Knoxville, Tennessee: Difference between revisions
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|official_name = Knoxville, Tennessee |
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|nickname = The Marble City, K-Town,<br/>Big Orange Country, KnoxVegas, 865 |
|nickname = The Marble City, K-Town,<br/>Big Orange Country, KnoxVegas, 865, Rocky Top |
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|image_skyline = Knoxville TN skyline.jpg |
|image_skyline = Knoxville TN skyline.jpg |
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Revision as of 13:11, 29 July 2007
Knoxville, Tennessee | |
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| Nickname(s): The Marble City, K-Town, Big Orange Country, KnoxVegas, 865, Rocky Top | |
 Location within the U.S. State of Tennessee. | |
| Country | United States of America |
| State | Tennessee |
| County | Knox |
| Settled | 1786 |
| Incoporated | 1791 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Mayor-council government |
| • Mayor | Bill Haslam |
| Area | |
| • Total | 98.09 sq mi (254.1 km2) |
| • Land | 92.66 sq mi (240.0 km2) |
| • Water | 5.43 sq mi (14.1 km2) 5.5% |
| Elevation | 936 ft (285 m) |
| Population (2000)[2] | |
| • Total | 173,890 |
| • Density | 1,876.7/sq mi (724.6/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| Area code | 865 |
| Website | www.ci.knoxville.tn.us |
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the state of Tennessee, behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox CountyTemplate:GR. It is also the principal city of the "Knoxville, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area" which is included in the "Knoxville-Sevierville-La Follette Combined Statistical Area". As of the 2000 United States Census, Knoxville had a total population of 173,890 with a metro population of 655,400.
Of Tennessee's four major cities, Knoxville is second oldest to Nashville which was founded in 1779. Knoxville also was the state's first capital when Tennessee was admitted into the Union in 1796, in which capacity it served until 1819, when the capital was moved to Murfreesboro. The city was named in honor of the first Secretary of War, Henry Knox.
One of Knoxville's nicknames is The Marble City. In the early 20th century, a number of quarries were active in the city, supplying Tennessee pink marble (actually Ordovician limestone of the Holston Formation) to much of the country. Notable buildings such as the National Gallery in Washington are constructed of Knoxville marble. The National Gallery's fountains were turned by Candoro Marble Company, which once ran the largest marble lathes in the United States.
Knoxville was once also known as the Underwear Capital of the World. In the 1930s, no fewer than 20 textile and clothing mills operated in Knoxville, and the industry was the city's largest employer. Most of the mills were located in the historic Old City. In the 1950s, the mills began to close, causing an overall population loss of 10% by 1960.
Knoxville is also the home of the University of Tennessee's primary campus (UTK), and the city is often refered to as "Knoxvegas" by the UTK student body. The university's sports teams, called the "Volunteers" or "Vols," are extremely popular in the surrounding area. In recognition of this popularity, the telephone area code for Knox County and eight adjacent counties is 865 (VOL). Knoxville is also the home of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, almost entirely thanks to the popularity of Pat Summitt and the University of Tennessee women's basketball team.
As of 2006, the current mayor is Bill Haslam, who defeated Madeline Rogero in 2003. The previous mayor of sixteen years, Victor Ashe, was named United States Ambassador to Poland in June 2004. Ashe was term-limited and could not serve another term.
History
The first humans to live in what is now Knoxville were of the Woodland tribe, a group of hunters and trappers driven south from the Great Lakes region by climatic changes, probably about 1000 B.C. Their culture eventually gave way to that of the mound builders, whose influence was felt throughout most of the South; a burial mound from this era can be found on the UT campus [3]. The Shawnee and Creek briefly occupied small areas in the state, but little archaeological evidence has been found. By the 18th century, the only native peoples living permanently around what would later be Knoxville were the Cherokee. The Cherokee people called this area Shacomage, or "Place of Blue Smoke."
