Tennessee Factoids (Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga: felons, attorney, unemployment rate)

[ValerieB]

Hello i live in claiborne county tennessee which is neighbored by harrogate tennessee home of lincoln memoral university and by middlesboro which is a great town in kentucky thats also home of lee majors the bionic man.I live in the part of the town called speedwell and i love it here.Im originally from kentucky but have been living in tennessee for over 7 years now and i like it much better here. You rarely ever see a recluse spider around here but that doesnt mean they are not around.We grow tobacco and the black widows love our barns so you gotta be careful not to carry those little boogers in the house with you. Tazewell is also in claiborne county,theres not much stores but they do have great schools.Everybody from claiborne county usually goes to middlesboro to shop since its like 15 minutes away from us.The town of middlesboro has everything.Great stores and good eaten. That town is basically sitting in a big crater hole so ppl from everywhere come to see it and lee majors.

Love the info i have just read from the other post's and alot of that i did not know.Im new here and i found this site looking for hardware stores in tazewell.lol.

[hiknapster]

This has got to be one of the best threads on all of the forums! I love it!

[Kklynnt]

How many of you like Cornbread?

The town of South Pittsburg,Tn. hosts the annual cornbread festival.

Here's their website.

http://www.nationalcornbread.com/

There seems to be lots to do , but I think the main theme is centered around a national cornbread cooking contest.

[rubytue]

Originally Posted by LauraC

More Factoids:
Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary now called Brushy Mountain Correctional Complex is a big prison in a remote area of the Cumberland Plateau nearest to the town of Petros. It was originally established back in the 1890s to put the inmates to work as coal miners. In 1977, James Earl Ray, the killer of Dr Martin Luther King, escaped from the prison into the forest. Bloodhounds were released and he was re-captured within 54 hours.

Brushy Mountain also made it into Hollywood in Silence of Lambs. It was the prison, with a window, Jodie Foster promised to move Hannibal Lecter to if he helped with the case.

Frozen Head state park is very near it.

[LauraC]

Still, even more Tennessee factoids:

As of Nov. 30, 2006, there were 102 prisoners in Tennessee state prisons on death row. 28 inmates were convicted in East Tennessee. 28 inmates were convicted in Middle Tennessee. 46 inmates were convicted in West Tennessee. Of those 102 death row prisoners, twenty have multiple death sentences.

The original Body Farm (real name “Anthropological Research Facility), where human decomposition is studied, is located in a fenced in wooded area behind the University of Tennessee Medical Center (Alcoa Hwy, Knoxville). There are no public tours.

Tennessee has 5 Official State Songs. They are: My Homeland, Tennessee -- When It's Iris Time in Tennessee -- My Tennessee -- Tennessee Waltz -- Rocky Top.

The largest underground lake in the US is the Lost Sea in Sweetwater.

In the first decade of the 20th century, Snake Handlers, more generally known as the Church of God with Signs Following, began in Cleveland, TN.

The Governor of Tennessee, Phil Bredesen, grew up in Shortsville, NY and didn’t move to Nashville until 1975. He was the mayor of Nashville from 1991 – 1999.

Tennessee senator Lamar Alexander was born in Maryville, TN and has been in office since 2003. Incoming senator, Bob Corker, grew up in Chattanooga and served as its mayor prior to his senate run.

Elk were reintroduced to Tennessee in 2000 in the Royal Blue Wildlife Management Area (Campbell County, Exit 144 off of Rte 75)) and are multiplying. Prior to that reintroduction, the last one was seen in Tennessee in 1865. The area features fifty three thousand (53,000) acres of mountain forests with elevations reaching to three thousand two hundred (3,200) feet. It is open to the public.

The State government webpage for “Moving To Tennessee” is here:
http://www.tennesseeanytime.org/local/relocate.html

The page with links to all of the county websites in Tennessee is here:
http://www.tennesseeanytime.org/local/index.html

[LauraC]

Originally Posted by Kklynnt

How many of you like Cornbread?

The town of South Pittsburg,Tn. hosts the annual cornbread festival.

Here's their website.

http://www.nationalcornbread.com/

There seems to be lots to do , but I think the main theme is centered around a national cornbread cooking contest.

I think some PR person in Tennessee Travel and Tourism should promote an Eat Your Way Across Tennessee Auto Tour and include all of the festivals that feature food. A companion piece might be where in those towns you could walk it off before you moved on to the next Food Fest.

I volunteer to round-up a tour busload of Travelin' Tennessee Food Fest Judges from the retiree population.

[mbmouse]

Actually there are several TV stations that feature this topic at least once a week. I think it is channel 5 in East TN that has a segment called "On 1 tank of gas in TN" or some such name and the guy goes to these different sites and restaurants. It is very nice to see news that includes GOOD news and cultural goings on in a region.

[insanesmooch]

Originally Posted by AppalachianAngler

It is really hard to imagine that East TN has the largest population. It has a ton of land, but is mainly rural. Are you sure on that? Even with Knoxville & Chattanooga, I don't think those combined even equal the pop. of Memphis.

I think a lot of the Memphis crowd is moving down below to North MS for cheaper taxes and lower cost of living. Nashville area is always growing.

I'm not sure on the population of each section of the state, but there was an article in the Knoxville New-Sentinel a couple of months ago that says in an area of 12 counties near Knoxville there are now 1 million people living there. I have the article, but not with me at the moment so I do not recall all of the counties included. I know the ones boarding Knox county were included.

[jkmewright]

While Coke was invented in Atlanta, Chattanooga was the home to the world's first Coca cola bottling company! I give thanks! LOL

[JMT]

Originally Posted by LauraC

I think some PR person in Tennessee Travel and Tourism should promote an Eat Your Way Across Tennessee Auto Tour and include all of the festivals that feature food. A companion piece might be where in those towns you could walk it off before you moved on to the next Food Fest.

I volunteer to round-up a tour busload of Travelin' Tennessee Food Fest Judges from the retiree population.

What a great idea! BBQ in Memphis, cornbread in South Pittsburg, hot chicken in Nashville, catfish in Paris, and Mayfield ice cream in Athens. Where do I sign up?