Knoxville, Tennessee

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Knoxville, Tennessee
Image:None Official seal of Knoxville, Tennessee
City flag City seal
City nickname: "The Marble City, K-Town,
Big Orange Country, Knox Vegas"
Location
Location of Knoxville, Tennessee
Location within the U.S. State of Tennessee
Government
Cities in Tennessee Tennessee
Mayor Bill Haslam
Physical characteristics
Area
     Land
     Water		 254.1 km²
     240.0 km²
     14.1 km²
Population
     Total (2000)
     Density		 616,079 (metropolitan area)
     173,890 (city proper)
     724.6/km²
Latitude 35°58'22" N
Longitude 83°56'32" W
Time zone
     Summer (DST)		 EST (UTC-5)
     EDT (UTC-4)
Official website: http://www.ci.knoxville.tn.us

Knoxville is a city located in Knox County, Tennessee, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 173,890, with a metro population of 687,249. It is the county seat of Knox County6, and is the third-largest city in the state of Tennessee. Its nickname is the Marble City, from when it was a major center of marble distribution in the early 1900s. It was named in honor of the first Secretary of War, Henry Knox.

Knoxville is also the home of the University of Tennessee's primary campus (UTK). The university's sports teams, called the "Volunteers" or "Vols", are extremely popular in the surrounding area. In fact, the area code comprising Knoxville and the surrounding counties is 865 (VOL).

Knoxville is also the home of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, thanks partly to the popularity of Pat Summitt and the University of Tennessee women's basketball team.

As of 2005, the current mayor is Bill Haslam. Previous mayor of sixteen years Victor Ashe was named United States Ambassador to Poland in June 2004.

Contents

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History

The historical Tennessee Theatre on Gay street
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The historical Tennessee Theatre on Gay street

Knoxville was founded in 1791 by Territorial Governor William Blount and named after George Washington's Secretary of War Henry Knox. Knoxville was the capital of the Southwest Territory from 1791 until 1797. In 1796, a constitutional convention was held in Knoxville to establish Tennessee as a state. When Tennessee entered the United States in 1797, Knoxville was the first capital of the state until 1815 when the capital was moved to Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

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.

In 1901, train robber Kid Curry (real name, 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 sherriff's stolen horse.

In 1933 during the Great Depression, the Tennessee Valley Authority was founded by the U.S. Government to help create jobs and attract manufacturing dependent on cheap electricity.

Knoxville hosted the 1982 World's Fair, from which the Sunsphere remains.

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Geography

Southeastern view of Knoxville.
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Southeastern view of Knoxville.
Eastern view of Knoxville
Enlarge
Eastern view of Knoxville

Knoxville is located at 35° 58′ 22″ N, 83° 56′ 32″ W (35.972882, -83.942161)1.

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 5.54% 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 headwaters of the Tennessee River.

Transport is served by Interstate 40 to Asheville and Nashville and Interstate 75 to Chattanooga and Lexington. Knoxville and the surrounding area is served by McGhee Tyson Airport. Rail freight is offered by CSX and Norfolk Southern.

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Nearby cities

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Neighborhoods

  • Bearden
  • Burlington
  • Concord
  • East Knoxville
  • Fort Sanders, also called "the Fort"
  • Fountain City
  • Halls Crossroads (annexation planned, often incorrectly referred to as "Halls", which is a small rural city in West Tennessee)
  • Lovell
  • Mechanicsville
  • North Hills
  • North Knoxville
  • Old City, formerly known as the Warehouse district, site of 1919 race rioting.
  • Powell (formerly called "Powell's Station")
  • Rocky Hill
  • Sequoyah Hills
  • South Knoxville
  • West Hills
  • West Knoxville
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Major Streets

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Economy

Knoxville's economy is largely fuelled by the regional location of the main campus of the University of Tennessee, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the National Transportation Research Center and the Tennessee Valley Authority, making Knoxville the heart of the high-tech Tennessee Valley Corridor extending from Blacksburg, Virginia to Huntsville, Alabama.

Because of its central location in eastern half of the United States, many warehousing and distribution companies operate in and around Knoxville.

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Media

Local TV stations are as followed-

  • WATE 6 - ABC affiliate, owned by Young Broadcasting
  • WMAK-DT 7 - Digital independent station, owned by South Central Communications (also seen on low-power analog WEZK-LP 28)
  • WVLT 8 - CBS affiliate, owned by Grey Television
  • WBIR 10 - NBC affiliate, owned by Gannett Corporation
  • WKOP 15 - PBS member station
  • WBXX 20 - WB affiliate, owned by ACME Television
  • WTNZ 43 - FOX affiliate, owned by Raycom Media
  • WPXK 54 - i affiliate, owned by Paxson Communications
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Companies headquartered in Knoxville

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Colleges and universities

The University of Tennessee at Knoxville is the state's flagship public university.
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The University of Tennessee at Knoxville is the state's flagship public university.

The Knoxville area is home to many colleges and universities:

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Demographics

As of the census2 of 2000, there are 173,890 people, 76,650 households, and 40,164 families residing in the city, and greater Knoxville (metro) has a population of 687,249. The population density is 724.6/km² (1,876.7/mi²). There are 84,981 housing units at an average density of 354.1/km² (917.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 79.71% White, 16.20% 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. 1.58% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 76,650 households out of which 22.8% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.3% are married couples living together, 13.7% have a female householder with no husband present, and 47.6% are non-families. 38.3% of all households are made up of individuals and 11.4% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.12 and the average family size is 2.84.

In the city the population is 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 are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 33 years. For every 100 females there are 90.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 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 have a median income of $29,070 versus $22,593 for females. The per capita income for the city is $18,171. 20.8% of the population and 14.4% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 26.1% of those under the age of 18 and 12.0% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

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Famous Knoxvillians

Famous non-native residents include:

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Sites of interest

The Sunsphere, from the 1982 World's Fair, characterizes the Knoxville skyline
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The Sunsphere, from the 1982 World's Fair, characterizes the Knoxville skyline
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Yearly events

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Nearby attractions

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External links


Flag of Tennessee

State of Tennessee
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Capital:

Nashville
Regions:

East Tennessee | Middle Tennessee | West Tennessee | Blue Ridge Mountains | Ridge-and-valley Appalachians | Cumberland Plateau | Highland Rim | Nashville Basin
Major Metros:

Chattanooga | Clarksville | Johnson City | Knoxville | Memphis | Murfreesboro | Nashville
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Counties:

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