soldiers from Tennessee serving under Gen. Andrew Jackson displayed marked valor in the Battle of New Orleans.

The Cherokees in 1828 were not nomadic savages. They had assimilated many European-style customs, including the wearing of gowns by Cherokee women. They built roads, schools and churches, had a system of representational government, and were farmers and cattle ranchers. A Cherokee alphabet, the "Talking Leaves" was developed by Sequoyah.

In 1835 an Indian Treaty was signed which resulted in the "Trail of Tears." Cherokee Indians were marched thousand miles to reservations in Oklahoma. About 4000 Cherokee died as a result of the removal.

On a clear day seven states are visible from Lookout Mountain near Chattanooga.

Tennessee's State Capital, Nashville, is known as "Music City" – the country music capital of the world.

The Grand Ole Opry in Nashville is the longest continuously running live radio program in the world. It has broadcast every weekend since 1925.

Bluegrass music originated in Bristol, in northeastern Tennessee.

The largest earthquake in American history, the New Madrid Earthquake, occurred in the winter of 1811-12 in Tennessee. Reelfoot Lake was formed during this earthquake.

Reelfoot Lake is touted the "Turtle Capital of the World"

Andrew Johnson held every elective office at the local, state, and federal level, including President of the United States. He was elected alderman, mayor, state representative, and state senator from Greeneville. He served as governor and military governor of Tennessee and United States congressman, senator, and vice president, becoming President of the United States following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

There are more horses per capita in Shelby County than any other county in the United States.

The only person in American history to be both an Admiral in the Navy and a General in the Army was Samuel Powhatan Carter who was born in Elizabethton.

Hattie Caraway (1878-1950) born in Bakersville became the first woman United States Senator.

Oak Ridge was instrumental in the development of the atomic bomb. Because of constant energy research, it is known as the Energy Capital of the World.

Tennessee has more than 3,800 documented caves.

Bristol is known as the Birthplace of Country Music.

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited national park in the United States. The park was named for the smoke-like bluish haze that often envelops these fabled mountains.

Elvis Presley's home, Graceland, is located in Memphis. It is the second most visited house in the country.

Robert R. Church, Sr. of Memphis is purported to be the South's first African-American millionaire.

A replica of The Parthenon, the famous ancient Greek building in Athens, Greece, stands in Nashville's Centennial Park.

The Cherokee silversmith, Sequoyah, was the only known man in the history of the world to single-handedly develop an alphabet. His syllabus for the Cherokee Nation resulted in the first written language for a Native American people.

The Ocoee River in southeastern Tennessee is rated among the top white water recreational rivers in the nation and was the site for the Olympic white water canoe/kayak competition in the 1996 Olympics.

The world's largest artificial skiing surface is located at the Ober Gatlinburg Ski Resort in Gatlinburg. There a 5-acre artificial ski surface permits skiing in any type of weather.

Coca-Cola was first bottle in 1899 at a plant in Chattanooga.

Tennesse's Ethnic Roots: American 17.3%, African 16.4%, Irish 9.3%, English 9.1%, German 8.3%. ('Americans' are likely of British or Scotch-Irish descent.)

Religion in Tennessee: 82% Christian (64% Protestant, 6% Catholic, 12% Other), 9% No Religion, 3% Other Religions.

The Great Smoky Mountains are known as the "Salamander Capital of the World!" At least thirty species of salamanders live in the park.

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park was named for the smoke-like bluish haze that often envelopes these fabled mountains.

April Fool's Day

April 1
April Fool's Day
is celebrated in various countries on April 1. The day is marked by the commission of hoaxes and other practical jokes or sending someone on a fool's errand, the aim of which is to embarrass the gullible.
Read more in our forum.

Arbor Day

April 26, 2013
Arbor Day is a national holiday enacted in 1872 to encourage people to plant trees and appreciate all the things trees give us.

National Day of Prayer

May 2, 2013
National Day of Prayer is an annual observance held on the first Thursday of May, inviting all Americans to pray for our nation. It as created in 1952 by Congress and Pres. Harry S. Truman.
Read more in our forum.

Mothers Day

May 12, 2013
is Mother's Day! It is celebrated on the 2nd Sunday in May to honor mothers and motherhood. In 1914, Pres. Woodrow Wilson made this an official holiday in the USA.
Read more in our forum.

Armed Forces Day

May 18, 2013
Armed Forces Day
is a day to pay tribute to the men and women who serve in the five military branches of the United States' armed forces.
Read more in our forum.

Pentecost

May 19, 2013
Pentecost
is the day the Christian church was born. On the Jewish feast of Pentecost, 40 days after Jesus rose from the dead, he sent the Holy Spirit to fill his disciples with the empowerment of God's presence.
Read more in our forum.

Memorial Day