Misplaced Pages

#57942

96-586: Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Tennessee , United States, on the Tennessee River . As of the 2020 United States census , Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state's third-most-populous city after Nashville and Memphis . It is the principal city of the Knoxville metropolitan area , which had

192-526: A Superior Court and Sheriff (as an officer of the court ), both located in a designated "shire town". Bennington County, Vermont has two shire towns; the court for "North Shire" is in the shire town Manchester , and the Sheriff for the county and court for "South Shire" are in the shire town Bennington. In 2024, Connecticut , which had not defined their counties for anything but statistical, historical and weather warning purposes since 1960, along with ending

288-627: A mixed-use baseball stadium complex in the Old City neighborhood. According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 104.2 square miles (269.8 km), of which 98.5 square miles (255.2 km) is land and 5.6 square miles (14.6 km), or 5.42%, is water. Elevations range from just over 800 feet (240 m) along the riverfront to just over 1,000 feet (300 m) on various hilltops in West Knoxville, with

384-481: A 25-foot (7.6 m) high platform mound overlooking a central plaza. By 1400, the village covered 4.8 acres (0.019 km ), surrounded by a clay-covered palisade. Several Cherokee Middle Towns, including Nikwasi , Watauga , Jore , and Cowee , were located along the upper Little Tennessee River's section in present-day North Carolina section. Mounds built about 1000 CE by ancestral Mississippian culture people have survived at these sites. As noted above,

480-407: A Union invasion, Buckner fortified Fort Loudon (in West Knoxville, not to be confused with the colonial fort to the southwest) and began constructing earthworks throughout the city. However, the approach of stronger Union forces under Ambrose Burnside in the summer of 1863 forced Buckner to evacuate Knoxville before the earthworks were completed. Burnside arrived in early September 1863, beginning

576-479: A center of abolitionist activity, due in part to its relatively large Quaker faction and the anti-slavery president of Maryville College , Isaac Anderson. The Greater Warner Tabernacle AME Zion Church was reportedly a station on the Underground Railroad . Business interests, however, guided largely by Knoxville's trade connections with cotton-growing centers to the south, contributed to the development of

672-410: A county seat may be an independent city surrounded by, but not part of, the county of which it is the administrative center; for example, Fairfax City is both the county seat of Fairfax County, Virginia and completely surrounded by Fairfax County, but the city is politically independent of the county. When the county seat is in the independent city, government offices such as the courthouse may be in

768-450: A daily average temperature of 38.2 °F (3.4 °C), with an average of 5 days where the high remains at or below freezing. The record high for Knoxville is 105 °F (41 °C) on June 30 and July 1, 2012 , while the record low is −24 °F (−31 °C) on January 21, 1985 . Annual precipitation averages just under 52 in (1,320 mm), and normal seasonal snowfall is 4.6 in (12 cm). The one-day record for snowfall

864-669: A hotel, student housing, and 300 multi-family residential units. In June 2020, the Knoxville City Council announced the investment of over $ 5.5   million in federal and local funds towards the development of a business park along the Interstate 275 corridor in North Knoxville . The project was first proposed by a study prepared Knoxville-Knox County Metropolitan Planning Commission in 2007. In August 2020, UT President and Tennessee Smokies owner Randy Boyd announced plans of

960-516: A law school in an attempt to modernize the scope of the university. In 1879, the state changed its name to the University of Tennessee, at the request of the trustees, who hoped to secure more funding from the Tennessee state legislature. The post-war manufacturing boom brought thousands of immigrants to the city. The population of Knoxville grew from around 5,000 in 1860 to 32,637 in 1900. West Knoxville

1056-626: A major field of research in Chinese historical geography, especially from the 1960s to the 1980s. There are 1,355 counties in Mainland China out of a total of 2,851 county-level divisions. In Taiwan , the first counties were first established in 1661 by the Kingdom of Tungning . The later ruler Qing empire inherited this type of administrative divisions. With the increase of Han Chinese population in Taiwan,

SECTION 10

#1732843961058

1152-459: A metro government failed, while school boards and the planning commissions would merge on July 1, 1987. With further annexation attempts stalling, Knoxville initiated several projects aimed at boosting revenue in its downtown area. The 1982 World's Fair —the most successful of these projects, with eleven million visitors—became one of the most popular expositions in U.S. history. The Rubik's Cube made its debut at this event. The fair's energy theme

1248-617: A new arts annex and gallery surrounded by many studios and new businesses as well. The Bijou and Tennessee Theatres underwent renovation, providing an initiative for the city and its developers to re-purpose the old downtown. Development has also expanded across the Tennessee River on the South Knoxville waterfront. In 2006, the city adopted the South Waterfront Vision Plan, a long-term improvement project to revitalize

