Tennessee

Tennessee, state in the East South Central region of the United States, lying between the Mississippi River on the west and the backbone of the Blue Ridge province of the Appalachian Mountains on the east. It is considered one of the border states between the North and the South.
Tennessee entered the Union on June 1, 1796, as the 16th state. Although it seceded at the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, eastern Tennessee remained loyal to the Union. This border character reflects a deep-rooted difference between the upland and lowland areas. The east, with its rugged terrain covered with dense forest and brush, was settled mainly by independent yeoman farmers. It remained largely isolated from the outside world until the early 20th century. In contrast, the west, where cotton plantations once flourished, was linked with other regions through the Mississippi River. Central Tennessee, with its rolling inner core, had good transportation connections with other regions and developed a more diversified economy than that in the east.
Tennessee State Flag

    These regional differences are reflected in the division of Tennessee into three so-called grand divisions, which are recognized under state law: East Tennessee, Middle Tennessee, and West Tennessee. Each of the divisions has its distinctive regional center, or centers: Chattanooga and Knoxville in East Tennessee; Nashville, the capital and largest metropolitan area, in Middle Tennessee; and Memphis, with the largest city population, in West Tennessee.
    Some of the hotels, motels and resorts available for booking in our reservation network include, Ramada Inn, Marriott Hotels, Super 8 Motels, Econo Lodge, Holiday Inn & Holiday Inn Express, Travelodge, Hampton Inn, Sheraton, Hilton, Best Western, Hyatt and Hyatt Regency, Wyndham Inn, Ritz and Ritz Carlton, Days Inn, Courtyard by Marriott, La Quinta Inns, Comfort Inn and Comfort Suite, Embassy Suites, Quality Inn, Radisson Inn, Sleep Inn, Numerous Resorts and Resort Villas throughout the globe, along with Plaza and Plaza Suites and and array of private and Golf Clubs and Golf Resorts.
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Recreation and Places of Interest

A. National Parks
Tennessee State Seal The National Park Service administers several units in Tennessee. In Andrew Johnson National Historic Site, in Greeneville, are the grave of Andrew Johnson, 17th President of the United States, two houses that he owned, and his tailor shop. Great Smoky Mountains National Park extends along the Tennessee-North Carolina state line and covers 2,100 sq km (800 sq mi). A section of Cumberland Gap National Historical Park also lies within Tennessee. The largest historical park in the United States, it includes an area of valleys, forests, and rugged mountains in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia. The Natchez Trace Parkway is a scenic thoroughfare that follows the route of the historic Natchez Trace. A part of the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area is also in Tennessee.
Other National Park Service units in Tennessee are associated with the Civil War. Part of Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park lies in the Chattanooga area in the south, and the remainder is nearby, in Georgia. Fort Donelson National Battlefield lies in the northwest, near the small town of Dover, 50 km (30 mi) west of Clarksville. Lying within the military park is Fort Donelson National Cemetery. Stones River National Battlefield, including Stones River National Cemetery, is located near Murfreesboro, in the center of the state. Shiloh National Military Park, including Shiloh National Cemetery, in the southwest, marks the site of the famous Battle of Shiloh

B. National Forest
Within the state is 254,000 hectares (628,000 acres) of the Cherokee National Forest. The acreage is divided into two areas along the eastern border of Tennessee. The forest offers picnicking, camping, fishing, and other recreational facilities. In addition, there are supervised expeditions for hunting deer, bears, wild boars, and other animals.

C. State Parks
Most of the units of the state park system have facilities for picnicking, hiking, riding, and camping. Fall Creek Falls State Park, noted for its rugged terrain, is in east-central Tennessee. This scenic park includes Fall Creek Falls, some 78 m (256 ft) high, and Cane Creek Gorge. Situated in the western plateau area is the largest state park, Natchez Trace State Park, which contains three lakes. Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park is located on the wooded bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River. The park has trails for driving and horseback riding. Pickett State Rustic Park, in a remote and rugged area of the Cumberland Plateau, near the Kentucky border, features caves and interesting rock formations. Cedars of Lebanon State Recreational Park, located east of Nashville, contains a portion of the largest red-cedar forest in the eastern United States. Big Ridge State Rustic Park, in eastern Tennessee, lies in a heavily wooded area on the shore of Big Ridge Lake.
Montgomery Bell State Resort Park, west of Nashville, includes clear streams and two lakes in red-cedar country. One of the most popular recreation areas in the state is Reelfoot Lake State Resort Park, in the northwestern corner of the state. David Crockett State Recreational Park is a historic area honoring the American frontiersman who was born in the state. Paris Landing State Resort Park, located in a remote region of the Cumberland Plateau, is noted for its caves and rock formations.

