Tennessee General Information Nickname: Volunteer State State bird: Mockingbird State flower: Iris Capital: Nashville Date of admission to the Union: 1st June 1796 Population: 5,689,283 (2000) Population density: 52.1/sq km 2000 total overseas arrivals/US ranking: 286,000/23 Time: Eastern (GMT - 5) in the eastern part of the State; Central (GMT - 6) in the west. Daylight Saving Time is observed. The State: Located in the southeast region of the USA, Tennessee is unique in that it shares a border with eight States. Tennessee has always been a melting pot of musical styles. From the eastern mountains came Appalachian folk songs and Bluegrass, while Country music flowered in Nashville. Gospel, Blues, Rockabilly, and ultimately, Rock ’n’ Roll, all stemmed from the Mississippi belt. As well as being able to investigate the roots of major popular music traditions, travellers will also find the world’s largest Bible-producing business. Nashville is a major music performance and recording centre and also boasts a host of fine colleges and churches. To the southwest is Memphis, home of the blues and the birthplace of Rock ’n’ Roll, near the Mississippi border. Tennessee’s largest city and a major trading centre, Memphis is known chiefly for being the location of Graceland, the home of Elvis Presley. Historic Beale Street, featured in so many blues songs, is also in Memphis. Barbecues reign supreme in this city, and the annual World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest takes place here every May. Over on the southeastern side of the State, perched next to the Tennessee River, is Chattanooga. This bustling city, with its train made famous by Glenn Miller’s song ‘Chattanooga Choo Choo’, is also home to the Hunter Museum of Art, and the Tennessee Aquarium (one of the world’s largest freshwater aquariums). More than half of Tennessee is forested, and great tracts have been set aside as State and National parks, forests, wilderness areas and game preserves. Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge are the starting points for trips into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, as is the pleasant city of Knoxville, a former State capital. Travel - International AIR: International airports: Memphis International Airport (MEM) (website: www.mscaa.com) is 16km (10 miles) southeast of the city (travel time – 20 minutes). Most major car hire firms are represented. Taxis, limousines and hotel shuttles are available to the city centre, as is the hourly Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) no. 32 local bus. An out-of-town shuttle bus operates from the airport to Arkansas (Little Rock and Jonesboro) and to Mississippi (Oxford). Nashville International Airport (BNA) (website: www.nashintl.com) is located 13km (8 miles) southeast of the city. The Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) bus no. 18 leaves the airport nine times a day (Mon-Fri) and four times a day at the weekend. Limousine services, rental cars and taxis are widely available. Gray Line operates a van service to hotels in central Nashville every 15 minutes 0600-2300 (travel time – 30 minutes). Greyhound operates services to Knoxville, Memphis and Fort Campbell several times a day; the Express Shuttle service travels to Chattanooga seven times a day; and the K-Town Shuttle serves Knoxville four times a day. Domestic airports: Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport (CHA) (website: www.chattairport.com) serves the greater Chattanooga area including southeast Tennessee, north Georgia, and northeast Alabama. First Class Airport Shuttle offers a service to downtown; car hire, taxi and limousine services are also available. McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS) (Knoxville) (website: www.tys.org) is located 7.5km (12 miles) south of central Knoxville. Car hire companies, limousines and taxis are available at the airport; Airport Express Shuttle also provides connections to the city centre. RAIL: Memphis and Newbern-Dyersberg, on the Chicago–New Orleans line, are the only stations on the national Amtrak rail network (tel: (800) 872 7245 (toll free); website: www.amtrak.com). Nashville and Chattanooga have connecting Thruway bus services (operated by Greyhound) to Atlanta, which is on the New Orleans–Washington, DC–New York City route. ROAD: Bus: Greyhound (tel: (800) 229 9424 (toll free); website: www.greyhound.com) is the main service provider. West Tennessee The land between the Tennessee and Mississippi rivers is fertile territory for exploration, especially as the homes of heroes and icons – Alex Haley, Buford Pusser, Davy Crockett and Casey Jones – are open to the public. Nature lovers will enjoy the bald eagles at Reelfoot Lake, the recreational opportunities of Kentucky Lake or the quiet, sombre atmosphere of the battlefields at Shiloh National Military Park. A visit to the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center in Brownsville, showcasing the region’s heritage, provides a good introduction to the area. Its four major exhibitions include the Tennessee Room, which highlights West Tennessee towns and attractions, the West Tennessee Music Museum, the Scenic Hatchie River Museum and the Cotton Museum. MEMPHIS: Memphis enjoys a well-deserved reputation among music-lovers all over the world. Critics claim that the Blues were born here