1344-479: A population of 879,773 in 2020. First settled in 1786, Knoxville was the first capital of Tennessee. The city struggled with geographic isolation throughout the early 19th century; the arrival of the railroad in 1855 led to an economic boom. The city was bitterly divided over the issue of secession during the American Civil War and was occupied alternately by Confederate and Union armies, culminating in

1440-444: A reported 26 square miles of " shoestring annexation " under the administration of Mayor Victor Ashe . Ashe's efforts were controversial, largely consisting of annexation of interstate right-of-ways , highway-oriented commercial clusters, and residential subdivisions to increase tax revenue for the city. Residents voiced opposition, citing claims of urban sprawl and government overreach. Knoxville's downtown has been developing, with

1536-467: A strong pro-secession movement within the city. The city's pro-secessionists included among their ranks J. G. M. Ramsey , a prominent historian whose father had built the Ramsey House in 1797. Thus, while East Tennessee and greater Knox County voted decisively against secession in 1861, the city of Knoxville favored secession by a 2–1 margin. In late May 1861, just before the secession vote, delegates of

1632-589: A town. McClung drew up sixty-four 0.5-acre (0.20 ha) lots. The waterfront was set aside for a town common. Two lots were set aside for a church and graveyard (First Presbyterian Church, founded 1792). Four lots were set aside for a school. That school was eventually chartered as Blount College and it served as the starting point for the University of Tennessee , which uses Blount College's founding date of 1794 as its own. In 1790, President George Washington appointed North Carolina surveyor William Blount governor of

1728-541: Is 17.5 in (44 cm), which occurred on February 13, 1960. Knoxville is the central city in the Knoxville Metropolitan Area, an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) designated metropolitan statistical area (MSA) that covers Knox, Anderson , Blount , Campbell , Grainger , Loudon , Morgan , Roane and Union counties. Researchers have mapped the Knoxville Metropolitan area as one of

1824-494: Is a burial mound constructed during the early Mississippian culture period ( c. 1000–1400 A.D.). The earthwork mound has been preserved, but the campus of the University of Tennessee developed around it. Other prehistoric sites include an Early Woodland habitation area at the confluence of the Tennessee River and Knob Creek (near the Knox – Blount county line), and Dallas phase Mississippian villages at Post Oak Island (also along

1920-459: Is also impounded by Cheoah Dam in North Carolina, and by Calderwood and Chilhowee dams in Tennessee. The reservoirs provide flood control and hydroelectric power . Calderwood and Cheoah dams divert water through short tunnels slightly downstream of the dams to hydroelectric generators. Chilhowee has power generators built directly into the dam itself. Some water is also diverted from

2016-409: Is known as the seat of its county. Generally, the county legislature, county courthouse, sheriff's department headquarters, hall of records, jail and correctional facility are located in the county seat, though some functions (such as highway maintenance, which usually requires a large garage for vehicles, along with asphalt and salt storage facilities) may also be located or conducted in other parts of

SECTION 20

#1732843961058

2112-503: The Battle of Campbell's Station (now Farragut ). On November 18, Union General William P. Sanders was mortally wounded while conducting delaying maneuvers west of Knoxville, and Fort Loudon was renamed Fort Sanders in his honor. On November 29, following a two-week siege , the Confederates attacked Fort Sanders but failed after a fierce 20-minute engagement. On December 4, after word of

2208-496: The Battle of Fort Sanders in 1863. Following the war, Knoxville grew rapidly as a major wholesaling and manufacturing center. The city's economy stagnated after the 1920s as the manufacturing sector collapsed , the downtown area declined and city leaders became entrenched in highly partisan political fights. Hosting the 1982 World's Fair helped reinvigorate the city, and revitalization initiatives by city leaders and private developers have had major successes in spurring growth in

2304-881: The East Tennessee Convention met at Temperance Hall in Knoxville in hopes of keeping Tennessee in the Union . After Tennessee voted to secede in June, the convention met in Greeneville and attempted to create a separate Union-aligned state in East Tennessee. In July 1861, after Tennessee had joined the Confederacy , General Felix Zollicoffer arrived in Knoxville as commander of the District of East Tennessee. While initially lenient toward

2400-717: The French and Indian War and confusion brought about by the American Revolution led to a drastic increase in Euro-American settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains . By the 1780s, white settlers were already established in the Holston and French Broad valleys. The U.S. Congress ordered all illegal settlers out of the valley in 1785 but with little success. As settlers continued to trickle into Cherokee lands, tensions between