Early contacts between the European settlers and the Cherokee were fairly cordial, which encouraged colonial expansion into the land west of the Great Smoky Mountains. White's Fort was settled in 1786 by James White, a militia officer during the American Revolutionary War. When William Blount, the territorial governor of the Southwest Territory, moved the territorial capital to White's Fort in 1791, he renamed it Knoxville in honor of Henry Knox, the American Revolutionary War general and Washington's Secretary of War.
One of William Blount's first tasks was to meet with the Cherokee and establish territorial boundaries; this he accomplished almost immediately in the Treaty of Holston, and he believed that he had "purchased" much of what is now East Tennessee when it was signed in 1791. However, the terms of the treaty came under dispute, culminating in continued violence on both sides. Several large Cherokee attacks on Knoxville: 200 Cherokee lead by John Watts marched on Knoxville in 1792, and a second group of Cherokee attacked Covet's Station in 1793. Both attacks were repelled by Knoxville settlers. Knoxville settlers attacked the Cherokee several times as well. When the government invited the Cherokee's chief Hanging Maw for negotiations in 1793, Knoxville settlers attacked the Cherokee against orders, killing the chief's wife. Peace was renegotiated in 1794 [4].
Despite these tensions, the Treaty of Holston opened the area to more settlers. Knoxville served as the territorial capital until 1796, when a constitutional convention was held in Knoxville to establish Tennessee as a state. When Tennessee entered the United States in 1796, Knoxville was the first capital of the state until 1815, when the capital was moved to Murfreesboro. On May 28, 1830, President Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act, requiring all Native Americans to leave their homes and move west of the Mississippi River. Some Cherokees refused to go, and filed a lawsuit against the government to stop this from taking place. However, many of the remaining Cherokee left the Knoxville area at this time in the Trail of Tears.
During the ante-bellum period, the Knoxville and Knox County included plantations, although slavery was not as widespread in East Tennessee as it was in Middle and West Tennessee. This undoubtably contributed to sixty-nine percent of East Tennesseeans voting against secession in 1861. The Greater Warner Tabernacle AME Zion Church, Knoxville was reportedly a station on the underground railroad.
During the American Civil War, the Battle of Campbell's Station was outside Knoxville on November 16, 1863. In that battle Confederate troops led by General James Longstreet unsuccessfully attacked Union forces under General Ambrose Burnside. The next day, the two week long Siege of Knoxville began when Longstreet placed Knoxville under siege. The siege, which culminated in the Battle of Fort Sanders, failed and Longstreet returned with his men to General Robert E. Lee. A separate incident occurred at the Baker Peters House during the Civil War; Dr. Harvey Baker was killed by Union troops.
The Battle of Fort Sanders (precipitated by the Siege of Knoxville, which began on November 17, 1863) was an engagement of the American Civil War fought in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Confederacy had never had effective control of large areas of East Tennessee. There had been little slavery practiced in East Tennessee, partly due to moral opposition to the practice and partly due to the fact that little of the land was suitable to plantation agriculture; pro-Union and Republican sentiment ran high and most East Tennesseans had not been in favor of secession. Therefore, Union forces had little trouble occupying Knoxville early in the conflict.
Historical highlights in the modern era
In 1901, train robber Kid Curry (whose real name was Harvey Logan), a member of Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch was captured after shooting two deputies on Knoxville's Central Avenue. He escaped from the Knoxville Jail and rode away on the sheriff's stolen horse.
In 1933 during the Great Depression, the Tennessee Valley Authority was founded and headquartered in Knoxville by the U.S. government to help create jobs and attract manufacturing dependent on cheap electricity.
In 1948, the soft drink Mountain Dew was first marketed in Knoxville, originally designed as a mixer for whiskey.[3]
The Headquarters of the Tennessee Valley Authority, located in Downtown Knoxville, also known as the TVA Twin Towers, were built in the 1970s, and were among Knoxville's first modern high-rise buildings.
Knoxville hosted the 1982 World's Fair, one of the most popular world's fairs in U.S. history with 11 million visitors in attendance, from which the Sunsphere theme structure remains.[5]
In 1999, the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame opened in the city.
