Tennessee Town Names (Johnson City, Franklin, Cookeville: houses, bills, castle)

[AppalachianAngler]

Originally Posted by mbmouse

Johnson City is named after Andrew Johnson, our 16th President. His residence was in Greeneville, which was already named, so when Johnson City was built up it, which is "just up the road a piece" it was named Johnson City.

I used to live in a little town in Greene County called Midway. It was named that because it was the rail road stop midway between Knoxville and Bristol.

Oddly enough, I think there is about 5 or 6 (maybe more) Midway's in Tennessee. I know of two off hand, the one in Greene County, and there is one right by Johnson City.

[LauraC]

Originally Posted by KC38506

Calfkiller isn't actually a town, just a river, but the name came as it implies. A load of cattle overturned in the river and died.

Red Boiling Springs used to be reknowned for its healthful mineral springs, so that's how it got it's name. Evian (or is it Perrier?) bottles water there now.

Are you sure the Calfkiller cattle didn't jump in the RED Boiling Springs water to die? Nothing says pure bottled water like "Red."

[rubytue]

There is a Midway in Roane County too. About halfway between Kingston and Harriman. I don't think its a town (or even zipcode) so much as it is an area that locals refer to. But it has some great junk stores.

My favorite TN town names: Ootelwah and Wartburg. I assume the first is an American Indian name and the second, maybe from German immigrants?

[JMT]

Originally Posted by rubytue

There is a Midway in Roane County too. About halfway between Kingston and Harriman. I don't think its a town (or even zipcode) so much as it is an area that locals refer to. But it has some great junk stores.

My favorite TN town names: Ootelwah and Wartburg. I assume the first is an American Indian name and the second, maybe from German immigrants?

There's also a Midtown in Roane County, it's got its own exit on I-40, it's where the new Kroger and Lowe's are located. Is that what you're talking about?

And I love the name Wartburg!!

I also think it's funny that East Tennessee has both Tellico and Jellico.

[Elrod]

Bell Buckle, home of the famous Bell Buckle Cafe, is my favorite place name. Maryville is named after Mary Grainger Blount, wife of the first Governor of "Southwest Territory" (which included all the land below the Ohio River. Note that there is also a Grainger County. Maryville is in Blount County. Next door is Sevier County (named after John Sevier, the first governor of the actual state of Tennessee), and nearby is Roane County (named after Archibald Roane, the second governor of the state). Tennessee was settled from east to west, so the place names in the eastern part of the state usually date from the 18th century.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by Elrod

Bell Buckle, home of the famous Bell Buckle Cafe, is my favorite place name. Maryville is named after Mary Grainger Blount, wife of the first Governor of "Southwest Territory" (which included all the land below the Ohio River. Note that there is also a Grainger County. Maryville is in Blount County. Next door is Sevier County (named after John Sevier, the first governor of the actual state of Tennessee), and nearby is Roane County (named after Archibald Roane, the second governor of the state). Tennessee was settled from east to west, so the place names in the eastern part of the state usually date from the 18th century.

I like Dandridge, the only town in the country named for George Washington's in-laws (Martha Dandridge Washington).

On a side note: Tennessee was settled east to west, then back east. The Cumberland Plateau (Cookeville, Crossville) was the last place in Tennessee to receive widespread European settlement. The plateau was a natural barrier for settlers moving from the east to the west, so settlers moved south to places like McMinnville and Shelbyville. Then after Nashville was settled, people went back east, up the Cumberland River to what is now Carthage and Gainesboro and went up the plateau that way. I think that's pretty interesting.

[Kpt.]

There are salt deposits in Saltville (of course) Virginia that served as a source of salt for many of the southern states in the 1700-1800s. In the early 1800s William King built a "port" on the Holston River to ship salt by barge down the Holston River (which eventually connects to the Mississippi)...thus the name Kingsport.

[jkmewright]

Chattanooga is a name taken from the Cherokee for "rock" or "rising to a point".

[Elrod]

What is the origin of the word "Tellico"? At first I thought it was some TVA-derivative name standing for "Tennessee Electric Company" or something but it clearly has much older origins. Is it a Cherokee word? There's a Tellico Plains, Tellico River and Tellico Lake. What does it mean?

[Bear Creek]

Originally Posted by Elrod

What is the origin of the word "Tellico"? At first I thought it was some TVA-derivative name standing for "Tennessee Electric Company" or something but it clearly has much older origins. Is it a Cherokee word? There's a Tellico Plains, Tellico River and Tellico Lake. What does it mean?

I've always heard it means "plains" in Cherokee.