2496-433: The Knoxville campaign . Like the Confederates, he immediately began fortifying the city. The Union forces rebuilt Fort Loudon and erected 12 other forts and batteries flanked by entrenchments around the city. Burnside moved a pontoon bridge upstream from Loudon , allowing Union forces to cross the river and to build a series of forts along the heights of south Knoxville, including Fort Stanley and Fort Dickerson. As Burnside

2592-636: The Little T ) is a 135-mile (217 km) tributary of the Tennessee River that flows through the Blue Ridge Mountains from Georgia , into North Carolina , and then into Tennessee , in the southeastern United States. It drains portions of three national forests— Chattahoochee , Nantahala , and Cherokee — and provides the southwestern boundary of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park . Numerous dams were erected on

2688-633: The National Conservation Exposition in 1913. The latter is sometimes credited with giving rise to the movement to create a national park in the Great Smoky Mountains, some 20 miles (32 km) south of Knoxville. Around this time, several affluent Knoxvillians began purchasing summer cottages in Elkmont and began to pursue the park idea more vigorously. They were led by Knoxville businessman Colonel David C. Chapman , who, as head of

2784-552: The Republic of China took over. There are 13 county seats in Taiwan, which function as county-administered cities , urban townships , or rural townships . In most of the United States , a county is an administrative or political subdivision of a state that consists of a geographic area with specific boundaries and usually some level of governmental authority. The city, town, or populated place that houses county government

2880-567: The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) system. They form a string of reservoirs in western North Carolina and East Tennessee down to the river's confluence with the Tennessee. Near the state line between North Carolina and Tennessee, the Little Tennessee River is impounded by the 480-foot (150 m) Fontana Dam , completed in 1944, forming Fontana Lake along the southern boundary of Great Smoky Mountains National Park . It

2976-807: The Welsh Tract in Pennsylvania to work in a rolling mill. These Welsh families settled in an area now known as Mechanicsville . The Richards brothers also co-founded the Knoxville Iron Works beside the L&;N Railroad , also employing Welsh workers. Later, the site was used as the grounds for the 1982 World's Fair . Other companies that sprang up during this period were Knoxville Woolen Mills, Dixie Cement, and Woodruff's Furniture. Between 1880 and 1887, 97 factories were established in Knoxville, most of them specializing in textiles, food products, and iron products. By

Knoxville, Tennessee - Misplaced Pages Continue

3072-627: The 18 major cities in the Piedmont Atlantic megaregion . The Knoxville Metropolitan area includes unincorporated communities such as Halls Crossroads , Powell , Karns , Corryton , Concord , and Mascot , which are located in Knox County outside of Knoxville's city limits. Along with Knoxville, municipalities in the Knoxville Metropolitan Area include Alcoa , Blaine , Maryville , Lenoir City , Loudon , Farragut , Oak Ridge , Rutledge , Clinton , Bean Station , and Maynardville . As of 2012,

3168-484: The 1890s, Knoxville was home to more than 50 wholesaling houses, making it the third largest wholesaling center by volume in the South. The Candoro Marble Works , established in the community of Vestal in 1914, became the nation's foremost producer of pink marble and one of the nation's largest marble importers. In 1896, Knoxville celebrated its achievements by creating its own flag. The Flag of Knoxville, Tennessee represents

3264-470: The 1950s and 1960s, and after the establishment of the Interstate Highway System in the 1960s, the railroad—which had been largely responsible for Knoxville's industrial growth—began to decline. The rise of suburban shopping malls in the 1970s drew retail revenues away from Knoxville's downtown area. While government jobs and economic diversification prevented widespread unemployment in Knoxville,

3360-584: The 1970s show evidence of interaction with the Hopewell people of what is now Ohio. Mississippian period (c. 1000-1500 A.D.) sites in the Little Tennessee Valley include the Toqua site (at the river's confluence with Toqua Creek), Tomotley (adjacent to Toqua), Citico (at the river's Citico Creek confluence), and Bussell Island (at the mouth of the river). Toqua's Mississippian inhabitants constructed

3456-475: The 1970s, were among Knoxville's first modern high-rise buildings. In 1947, John Gunther dubbed Knoxville the "ugliest city" in America in his best-selling book Inside U.S.A. Gunther's description jolted the city into enacting a series of beautification measures that helped improve the appearance of the downtown area. Knoxville's textile and manufacturing industries largely fell victim to foreign competition in

3552-428: The 750-acre waterfront fronting three miles of shoreline on the Tennessee River. The project's primary focus is the commercial and residential development over a 20-year timeline. Knoxville Baptist Hospital, located on the waterfront, was demolished in 2016 to make room for a mixed-use project called One Riverwalk. The development consisted of three office buildings, including a headquarters for Regal Entertainment Group ,