D. Other Places of Interest
    There are numerous historic houses in the state. The Hermitage, near Nashville, was the home of Andrew Jackson, seventh president of the United States. In Columbia is the ancestral home of President James K. Polk. Near Smyrna is a simple frame building that has been restored as a shrine. It was the home of Sam Davis, a Confederate spy captured and hanged by federal troops at the age of 21 after refusing an offer of freedom in exchange for revealing his informant. In Memphis is the National Civil Rights Museum, on the site where Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated in 1968.
    Land Between the Lakes, a recreation area that lies in Tennessee and Kentucky between lakes Barkley and Kentucky, is operated by the TVA. The area was conceived as a demonstration in outdoor recreation and environmental education.
    Scenic places of interest, in addition to the units maintained by the federal government and the state, include Lookout Mountain, near Chattanooga, from the top of which seven states are visible on a clear day. Roan Mountain, about 30 km (about 20 mi) from Elizabethton, has a rhododendron garden on its summit of 1,916 m (6,285 ft). Among the many beautiful caverns in Tennessee is Jewel Cave, near Tennessee City, which contains onyx formations and fossils.
    Fort Loudoun, near Vonore, is a partially restored fort built in the 1750s by the British as an outpost against the French. Fort Nashborough, in Nashville, is a reproduction of the original fort, with blockhouses and stockades, that was built nearby on the Cumberland River in 1780. South of the city is the site of the Battle of Nashville, a Civil War engagement in 1864. Old forts, breastworks, and trenches are preserved there.
    Many of Tennessee’s attractions are associated with its musical heritage. A steady flow of visitors walk the halls of Graceland, the home of rock-and-roll pioneer Elvis Presley. The Beale Street Historic District, also in Memphis, is considered the source of a particular type of blues music. In Nashville, Opryland is home to the Grand Ole Opry, a live country music show which has been performed every weekend since 1925. Dollywood, in Pigeon Forge near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, is a family entertainment park founded by country-western singer Dolly Parton.
    Mud Island, in Memphis, is a park dedicated to life on the Mississippi River and includes a detailed, flowing scale model of the river which traces its course to the Gulf of Mexico. The Tennessee Aquarium, in Chattanooga, has thousands of living plants and animals, including alligators and sharks.

E. Annual Eventsts
Many visitors are attracted to the Memphis in May International Festival, featuring pageants, street parades, carnival balls, and street dancing. The annual national field trials for bird dogs are held at Grand Junction in the middle of February. Early spring brings the Dogwood Arts Festival in Knoxville in April. May brings the West Tennessee Strawberry Festival at Humboldt and the Iroquois Steeplechase in Nashville. The Rhododendron Festival on Roan Mountain is in June. The Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration is held at Shelbyville in August. In September the State Fair is held in Nashville and the Mid-South Fair in Memphis. The Fall Craftsman’s Fair is held at Gatlinburg in October. The Liberty Bowl, a post-season college football game, is played at Memphis in December.

F. Sports
Tennessee’s mountains, forests, lakes, rivers, and parks provide sports enthusiasts with ideal conditions for such outdoor activities as fishing, swimming, boating, hunting, horseback riding, hiking, and golf. Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Cherokee National Forest, both in the eastern part of the state, are particularly popular recreational areas. Automobile races are held in Nashville and at the Bristol International Speedway and Drag Strip, in Bristol. Gatlinburg, at the entrance to the Smoky Mountains Park, is a center for skiing and other winter sports. Tennessee’s professional football team is the Tennessee Titans (formerly the Houston Oilers). The team moved to Tennessee in 1997.

Tennessee's population is nearly two-fifths rural, and no single city or group of cities dominates the state. However, although it is not highly urbanized, Tennessee is now more an industrial than an agricultural state. This change in emphasis has taken place since the 1930s and is attributable in large part to the planned development of the Tennessee river basin under the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). Through the TVA programs, which attracted a great diversity of industries, including the federal government's atomic energy research and development center at Oak Ridge, eastern Tennessee has become the most industrialized part of the state.
Tennessee is believed to derive its name from Tanasi, the name used by the Cherokee people for a village on the Little Tennessee River. The river was named after the village, and the region named after the river. The state has no official nickname but is frequently called the Volunteer State, used in recognition of the valor displayed by volunteer soldiers from the state during wars in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Tennessee Cities with Hotels