Travel Oracles 50 States: Tennessee
As part of my summer series - Travel Oracles 50 States - I am revisiting each os the fifty American states as an overview on travel culture and history. Today: Tennessee
Joined: Tennessee became the 16th state of the union on June 1, 1796. Tennessee seceded (withdrew) from the Union near the beginning of the Civil War in 1861 but became the first state to rejoin in 1866.
Original Indigenous Peoples: The Muscogee (Creek), Yuchi, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Cherokee, Shawnee, and Seneca. In 1830 President Andrew Jackson’s horrific Indian Removal Act forced Native Americans to leave all lands east of the Mississippi River. To this day, no state-recognized tribes live in Tennessee.
First Settlers: The first European to arrive in Tennessee was Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto in 1541. He claimed the land for Spain, but it would be over 100 years later until Europeans began to settle the area. In 1714, Charles Charleville built a small fort in Tennessee called Fort Lick where he traded furs with the local Indian tribes for many years. This area would eventually become the city of Nashville. After the French and Indian War in 1763 between France and Britain, Britain took control of the land. They made it part of the colony of North Carolina. At the same time, they made a law that said colonists could not settle west of the Appalachian Mountains.
History moment: In 1878, a yellow fever epidemic swept through Memphis, claiming the lives of around 5,000 people. Although many neighboring towns and cities throughout the South established quarantines to prevent the disease from spreading, a majority of residents fled Memphis after news of the outbreak was first reported. The Grand Ole Opry in Nashville began as a live music show called the “WSM Barn Dance” by announcer George Hay in 1925. One of the state’s most popular tourist attractions, it is also the longest-running radio show in U.S. history. Twenty-four-year-old John Scopes was arrested and put on trial in 1925 for violating Tennessee state law by teaching Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution as part of his public high school curriculum. The “monkey trial,” as it became known, garnered national attention and publicized scientific evidence for evolution, but resulted in a guilty verdict for Scopes, who was fined $100. It was not until 1968 that the Supreme Court asserted that any law banning the teaching of evolution in public schools was unconstitutional. In 1947, the Tennessee legislature adopted the tulip poplar as the state tree in recognition of its widespread use by 18th and 19th-century pioneers in the construction of their homes and farms.
Known for: Nashville “music city”, Grand Ole Opry, home to Dolly and Elvis (Graceland), Whiskey (like Jack Daniels), Barbeque, Smoky Mountains, Dollywood,
Places: Nashville, Memphis, Chattanooga, Knoxville, Pigeon Forge, Great Smoky Mountains
Movie setting: Nashville, The Client, Walk the Line, The Blind Side, and of course the popular show “Nashville”
Musicians from: Dolly Parton!! Elvis Presley!! Tina Turner!! Bessie Smith, Chet Atkins, Gregg Allman, Rosanne Cash, Kenny Chesney, Justin Timberlake, Miley Cyrus
Surprising facts: RC Cola and Moon Pie were first invented at Chattanooga Bakery, moon pies are a Tennessee tradition. Memphis is famous for its barbecue and hosts the well-attended “Memphis in May” barbecue competition each year. Great Smoky Mountains National Park is America’s most visited national park. Elvis’ home Graceland is the most visited private residences in America–second only to the White House. Back in 1866, Jack Daniel's became the first registered distillery in the United States; today, it's the top-selling American whiskey in the world
Tennessee’s music, scenic beauty, and history are top reasons the state continues to attract, entertain, and charm the masses. Several genres of American music have their roots and branches here: bluegrass and Appalachian music in the eastern parts of the state; country, Americana, and pop in Nashville; and blues, soul, and rock ‘n’ roll in Memphis. Elvis Presley recorded his early hits at Sun Studio in Memphis and most of his No. 1 records at Studio B in Nashville. Popular recording artists Sheryl Crow, Jack White, Taylor Swift, and the Black Keys, who all live in Nashville now, thrive on its reputation as "Music City," as do world-famous music attractions that include the Grand Ole Opry, Honky Tonk Row, and Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum. Enduring entertainment attractions like Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, and the newly opened Discovery Park of America in Union City demonstrate Tennessee’s popularity with diverse audiences. In East Tennessee, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a world biosphere and Eden for nature lovers, attracting more visitors than any other park in the federal system. Long before there was a park, however, Tennessee was part of the American frontier, where Davy Crockett, Daniel Boone, and U.S. presidents Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk, and Andrew Johnson lived. It is just 112 miles wide but stretches 432 miles from the Appalachian Mountains boundary with North Carolina in the east to the Mississippi River borders with Missouri and Arkansas in the west. Let’s travel to Tennessee
My Experience: I have been to Nashville multiple times and always enjoy it, from the food to the vintage to the music - but I really need to go back for Dollywood! Things to do in Tennessee
Nashville: Heralded as Music City, U.S.A., and the country-music capital of the world, Tennessee's fast-growing capital city also shines as a leading center of higher education, appropriately known as the Athens of the South. Nashville has prospered from both labels, emerging as one of the South's most vibrant cities in the process. The District, the downtown area along 2nd Avenue and historic Broadway, has become a popular destination for tourists and locals alike, with restaurants, specialty shopping, and entertainment options. The historic sites throughout the city—such as the Hermitage and the Belle Meade Plantation—add another dimension.
Nature: There are 12 national designated parks and historical sites, including Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Shiloh National Military Park (the sites of one of the most bloody battles of the Civil War. Nearly 110,000 American troops clashed that resulted in 23,746 casualties; more casualties than in all of America's previous wars combined)
Ranking in US: Per the annual US News report, Tennessee is currently ranked #29 out of 50 in 2021 and #30 in 2019.