Marble City,[1] Heart of the Valley,[2] Queen City of the Mountains,[3] K-Town,[4] Scruffy City,[5] Gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains,[6] Knox Vegas.[7]
Knoxville is the home of the flagship campus of theUniversity of Tennessee, whose sports teams, theTennessee Volunteers, are popular in the surrounding area. Knoxville is also home to the headquarters of theTennessee Valley Authority, theTennessee Supreme Court's courthouse for East Tennessee, and the corporate headquarters of several national and regional companies. As one of the largest cities in theAppalachian region, Knoxville has positioned itself in recent years as a repository of Appalachian culture and is one of the gateways to theGreat Smoky Mountains National Park.[21][22]
Other prehistoric sites include an Early Woodland habitation area at the confluence of the Tennessee River and Knob Creek (near theKnox–Blount county line),[23] andDallas phase Mississippian villages at Post Oak Island (also along the river near the Knox–Blount line),[25] and atBussell Island (at the mouth of theLittle Tennessee River nearLenoir City).[26]
By the 18th century, theCherokee, anIroquoian language people, had become the dominant tribe in the East Tennessee region; they are believed to have migrated centuries before from theGreat Lakes region. They were frequently at war with theCreek andShawnee.[27][28] The Cherokee people called the Knoxville areakuwanda'talun'yi, which means "mulberry place".[29] Most Cherokee habitation in the area was concentrated in what the American colonists called theOverhill settlements along theLittle Tennessee River, southwest of Knoxville.
The first white traders and explorers were recorded as arriving in theTennessee Valley in the late 17th century. There is significant evidence that Spanish explorerHernando de Soto visited Bussell Island in 1540.[30] The first major recorded Euro-American presence in the Knoxville area was theTimberlake Expedition, which passed through the confluence of theHolston andFrench Broad into the Tennessee River in December 1761.Henry Timberlake, an Anglo-American emissary from theThirteen 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.[31]
The end of theFrench and Indian War and confusion brought about by theAmerican Revolution led to a drastic increase in Euro-American settlement west of theAppalachian Mountains.[32] 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 the settlers and the Cherokee rose steadily.[33]
In 1786,James White, aRevolutionary War officer, and his friend James Connor builtWhite's Fort near the mouth of First Creek, on land White had purchased three years earlier.[34] 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 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 theUniversity of Tennessee, which uses Blount College's founding date of 1794 as its own.
In 1790, PresidentGeorge Washington appointed North Carolina surveyorWilliam Blount governor of the newly createdTerritory 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.[35] This he accomplished almost immediately with theTreaty 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 theClinch River and Tennessee River (nowKingston), but when 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 WarHenry Knox, who at the time was Blount's immediate superior.[36]
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 the treaty came under dispute, culminating in ongoing violence on both sides. When the government invited Cherokee chiefHanging Maw for negotiations in 1793, Knoxville settlers attacked the Cherokee against orders, killing the chief's wife. Peace was renegotiated in 1794.[37]
Knoxville served as capital of the Southwest Territory and as capital of Tennessee (admitted as a state in 1796) until 1817,[34] when the capital was moved toMurfreesboro. Early Knoxville has been described as an "alternately quiet and rowdy river town".[19] Early issues of theKnoxville 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, the town had "seven taverns" and no church.[38]
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 broughtflatboat and latersteamboat 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 was grown in theDeep South.[34] The population of Knoxville more than doubled in the 1850s with the arrival of theEast Tennessee and Georgia Railroad in 1855.[19]
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 replaceAndrew Jackson in the U.S. Senate in 1825. In 1836, White ran unsuccessfully for president, representing theWhig Party.[39]
Engraving of a Confederate soldier firing at Union supporter Charles Douglas on Gay Street in Knoxville in late 1861
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 theKnoxville Whig, was one of the region's leading anti-secessionists (although he strongly defended the practice of slavery).[40] Blount County, just south of Knoxville, had developed into a center of abolitionist activity, due in part to its relatively largeQuaker faction and the anti-slavery president ofMaryville College, Isaac Anderson.[41] TheGreater Warner Tabernacle AME Zion Church was reportedly a station on theUnderground Railroad.[42]
Business interests, however, guided largely by Knoxville's trade connections with cotton-growing centers to the south, contributed to the development of a strong pro-secession movement within the city. The city's pro-secessionists included among their ranksJ. G. M. Ramsey, a prominent historian whose father had built theRamsey 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 theEast Tennessee Convention met at Temperance Hall in Knoxville in hopes of keeping Tennessee in theUnion. After Tennessee voted to secede in June, the convention met inGreeneville and attempted to create a separate Union-aligned state in East Tennessee.[43][44]