3648-555: The CSA but not the Knoxville MSA, include Morristown, Rutledge, Dandridge , Jefferson City , Sevierville, Gatlinburg , Pigeon Forge , LaFollette, Jacksboro , Harriman, Kingston , Rockwood , and Newport. The combined population of the CSA as of the 2000 Census was 935,659. Its estimated 2008 population was 1,041,955. Knoxville is roughly divided into the Downtown area and sections based on

3744-516: The Cherokee refused to cede this land, Blount chose White's Fort. Blount named the new capital Knoxville after Revolutionary War General and Secretary of War Henry Knox , who at the time was Blount's immediate superior. Problems immediately arose from the Holston Treaty. Blount believed that he had "purchased" much of what is now East Tennessee when the treaty was signed in 1791. However, the terms of

3840-484: The Confederate defeat at Chattanooga reached Longstreet, he broke his siege of Knoxville. The Union victories in the Knoxville campaign and at Chattanooga put much of East Tennessee under Union control for the rest of the war. After the war, northern investors such as brothers Joseph and David Richards helped Knoxville recover relatively quickly. The Richards brothers convinced 104 Welsh immigrant families to migrate from

3936-508: The Eastern Han dynasty , the number of counties increased to above 1,000. About 1400 existed when the Sui dynasty abolished the commandery level (郡 jùn), which was the level just above counties, and demoted some commanderies to counties. In Imperial China, the county was a significant administrative unit because it marked the lowest level of the imperial bureaucratic structure; in other words, it

Knoxville, Tennessee - Misplaced Pages Continue

4032-676: The English and French. The fort has been reconstructed as an historic site. Two early American sites are located along the Little Tennessee—; the Tellico Blockhouse , an outpost at the river's Nine Mile Creek confluence, and Morganton , a river port and ferry town near modern Greenback , which thrived in the early 19th century. The Hazel Creek section of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, located on

4128-633: The Great Smoky Mountains Park Commission, was largely responsible for raising the funds for the purchase of the property that became the core of the park. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park opened in 1933. Knoxville's reliance on a manufacturing economy left it particularly vulnerable to the effects of the Great Depression . The Tennessee Valley also suffered from frequent flooding, and millions of acres of farmland had been ruined by soil erosion. To control flooding and improve

4224-623: The James White Parkway and includes the neighborhoods of Parkridge, Burlington, Morningside, and Five Points. This area, concentrated along Magnolia Avenue, is home to Chilhowee Park and Zoo Knoxville . North Knoxville consists of the areas north of Sharp's Ridge, namely the Fountain City and Inskip-Norwood areas. This area's major commercial corridor is located along Broadway. As of the 2020 United States census , there were 190,740 people, 83,492 households, and 40,405 families residing in

4320-742: The Knoxville area kuwanda'talun'yi , which means "mulberry place". Most Cherokee habitation in the area was concentrated in what the American colonists called the Overhill settlements along the Little Tennessee River , southwest of Knoxville. The first white traders and explorers were recorded as arriving in the Tennessee Valley in the late 17th century. There is significant evidence that Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto visited Bussell Island in 1540. The first major recorded Euro-American presence in

4416-701: The Knoxville area was the Timberlake Expedition , which passed through the confluence of the Holston and French Broad into the Tennessee River in December 1761. Henry Timberlake , an Anglo-American emissary from the Thirteen Colonies to the Overhill settlements, recalled being pleased by the deep waters of the Tennessee after his party had struggled down the relatively shallow Holston for several weeks. The end of

4512-641: The Little Tennessee on this side of the mountains, most notably at Icehouse Bottom, Rose Island, Calloway Island (near the river's confluence with Toqua Creek), Thirty Acre Island (near the river's confluence with Nine Mile Creek), and Bacon Bend (between Toqua and Citico Beach). Salvage archeological excavations in the 1970s before completion of the Tellico Dam uncovered large groups of Woodland-period burials on both Rose and Calloway islands in present-day Tennessee. Pottery fragments uncovered at Icehouse Bottom in

4608-637: The Tennessee in Knoxville include First Creek and Second Creek, which flow through the downtown area, Third Creek, which flows west of U.T., and Sinking Creek, Ten Mile Creek, and Turkey Creek, which drain West Knoxville. Knoxville falls in the humid subtropical climate ( Köppen : Cfa ) zone. Summers are hot and humid, with the daily average temperature in July at 78.4 °F (25.8 °C), and an average of 36 days per year with temperatures reaching 90 °F (32 °C). Winters are generally much cooler and less stable, with occasional small amounts of snow. January has