Geography
Knoxville is located at 35°58′22″N 83°56′32″W / 35.97278°N 83.94222°W (35.972882, -83.942161)Template:GR.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 254.1 km² (98.1 mi²). 240.0 km² (92.7 mi²) of it is land and 14.1 km² (5.4 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 5.5% water.
In the southeast part of the city, the French Broad River (flowing from Asheville, North Carolina) joins the Holston River (flowing from Kingsport) to form the Tennessee River.
Principal highways serving the city Interstate 40 to Asheville, North Carolina, and Nashville and Interstate 75 to Chattanooga and Lexington. Knoxville and the surrounding area is served by McGhee Tyson Airport. Public transportation is provided by KAT. Rail freight is offered by CSX and Norfolk Southern.
Climate
Knoxville falls in the humid subtropical climate zone (Koppen climate classification Cfa), although it is not quite as hot as areas to the south and west due to the higher elevations. Summers are hot and very humid, with July highs averaging 88°F (31°C) and lows averaging 69°F (20°C). According to former local meteorologist Brittany Tarr, triple digit temperatures in Knoxville are fairly rare, however. Winters are generally cool with snow not an uncommon occurrence, with January averaging a high of 47°F (8°C) and a low of 30°F (-1°C), although low temperaures in the teens and single digits are an annual occurrence. The record high for Knoxville is 105°F (41°C), while the record low is -24°F (-31°C). Annual rainfall averages 48.2 inches (1,225 mm), and average winter snowfall in 9.9 inches (25 cm).
| Monthly Normal and Record High and Low Temperatures | ||||||||||||
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rec High °F | 77 | 83 | 86 | 92 | 94 | 102 | 103 | 102 | 103 | 91 | 84 | 80 |
| Norm High °F | 46.3 | 51.7 | 60.3 | 69 | 76.3 | 83.6 | 86.9 | 86.4 | 80.7 | 69.9 | 59 | 49.8 |
| Norm Low °F | 28.9 | 31.8 | 39.1 | 46.6 | 55.6 | 63.9 | 68.5 | 67.3 | 60.8 | 47.7 | 38.9 | 31.9 |
| Rec Low °F | -24 | -8 | 1 | 22 | 32 | 43 | 49 | 49 | 36 | 25 | 5 | -6 |
| Precip (in) | 4.57 | 4.01 | 5.17 | 3.99 | 4.68 | 4.04 | 4.71 | 2.89 | 3.04 | 2.65 | 3.98 | 4.49 |
| Source: USTravelWeather.com [4] | ||||||||||||
Nearby towns and cities
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Neighborhoods
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Major streets
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Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 177,661 people, 76,650 households, and 40,164 families residing in the city, and the Knoxville Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 616,079. The population density was 724.6/km² (1,876.7/mi²). There were 84,981 housing units at an average density of 354.1/km² (917.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 79.7% White, 16.2% African American, 0.31% Native American, 1.45% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.72% from other races, and 1.57% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.58% of the population.
There were 76,650 households out of which 22.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.3% were married couples living together, 13.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 47.6% were non-families. 38.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.12 and the average family size was 2.84.
In the city the population was spread out with 19.7% under the age of 18, 16.8% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 14.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 90.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $27,492, and the median income for a family is $37,708. Males had a median income of $29,070 versus $22,593 for females. The per capita income for the city is $18,171. About 14.4% of families and 20.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.1% of those under age 18 and 12.0% of those age 65 or over.
In 2006, ERI published an analysis that identified Knoxville as the most affordable U.S. city for new college graduates, based on the ratio of typical salary to cost of living.[6]
Population and household growth are expected to follow employment growth, causing increased housing demand during the forecast period. Resident employment should continue to grow at a pace equal to that from 2000 to the Current date. As population continues to increase and the labor force grows, the unemployment rate is projected to increase slightly to 3.7 percent. The population growth is estimated to result in 12,900 new households in the HMA by the Forecast date. Demand for new housing for the period from April 1, 2005, to April 1, 2008, is estimated to total 13,100 units — 10,400 sales units and 2,700 rental units.