Photograph showing the aftermath of the siege of Knoxville, December 1863Statue representing the signing of the Treaty of the Holston in downtown Knoxville
In July 1861, after Tennessee had joined theConfederacy, GeneralFelix Zollicoffer arrived in Knoxville as commander of the District of East Tennessee. While initially lenient toward the city's Union sympathizers, Zollicoffer institutedmartial law in November, after pro-Union guerrillasburned seven of the city's bridges. The command of the district passed briefly toGeorge Crittenden and then toKirby Smith, who launched anunsuccessful invasion of Kentucky in August 1862. In early 1863, GeneralSimon Buckner took command of Confederate forces in Knoxville. Anticipating a Union invasion, Buckner fortified Fort Loudon (in West Knoxville, not to be confused with thecolonial fort to the southwest) and began constructing earthworks throughout the city. However, the approach of stronger Union forces underAmbrose Burnside in the summer of 1863 forced Buckner to evacuate Knoxville before the earthworks were completed.[45]
Burnside arrived in early September 1863, beginning theKnoxville 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 fromLoudon, 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.[46]
As Burnside was fortifying Knoxville, a Confederate army underBraxton Bragg defeated Union forces underWilliam Rosecrans at theBattle of Chickamauga (near the Tennessee-Georgia line) and laid siege toChattanooga. On November 3, 1863, the Confederates sent GeneralJames Longstreet to attack Burnside at Knoxville and prevent him from reinforcing the Union at Chattanooga. Longstreet wanted to attack 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, GeneralJoseph 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 theBattle of Campbell's Station (nowFarragut).
On November 18, Union GeneralWilliam 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 atwo-week siege, the Confederatesattacked Fort Sanders but failed after a fierce 20-minute engagement. On December 4, after word of the Confederatedefeat at Chattanooga reached Longstreet, he broke his siege of Knoxville.[47] The Union victories in the Knoxville campaign and at Chattanooga put much of East Tennessee under Union control for the rest of the war.
Early-1900s photograph of the Republic Marble Quarry near Knoxville
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 theWelsh Tract inPennsylvania to work in a rolling mill. These Welsh families settled in an area now known asMechanicsville.[48] The Richards brothers also co-founded the Knoxville Iron Works beside theL&N Railroad, also employing Welsh workers. Later, the site was used as the grounds for the1982 World's Fair.[49]
Child labor at Knoxville Knitting Works, photographed byLewis Wickes Hine in 1910
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.[50] By the 1890s, Knoxville was home to more than 50 wholesaling houses, making it the third largest wholesaling center by volume in the South.[50] TheCandoro Marble Works, established in the community of Vestal in 1914, became the nation's foremost producer ofpink marble and one of the nation's largest marble importers.[51] In 1896, Knoxville celebrated its achievements by creating its own flag.[52] TheFlag of Knoxville, Tennessee represents the city's progressive growth due to agriculture and industry.[53]
In 1869, Thomas Humes, a Union sympathizer and president of East Tennessee University, secured federal post-war damage reimbursement and state-designatedMorrill 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 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.[54]
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 was annexed in 1897, and over 5,000 new homes were built between 1895 and 1904.[19] In 1901, train robberKid Curry (whose real name was Harvey Logan), a member ofButch Cassidy'sWild 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.[55]
Knoxville hosted the Appalachian Exposition in 1910 and 1911 and theNational Conservation Exposition in 1913. The latter is sometimes credited with giving rise to the movement to create anational park in the Great Smoky Mountains, some 20 miles (32 km) south of Knoxville.[56] Around this time, several affluent Knoxvillians began purchasing summer cottages inElkmont and began to pursue the park idea more vigorously. They were led by Knoxville businessman ColonelDavid C. Chapman, who, as head of 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. TheGreat Smoky Mountains National Park opened in 1933.[57]
Gay Street in the early 1900s
Knoxville's reliance on a manufacturing economy left it particularly vulnerable to the effects of theGreat 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 the economy in the Tennessee Valley, the federal government created theTennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in 1933. Beginning withNorris Dam, TVA constructed a series ofhydroelectric dams and other power plants throughout the valley over the next few decades, bringing flood control, jobs, and electricity to the region.[58] The FederalWorks Projects Administration, which also arrived in the 1930s, helped buildMcGhee Tyson Airport and expandNeyland Stadium.[19] TVA's headquarters, which consists of twin high rises built in 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 bookInside 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.[56]