4704-620: The U.S. Senate in 1825. In 1836, White ran unsuccessfully for president, representing the Whig Party . Anti-slavery and anti-secession sentiment ran high in East Tennessee in the years leading up to the Civil War. William "Parson" Brownlow , the radical publisher of the Knoxville Whig , was one of the region's leading anti-secessionists (although he strongly defended the practice of slavery). Blount County, just south of Knoxville, had developed into

4800-935: The United States, followed by Towson , the county seat of Baltimore County, Maryland . Likewise, some county seats may not be incorporated in their own right, but are located within incorporated municipalities. For example, Cape May Court House, New Jersey , though unincorporated, is a section of Middle Township , an incorporated municipality. In some states, often those that were among the original Thirteen Colonies , county seats include or formerly included "Court House" as part of their name, such as Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia . Most counties have only one county seat. However, some counties in Alabama , Arkansas , Georgia , Iowa , Kentucky , Massachusetts , Mississippi , Missouri , New Hampshire , New York , and Vermont have two or more county seats, usually located on opposite sides of

4896-400: The areas west of U.T. and includes the suburban neighborhoods of Sequoyah Hills , West Hills , Bearden , Cumberland Estates , Westmoreland, Suburban Hills, Cedar Bluff , Rocky Hill , and Ebenezer. This area, concentrated largely around Kingston Pike, is home to thriving retail centers such as West Town Mall and Turkey Creek . East Knoxville consists of the areas east of First Creek and

SECTION 50

#1732843961058

4992-542: The capital was moved to Murfreesboro . Early Knoxville has been described as an "alternately quiet and rowdy river town". Early issues of the Knoxville Gazette —the first newspaper published in Tennessee—are filled with accounts of murder, theft, and hostile Cherokee attacks. Abishai Thomas, a friend of William Blount, visited Knoxville in 1794 and wrote that, while he was impressed by the town's modern frame buildings,

5088-411: The city from the south, but lacking the necessary pontoon bridges he was forced to cross the river further downstream at Loudon on November 14 and march against the city's heavily fortified western section. On November 15, General Joseph Wheeler unsuccessfully attempted to dislodge Union forces in the heights of south Knoxville, and the following day Longstreet failed to cut off retreating Union forces at

5184-577: The city sought to recover the massive loss of revenue by attempting to annex neighboring communities. Knoxville annexed the communities of Bearden and Fountain City , which were Knoxville's largest suburbs , in 1962. Knoxville officials attempted the annexation of the neighboring Farragut - Concord community in western Knox County, but the city failed following the incorporation of Farragut in 1980. These annexation attempts often turned combative, and several attempts to consolidate Knoxville and Knox County into

5280-407: The city's Union sympathizers, Zollicoffer instituted martial law in November, after pro-Union guerrillas burned seven of the city's bridges . The command of the district passed briefly to George Crittenden and then to Kirby Smith , who launched an unsuccessful invasion of Kentucky in August 1862. In early 1863, General Simon Buckner took command of Confederate forces in Knoxville. Anticipating

5376-450: The city's central business district and municipal offices, the Old City and Gay Street are mixed residential and commercial areas. South Knoxville consists of the parts of the city located south of the river and includes the neighborhoods of Vestal, Lindbergh Forest, Island Home Park , Colonial Hills, and Old Sevier. This area contains major commercial corridors along Chapman Highway and Alcoa Highway . West Knoxville generally consists of

5472-423: The city's progressive growth due to agriculture and industry. In 1869, Thomas Humes, a Union sympathizer and president of East Tennessee University, secured federal post-war damage reimbursement and state-designated Morrill Act funding to expand the college, which had been occupied by both armies during the war. Charles Dabney , who became president of the university in 1887, overhauled the faculty and established

5568-559: The city, and parts of McAnnally Ridge in the northeastern part of the city. The Tennessee River , which passes through the downtown area, is formed in southeastern Knoxville at the confluence of the Holston River , which flows southwest from Virginia, and the French Broad River , which flows west from North Carolina. The section of the Tennessee River that passes through Knoxville is part of Fort Loudoun Lake, an artificial reservoir created by TVA's Fort Loudoun Dam about 30 miles (48 km) downstream in Lenoir City . Notable tributaries of

5664-433: The city, especially the downtown area. Knoxville is the home of the flagship campus of the University of Tennessee , whose sports teams, the Tennessee Volunteers , are popular in the surrounding area. Knoxville is also home to the headquarters of the Tennessee Valley Authority , the Tennessee Supreme Court 's courthouse for East Tennessee, and the corporate headquarters of several national and regional companies. As one of