on Beale Street and a legendary piece published by the ‘Father of the Blues’, W C Handy, in 1912, successfully proclaimed its power and authenticity. Beale Street includes restaurants, gift shops, boutiques, parks and nightclubs, as well as the Beale Street Police Museum and A Schwab’s Dry Goods Store, a small department store which has been in the same family since 1876 and still offers old-fashioned bargains. For many, though, the only reason to come to Memphis is to pay respect to the King – Elvis Presley. His beloved home, Graceland, is a mecca to the pilgrims of Rock ’n’ Roll. The impressive Trophy Room effectively documents his impact on the music industry as a singer and entertainer. Aside from its musical heritage, Memphis’ legendary past as a Delta city and a civil rights centre should not be forgotten. It was at the Lorraine Motel at 450 Mulberry Street, that Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated and the National Civil Rights Museum housed at the site is an effective reminder of the courage of thousands of African-Americans. In the downtown business district of Memphis, cotton, the ‘white gold’ of the Delta region, is still hand-graded in a century-old warehouse and decorative paddle wheelers still churn their way up the Mississippi. SPECIAL EVENTS: May West Tennessee Strawberry Festival, Humboldt. May 1-31 Memphis in May Festival (includes World Championship Barbecue Contest), Memphis. Aug Elvis Week, Graceland Mansion, Memphis. Sep Brownsville Blues Festival. Nov-Jan 2004 Christmas at Graceland, Graceland Mansion, Memphis. Central Tennessee The heartland of the state was a crucial theatre of operations during the American Civil War. At Carter House, in Franklin, the bullet-pocked walls bear witness to one of the deadliest battles of the campaign. For those with a taste for military history as well as the macabre, the Tennessee Antebellum Trail offers daily tours to nine historic sites, including the blood-stained floors of Carnton Mansion, where, after the battle at Franklin, the bodies of five Confederate generals once lay. Starting in Nashville, this 145km (90-mile) drive also takes in the Rippavilla Plantation, dating from 1852, where the five generals ate their last breakfast. Aside from its martial past, this beautiful and lively region also boasts a musical and entertainment heritage. Country music is alive and well at the Grand Ole Opry and the Ryman Auditorium. Connoisseurs of bourbon should note that the famous Jack Daniel Distillery offers daily guided tours (0900-1630) and much insight into Mister Jack’s famous distilling process. Visitors with a passion for open countryside should visit the area where the Tennessee Walking Horses graze or the ancient Cumberland Plateau, which forms a natural boundary between Middle and East Tennessee. Waterfalls, deep river canyons, parks and resorts characterise this historic region. NASHVILLE: The home of Country music, Tennesse’s capital is known as ‘Music City USA’. The centre of Nashville’s music industry is Music Row, around Division and Demonbreun streets. Spanning an entire city block, the new Country Music Hall of Fame, located in the revitalised entertainment district of central Nashville, opened in 2001. Nashville has a reputation as the ‘Athens of the South’, and boasts a life-sized replica of the Parthenon in Centennial Park. It features Athena, the ‘tallest indoor statue in the Western World’, and the celebrated Cowan Collection of American Paintings. In central Nashville, Union Station Hotel at 1001 Broadway has a magnificent arched ceiling of stained glass, whilst the District area features the cast-iron and masonry of its late 19th-century commercial buildings, as well as numerous restaurants and clubs. Galleries and museums, many of which reflect Tennessee’s Antebellum and plantation history, include the Van Vechten Gallery, exhibiting collections by Picasso, Renoir and Cézanne as well as displays of work by Alfred Steiglitz and Georgia O’Keeffe. Another popular attraction is the Hermitage, President Andrew Jackson’s manor house. Admission includes a visit to nearby Tulip Grove Mansion. The Bicentennial Mall was built to honour the State’s founding in 1776. The Opryland Hotel and Convention Center features The Delta, an indoor, quarter-mile river, complete with four 25-passenger flatboats. ENTERTAINMENT: The Grand Ole Opry is the setting for the nation’s longest-running music show, which moved here in 1976 (the original setting, Ryman, has been renovated and is also open to the public) and is the place to hear Country music on Friday and Saturday nights. Gaylord Entertainment Center hosts concerts, sporting events and conventions while Opry Mills is a new shopping and entertainment resort covering more than 750 acres on the site of former Opryland USA. Good venues for live music include Caffé Milano (jazz, bluegrass and rock), Henry’s Coffee House with acoustic performances and Canyon Country Saloon, which features up and coming artists. Lucy’s Record Shop sells music during the day, but on Friday and Saturday hosts the latest alternative performers, and the funky Radio Café, an old pharmacy, features national artists playing Blues, Country, Jazz and Rock. The Nashville Scene or the Tennessean newspapers list all live music events. SPECIAL EVENTS: Mar 2003 Heart of Country Antiques Show, Nashville. Apr