Households
During the 1990s, growth in the number of households averaged 3,575 a year. The number of renter households grew by an average annual increase of 600 during the 1990s compared to an average annual increase of 900 from 2000 to the Current date. From 2000 to the Current date, the total average annual household growth was 3,925. Average annual household growth is expected to continue increasing by 4,300 through the forecast period and total 262,800 as of April 1, 2008. Since 1990, average household size in the HMA has been decreasing steadily. This decrease can be attributed to a growing number of students and retirees and to an overall demographic shift toward smaller families.
Sales Market Conditions
Analysis of the Knoxville, Tennessee Housing Market as of April 1, 2005
Since the 1990s, the sales market has remained in balance with a vacancy rate of 2.0 percent. The Knoxville Association of REALTORS® reported a 16.9-percent increase in the total number of single-family homes sold in the past 12 months, when compared with the previous 12-month period. The average price of a three-bedroom detached house increased 8 percent from $134,600 to $145,200 in the past 12 months, while the average price of a condominium increased 8 percent from $122,600 to $132,500.
Economy
Knoxville's economy is largely fueled by the regional location of the main campus of the University of Tennessee, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and other Department of Energy facilities in nearby Oak Ridge, the National Transportation Research Center, and the Tennessee Valley Authority. These make Knoxville the heart of the high-tech Tennessee Valley Corridor, which extends from Blacksburg, Virginia to Huntsville, Alabama.
Because of its central location in the eastern half of the United States and proximity to two major Interstate highways, many warehousing and distribution companies operate in and around Knoxville. The Old City is home to most of Knoxville's historic warehouses and factories.
Major companies headquartered in Knoxville
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Colleges and universities
Knoxville is home to the main campus of the University of Tennessee. It is also home to:
- Fountainhead College of Technology (formerly Tennessee Institute of Electronics)
- ITT Technical Institute
- Johnson Bible College
- Knoxville College
- Pellissippi State Technical Community College
- South College (formerly Knoxville Business College)
- A branch campus of Tennessee Wesleyan College
- A branch campus of Tusculum College
Culture
Knoxville is home to a rich arts community and has many festivals throughout the year. Its contributions to old-time, bluegrass and country music are numerous, from Flatt & Scruggs and Homer & Jethro to the Everly Brothers and Hank Williams, who spent the last night of his life there. For the past several years an award-winning listener-funded radio station, WDVX, has broadcast weekday lunchtime concerts of bluegrass music, old-time music and more from the Knoxville Visitor's Center on Gay Street, as well as streaming its music programming to the world over the Internet.
Beyond bands with banjos, BLENDER magazine, in its "20 Most Rock & Roll towns in the U.S." feature (May '03), ranked Knoxville the 17th best music scene in the United States. In the ’90s, noted alternative-music critic Ann Powers, author of Weird Like Us: My Bohemian America, referred to the city as “Austin without the hype".
The city also hosts numerous art festivals, including the 17-day Dogwood Arts Festival in April, which features art shows, crafts fairs, food and live music. Also in April is the Rossini Festival, which celebrates opera and Italian culture. June’s Kuumba (meaning creativity in Swahili) Festival commemorates the region’s African American heritage and showcases visual arts, folk arts, dance, games, music, storytelling, theater, and food. Autumn on the Square showcases national and local artists in outdoor concert series at historic Market Square, which has been revitalized with specialty shops and residences. Every Labor Day brings Boomsday, the largest Labor Day fireworks display in the United States, to the banks of the Tennessee River between the University of Tennessee football stadium and downtown.
James Rufus Agee, Pulitizer-Prize winning novelist and playwright, was born in Knoxville and spent his early years there. His novel, A Death in the Family, centers around the Fort Sanders neighborhood where the Agees lived and the death of Agee's father. Other notable natives are Patricia Neal, Quentin Tarantino, and Johnny Knoxville.
Events
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Media
Local television stations are as follows:
- WATE 6 - ABC affiliate, owned by Young Broadcasting.
- WMAK 7 - Digital independent station, owned by Knoxville Ch 7, LLC (also seen on low-power analog WEZK-LP 28)
- WVLT 8 - CBS affiliate, owned by Gray Television.