5760-511: The city. As of the census of 2010, the population of Knoxville was 178,874, a 2.9% increase from 2000. The median age was 32.7, with 19.1% of the population under the age of 18, and 12.6% over the age of 65. The population was 48% male and 52% female. The population density was 1,815 persons per square mile. The racial and ethnic composition of the city was 76.1% white , 17.1% black , 0.4% Native American , 1.6% Asian , and 0.2% Pacific Islander . Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.6% of

5856-418: The county, especially if it is geographically large. A county seat is usually an incorporated municipality . The exceptions include the county seats of counties that have no incorporated municipalities within their borders, such as Arlington County, Virginia , where the county seat is the entire county. Ellicott City , the county seat of Howard County, Maryland , is the largest unincorporated county seat in

SECTION 60

#1732843961058

5952-420: The county. Examples include Harrison County, Mississippi , which has both Biloxi and Gulfport as county seats, and Hinds County, Mississippi , which has both Raymond and the state capital of Jackson . The practice of multiple county seat towns dates from the days when travel was difficult. There have been few efforts to eliminate the two-seat arrangement, since a county seat is a source of civic pride for

6048-402: The downtown area setting at just over 900 feet (270 m). High points include Sharp's Ridge in North Knoxville at 1,391 feet (424 m) and Brown Mountain in South Knoxville at 1,260 feet (380 m). Knoxville is situated in the Great Appalachian Valley (known locally as the Tennessee Valley), about halfway between the Great Smoky Mountains to the east and the Cumberland Plateau to

6144-533: The economy in the Tennessee Valley, the federal government created the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in 1933. Beginning with Norris Dam , TVA constructed a series of hydroelectric dams and other power plants throughout the valley over the next few decades, bringing flood control, jobs, and electricity to the region. The Federal Works Projects Administration , which also arrived in the 1930s, helped build McGhee Tyson Airport and expand Neyland Stadium . TVA's headquarters, which consists of twin high rises built in

6240-487: The flow through those at nearby Fort Loudoun Dam on the Tennessee by means of a canal that diverts much of the flow of the Little Tennessee. The proposed project to build the dam and reservoir was the subject of environmental controversy during the 1970s because of the discovery of the snail darter , an endangered species . It was the first major legal challenge to the Endangered Species Act . The Little Tennessee River and its immediate watershed comprise one of

6336-498: The four cardinal directions: North Knoxville , South Knoxville , East Knoxville , and West Knoxville . Downtown Knoxville traditionally consists of the area bounded by the river on the south, First Creek on the east, Second Creek on the west, and the railroad tracks on the north, though the definition has expanded to include the U.T. campus and Fort Sanders neighborhood, and several neighborhoods along or just off Broadway south of Sharp's Ridge ("Downtown North"). While primarily home to

6432-463: The independent city under an agreement, such as in Albemarle , or may in be enclaves of the county surrounded by the independent city, such as in Fairfax . Others, such as Prince William , have the courthouse in an enclave surrounded by the independent city and have the county government, the Board of Supervisors, in a different part of the county, far from the county seat. The following counties have their county seat in an independent city: Bedford

6528-433: The largest cities in the Appalachian region, Knoxville has positioned itself in recent years as a repository of Appalachian culture and is one of the gateways to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park . The first people to form substantial settlements in what is now Knoxville were indigenous people who arrived during the Woodland period ( c. 1000 B.C. to 1000 A.D.). One of the oldest artificial structures in Knoxville

6624-425: The late 17th century. There is some evidence that Spanish explorers Hernando De Soto and Juan Pardo passed through the Little Tennessee Valley in 1540 and 1567, respectively. In 1756 the English built Fort Loudoun , located at the river's confluence with the Tellico River, for defenses during the French and Indian War . This was the name for the North American front of the Seven Years' War in Europe between

6720-470: The mountains past Dillard into southwestern North Carolina , it is joined by the Cullasaja River at Franklin . The river turns northwest, flowing through the Nantahala National Forest along the north side of the Nantahala Mountains . It crosses into eastern Tennessee and joins the Tennessee River at Lenoir City , 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Knoxville . The lower river is impounded in several places by sequential dams, some created as part of

6816-462: The nearby Santeetlah Dam on the Cheoah River to power another hydroelectric generator at the Santeetlah Powerhouse . This water is brought to the Little Tennessee River through 7 miles (11 km) of tunnels through the Great Smoky Mountains . Chilhowee, Calderwood, and Cheoah Dams and the Santeetlah Powerhouse were originally built by Alcoa to power the aluminum plant at Alcoa, Tennessee . To ensure efficiency in operation, Alcoa coordinates