Mule Day, Columbia. May Nashville River Stages (including performances by over 60 bands), Riverfront Park, Nashville; Iroquois Steeplechase, Percy Warner Park, Nashville. Jun Nashville Independent Film Festival, Nashville; International Country Music Fan Fair, Nashville. Jul Official State & National Championship Smithville Fiddlers’ Jamboree and Crafts Festival, Smithville Square; Uncle Dave Macon Days, Cannonsburgh Village, Murfreesboro. Aug-Sep Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration, Shelbyville; Italian Street Fair, Nashville. Sep Tennessee State Fair, Nashville. Oct Jack Daniels World Championship Cookoff, Lynchburg. Nov-Dec Cheekwood’s Trees of Christmas, Cheekwood Botanical Gardens, Nashville. East Tennessee This region was America’s major frontier crossing. Thousands of settlers followed in Daniel Boone’s footsteps westwards through the Cumberland Gap. The three cities of Bristol, Kingsport and Johnson City dominate the northeast region, or the ‘First Frontier’, where historic towns like Jonesborough offer self-guided walking tours. The family tourism centres of Pigeon Forge, Sevierville and Townsend are also gateways to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. CHATTANOOGA: This city began as a trading post in 1815 and has retained its commercial emphasis by evolving into a factory outlet centre. The Hunter Museum of Art houses southern America’s most complete art collection as well as travelling exhibitions. The city is also notable for the Tennessee Aquarium, which houses one of the world’s largest collections of freshwater marine life. Chattanooga contains another record-holding installation – the world’s steepest passenger railway, the Incline, which propels its passengers up a stomach-churning gradient of 72.7°. The journey is worthwhile, especially on a clear day, when the territories of seven States are visible from Lookout Mountain. Here, at Rock City Gardens, subterranean black-lit gnome dioramas and Mother Goose theme areas are constructed around several interesting rock formations. Ruby Falls, a spectacular 44m-high (145ft) underground waterfall flows 341m (1120ft) below the surface of Lookout Mountain. KNOXVILLE: Knoxville, named after Washington’s Secretary of War, Henry Knox, began life as a frontier outpost after the Revolutionary War. Bordered by huge lakes created by the Tennessee Valley Authority, Knoxville offers some eclectic sightseeing. A stroll through the World’s Fair Park leads to the Knoxville Museum of Art, while Blount Mansion, a National Historic Landmark, was the 1792 frame house of governor William Blount. Nearby, the James White Fort still exhibits portions of the original stockade built in 1786 by Knoxville’s founder. The Farmer’s Market, 24km (15 miles) from the downtown area, offers an authentic taste of Appalachia. The pavilion sells local produce, plants, jams, jellies, arts and crafts. The Museum of Appalachia, in Norris, is a huge village replete with authentic houses, barns and cells. GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS: The largest wilderness area in the USA, this national park extends over half a million acres of the Appalachian Mountains, bounded by North Carolina and the Tennessee valleys. The park is home to bears, white-tailed deer, wild turkeys and more than 1500 species of flowering plants. Conifer forests are to be found at elevations of more than 1800m (6000ft). The mountains are beautiful in all seasons, but perhaps the best time to see them is in October when they are showered in colour. The park has three visitor centres, Sugarlands, Cades Cove and the Oconaluftee Visitor Centre. There are also ten campgrounds, each with tent sites, trailer space, water and tables. There are over 1400km (900 miles) of hiking trails and 270km (170 miles) of road throughout the park. Rangers at the visitor centres can assist with trip planning. DOLLYWOOD: Die-hard Country fans will want to visit this American village in the Tennessee hills, created by the Queen of Country herself – Dolly Parton. Dollywood is usually open between May and October 1000-1800, and in winter for Christmas Specials. Dollywood is located in the city of Pigeon Forge, which has major shopping outlet malls and celebrates the culture of the East Tennessee mountains. Here, craftspeople demonstrate their skills and sell their wares, and Country stars perform. SPECIAL EVENTS: Feb 2003 Smoky Mountains National Storytelling Festival, Pigeon Forge. Mar Mountain Quiltfest, Pigeon Forge. Apr Dollyparade, Pigeon Forge; Dogwood Arts Festival, Knoxville. May Gatlinburg Scottish Festival and Highland Games, Gatlinburg. Jun Riverbend Festival, Chattanooga. Sep Oldies 102 Boomsday (featuring spectacular fireworks), Knoxville. Sep-Oct Smoky Mountain Harvest Festival, Pigeon Forge. Oct National Storytelling Festival (America’s oldest storytelling festival), Jonesborough; Fall Color Cruise and Folk Festival, Chattanooga. Climate Located in the Temperate Zone, Tennessee has a generally mild climate year round, but still enjoys four distinct seasons. The average high temperature in winter is 9.4°C (49°F) and the average low is -1°C (30°F). In the summer, the average high temperature is 31.7°C (89°F) and the average low is 19.4°C (67°F). The average annual rainfall in Tennessee is 124.7cm (49.7 inches). Copyright © 2003 Columbus Publishing Ltd.