- WVLT-DT2 - My Network TV affiliate, digital subchannel of WVLT.
- WBIR 10 - NBC affiliate, owned by Gannett Corporation.
- WKOP 15 - PBS member station
- WBXX 20 - CW affiliate, owned by ACME Television
- WTNZ 43 - FOX affiliate, owned by Raycom Media.
- WPXK 54 - i affiliate, owned by Paxson Communications
Knoxville's daily newspaper is the Knoxville News Sentinel, and there is a weekly paper, Metro Pulse. There is also an independent bi-weekly paper, the Knoxville Voice. All of these are owned by the E.W. Scripps Company. Other newspapers in Knoxville include the South Knox Seymour Times.
Nearby attractions
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Sites of interest
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Sports
- Knoxville Noise (American Basketball Association)
- United Wrestling Association
- Knoxville Ice Bears (Southern Professional Hockey League)
- Tennessee Smokies (Southern League, Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs)
- Knoxville Rugby Club (Division II member of the South Territory, USA Rugby Union)
Notable Knoxvillians
- For a longer list of notable Knoxvillians, see Category:People from Knoxville, Tennessee
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- Dave Barnes, singer/songwriter/musician
Sister cities
Knoxville has seven sister cities as designated by Sister Cities International:
Chelm, Poland
Chengdu, China
Kaohsiung, Taiwan (Sister Cities International officially recognizes Taiwan as a division of China[5])
Larissa, Greece
Muroran, Japan
Neuquen, Argentina
Yesan County, South Korea
References
- ^ a b "Knoxville Demographics". KnoxvilleTennessee.com. 2007-03-10. Retrieved 2007-06-03.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Knoxville (city) QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. 2007-05-07. Retrieved 2007-06-03.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ [1]
- ^ De Bow's Review. October, 1859. Vol. XXVII, O.S. Enlarged Series. Vol. II, No. 4, N.S. Pages 407-419, [2]
- ^ TN Encyclopedia
- ^ Economic Research Institute, Inc., ERI Economic Research Institute Releases Survey on Best and Worst Cities for College Grads – Based on salary/cost of living, Knoxville, TN rated best, press release, July 6, 2006
- ^ Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who. 1963.
Sources
- Carey, Ruth. "Change Comes to Knoxville." in These Are Our Voices: The Story of Oak Ridge 1942-1970, edited by James Overholt, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, 1987.
- Deaderick, Lucile, ed. Heart of the Valley--A History of Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville: East Tennessee Historical Society, 1976.
- Jennifer Long; "Government Job Creation Programs-Lessons from the 1930s and 1940s" Journal of Economic Issues . Volume: 33. Issue: 4. 1999. pp 903+, a case study of Knoxville.
- "Knoxville". The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture. Retrieved 2006-03-14.
- "Knoxville". Tennessee History for Kids. Retrieved 2007-02-07.
- "Knoxville History". Retrieved 2007-02-07.
- The Mcclung museum at The University of Tennessee Knoxville, "Archaeology & the Native Peoples of Tennessee" exhibit. "Exhibit Link".
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - McDonald, Michael, and Bruce Wheeler. Knoxville, Tennessee: Continuity and Change in an Appalachian City University of Tennessee Press, 1983. the standard academic history
- The Future of Knoxville's Past: Historic and Architectural Resources in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Knoxville Historic Zoning Commission, October, 2006).
- Rothrock, Mary U., editor. The French Broad-Holston Country: A History of Knox County, Tennessee. (Knox County Historical Committee; East Tennessee Historical Society, 1946).
- Isenhour, Judith Clayton. Knoxville, A Pictorial History. (Donning Company, 1978, 1980).
- Barber, John W., and Howe, Henry. All the Western States and Territories, . . . (Cincinnati, Ohio: Howe's Subscription Book Concern, 1867). pp. 631-632.
External links
- City of Knoxville (official web site)
- Knoxville at Curlie
- Knoxville News Sentinel
- Metropulse (alternative weekly)
- http://www.knoxvilletennessee.com/
- Template:Wikitravelpar