6912-619: The newly created Territory South of the River Ohio . One of Blount's first tasks was to meet with the Cherokee and establish territorial boundaries and resolve the issue of illegal settlers. This he accomplished almost immediately with the Treaty of Holston , which was negotiated and signed at White's Fort in 1791. Blount originally wanted to place the territorial capital at the confluence of the Clinch River and Tennessee River (now Kingston ), but when

7008-542: The number of counties also grew by time. By the end of Qing era, there were 11 counties in Taiwan. Protestant missionaries in China first romanized the term as hien . When Taiwan became a Japanese colony in 1895, the hierarchy of divisions also incorporated into the Japanese system in the period when Taiwan was under Japanese rule. By September 1945, Taiwan was divided into 8 prefectures ( 州 and 廳 ), which remained after

7104-596: The opening of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame and the Knoxville Convention Center , the redevelopment of Market Square , a new visitors center, a regional history museum , a Regal Cinemas theater, several restaurants and bars, and many new and redeveloped condominiums. Since 2000, Knoxville has successfully brought business back to the downtown area. The arts in particular have begun to flourish; there are multiple venues for outdoor concerts, and Gay Street hosts

7200-450: The operation of its hydro system with TVA, making sure that reservoir and river water levels are safe for recreational use (primarily boating and fishing) and that proper flows of water continue down the river. The final impoundment is Tellico Dam , which is just above its mouth into the Tennessee River at Lenoir City, Tennessee . It creates Tellico Reservoir . The dam does not have its own hydroelectric generators, but serves to increase

7296-644: The population of the Knoxville Metropolitan Area was 837,571. The Knoxville MSA is the chief component of the larger OMB-designated Knoxville- Sevierville - La Follette Combined Statistical Area (CSA). The CSA also includes the Morristown Metropolitan Statistical Area ( Hamblen , Grainger , and Jefferson counties) and the Sevierville ( Sevier County ), La Follette (Campbell County), Harriman (Roane County), and Newport ( Cocke County ) micropolitan statistical areas . Municipalities in

7392-400: The population. People reporting more than one race formed 2.5% of the population. County seat In Canada , the provinces of Ontario , Quebec , New Brunswick , Prince Edward Island , and Nova Scotia have counties as an administrative division of government below the provincial level, and thus county seats. In the provinces of Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia

7488-534: The richest archaeological areas in the southeastern United States, containing substantial indigenous habitation sites dating to as early as 7,500 B.C. Cyrus Thomas , who conducted a survey in the 1880s of earthwork mounds in the area for the Smithsonian Institution , wrote that the Little Tennessee River was "undoubtedly the most interesting archaeological section in the entire Appalachian district." Substantial Archaic period (8000-1000 B.C.) sites along

7584-500: The river in the 20th century for flood control and hydropower generation. The river flows through five major impoundments: Fontana Dam , Cheoah Dam , Calderwood Dam , Chilhowee Dam , and Tellico Dam , and one smaller impoundment, Porters Bend Dam. The Little Tennessee River rises in the Blue Ridge Mountains , in the Chattahoochee National Forest in northeast Georgia 's Rabun County . After flowing north through

7680-631: The river include the Icehouse Bottom and the Rose Island sites, both located near the confluence of the Tellico River with the Little Tennessee in present-day Tennessee. These sites were probably semi-permanent base camps, the inhabitants of which may have sought the chert deposits on the bluffs above the river which they used to create tools. Evidence of Woodland period (1000 B.C. - 1000 A.D.) habitation has been uncovered at numerous sites along

7776-633: The river near the Knox–Blount line), and at Bussell Island (at the mouth of the Little Tennessee River near Lenoir City ). By the 18th century, the Cherokee , an Iroquoian language people, had become the dominant tribe in the East Tennessee region; they are believed to have migrated centuries before from the Great Lakes region . They were frequently at war with the Creek and Shawnee . The Cherokee people called

7872-407: The river was the spine of most of the major Overhill Cherokee towns, the most prominent of which included Chota , Tanasi , Toqua, Tomotley, Mialoquo (near Rose Island), Chilhowee (at the river's Abrams Creek confluence), Tallassee (near modern Calderwood), Citico, and Tuskegee (adjacent to Fort Loudoun ). Euro-American traders were visiting the Overhill towns along the Little Tennessee by

7968-417: The settlers and the Cherokee rose steadily. In 1786, James White , a Revolutionary War officer, and his friend James Connor built White's Fort near the mouth of First Creek, on land White had purchased three years earlier. In 1790, White's son-in-law, Charles McClung —who had arrived from Pennsylvania the previous year—surveyed White's holdings between First Creek and Second Creek for the establishment of

8064-764: The state's area, has no borough government or borough seat. One borough, the Lake and Peninsula Borough , has its borough seat located in another borough, namely King Salmon in Bristol Bay Borough . In Louisiana , which is divided into parishes rather than counties, county seats are referred to as "parish seats". In New England , counties have served mainly as dividing lines for the states' judicial systems. Rhode Island has no county level of government and thus no county seats, and Massachusetts has dissolved many but not all of its county governments. In Vermont , Massachusetts , and Maine county government consists only of

8160-700: The term "shire town" is used in place of county seat. County seats in China are the administrative centers of the counties in the People's Republic of China . Xian have existed since the Warring States period and were set up nationwide by the Qin dynasty . The number of counties in China proper gradually increased from dynasty to dynasty. As Qin Shi Huang reorganized the counties after his unification, there were about 1,000. Under

8256-539: The town had "seven taverns" and no church. Knoxville initially thrived as a way station for travelers and migrants heading west. Its location at the confluence of three major rivers in the Tennessee Valley brought flatboat and later steamboat traffic to its waterfront in the first half of the 19th century, and Knoxville quickly developed into a regional merchandising center. Local agricultural products—especially tobacco, corn, and whiskey—were traded for cotton, which

8352-416: The towns involved, along with providing employment opportunities. There are 33 counties with multiple county seats in 11 states: Alaska is divided into boroughs rather than counties; the county seat in these case is referred to as the "borough seat"; this includes six consolidated city-borough governments (one of which is styled as a "municipality"). The Unorganized Borough, Alaska , which covers 49% of

8448-469: The treaty came under dispute, culminating in ongoing violence on both sides. When the government invited Cherokee chief Hanging Maw for negotiations in 1793, Knoxville settlers attacked the Cherokee against orders, killing the chief's wife. Peace was renegotiated in 1794. Knoxville served as capital of the Southwest Territory and as capital of Tennessee (admitted as a state in 1796) until 1817, when

8544-538: The use of county seats in particular, will fully transition with the permission of the United States Census Bureau to a system of councils of government for the purposes of boundary definition and as county equivalents. Two counties in South Dakota , Oglala Lakota and Todd , have their county seat and government services centered in a neighboring county. Their county-level services are provided by Fall River County and Tripp County , respectively. In Virginia ,

8640-475: The west. The Great Valley is part of a sub-range of the Appalachian Mountains known as the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians , which is characterized by long narrow ridges flanked by broad valleys. Prominent Ridge-and-Valley structures in the Knoxville area include Sharp's Ridge and Beaver Ridge in the northern part of the city, Brown Mountain in South Knoxville, parts of Bays Mountain just south of

8736-400: Was an independent city from 1968 to 2013, while also being the county seat of Bedford County . Bedford reverted to an incorporated town, and remains the county seat, though is now part of the county. The state with the most counties is Texas, with 254, and the state with the fewest counties is Delaware, with 3. Little Tennessee River The Little Tennessee River (known locally as

8832-481: Was annexed in 1897, and over 5,000 new homes were built between 1895 and 1904. 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 a horse stolen from the sheriff. Knoxville hosted the Appalachian Exposition in 1910 and 1911 and

8928-509: Was fortifying Knoxville, a Confederate army under Braxton Bragg defeated Union forces under William Rosecrans at the Battle of Chickamauga (near the Tennessee-Georgia line) and laid siege to Chattanooga . On November 3, 1863, the Confederates sent General James Longstreet to attack Burnside at Knoxville and prevent him from reinforcing the Union at Chattanooga. Longstreet wanted to attack

9024-582: Was grown in the Deep South . The population of Knoxville more than doubled in the 1850s with the arrival of the East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad in 1855. Among the most prominent citizens of Knoxville during the Antebellum years was James White's son, Hugh Lawson White (1773–1840). White first served as a judge and state senator, before being nominated by the state legislature to replace Andrew Jackson in

9120-466: Was selected because Knoxville was home to TVA's headquarters and for its proximity to Oak Ridge National Laboratory . The Sunsphere , a 266-foot (81 m) steel truss structure topped with a gold-colored glass sphere, was built for the fair and remains one of Knoxville's most prominent structures, along with the adjacent Tennessee Amphitheater . During the 1980s and into the 1990s, the city would see one of its largest expansions of its city limits, with

9216-574: Was the lowest level that the government reached. Government below the county level was often undertaken through informal non-bureaucratic means, varying between dynasties. The head of a county was the magistrate , who oversaw both the day-to-day operations of the county as well as civil and criminal cases. The current number of counties mostly resembled that of the later years of the Qing dynasty . Changes of location and names of counties in Chinese history have been

#57942