Knoxville's textile and manufacturing industries largely fell victim to foreign competition in the 1950s and 1960s, and after the establishment of theInterstate 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, the city sought to recover the massive loss of revenue by attempting to annex neighboring communities. Knoxville annexed the communities ofBearden andFountain City, which were Knoxville's largestsuburbs, in 1962.[59] Knoxville officials attempted the annexation of the neighboringFarragut-Concord community in western Knox County, but the city failed following theincorporation of Farragut in 1980.[60] These annexation attempts often turned combative, and several attempts toconsolidate Knoxville and Knox County into a metro government failed, while school boards and the planning commissions would merge on July 1, 1987.[19]
The Sterchi Lofts building, formerly Sterchi Brothers Furniture store, the most prominent building on Knoxville's "100 Block"TheSunsphere, with riders aboard a nearby sky-lift during the1982 World's Fair
With further annexation attempts stalling, Knoxville initiated several projects aimed at boosting revenue in its downtown area. The1982 World's Fair—the most successful of these projects, with eleven million visitors—became one of the most popular expositions in U.S. history.[61] TheRubik's Cube made its debut at this event.[62] The fair's energy theme was selected because Knoxville was home to TVA's headquarters and for its proximity toOak Ridge National Laboratory. TheSunsphere, 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,[63] along with the adjacentTennessee Amphitheater.
During the 1980s and into the 1990s, the city would see one of its largest expansions of its city limits, with a reported 26 square miles of "shoestring annexation" under the administration of MayorVictor Ashe. Ashe's efforts were controversial, largely consisting of annexation of interstateright-of-ways, highway-oriented commercial clusters, and residential subdivisions to increase tax revenue for the city. Residents voiced opposition, citing claims ofurban sprawl and government overreach.[64]
The north end of the Market Square in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA, viewed from the TVA towers courtyard. The square's stage dominates the view at the center. The seven-story Arnstein Building rises top-center.
Knoxville's downtown has been developing, with the opening of theWomen's Basketball Hall of Fame and theKnoxville Convention Center,the redevelopment of Market Square, a new visitors center, aregional history museum, aRegal 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 a new arts annex and gallery surrounded by many studios and new businesses as well. TheBijou andTennessee Theatres underwent renovation, providing an initiative for the city and its developers to re-purpose the old downtown.[65]
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 the 750-acre waterfront fronting three miles of shoreline on the Tennessee River.[66] The project's primary focus is the commercial and residential development over a 20-year timeline.[66] Knoxville Baptist Hospital, located on the waterfront, was demolished in 2016 to make room for a mixed-use project called One Riverwalk.[67] The development consisted of three office buildings, including a headquarters forRegal Entertainment Group, a hotel, student housing, and 300 multi-family residential units.[67]
In June 2020, the Knoxville City Council announced the investment of over $5.5million in federal and local funds towards the development of a business park along theInterstate 275 corridor inNorth Knoxville.[68] The project was first proposed by a study prepared Knoxville-Knox County Metropolitan Planning Commission in 2007.[69] In August 2020, UT President andTennessee Smokies ownerRandy Boyd announced plans of amixed-usebaseball stadium complex in theOld City neighborhood.[70]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 104.2 square miles (269.8 km2), of which 98.5 square miles (255.2 km2) is land and 5.6 square miles (14.6 km2), or 5.42%, is water.[71] 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,[72][73] with the downtown area setting at just over 900 feet (270 m).[74] High points includeSharp's Ridge in North Knoxville at 1,391 feet (424 m) and Brown Mountain in South Knoxville at 1,260 feet (380 m).[75][76]
Knoxville is situated in theGreat Appalachian Valley (known locally as the Tennessee Valley), about halfway between theGreat Smoky Mountains to the east and theCumberland Plateau to the west. The Great Valley is part of a sub-range of theAppalachian Mountains known as theRidge-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 ofBays Mountain just south of the city, and parts of McAnnally Ridge in the northeastern part of the city.
TheTennessee River, which passes through the downtown area, is formed in southeastern Knoxville at the confluence of theHolston River, which flows southwest from Virginia, and theFrench 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'sFort Loudoun Dam about 30 miles (48 km) downstream inLenoir City. Notable tributaries of 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 thehumid 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).[77] Winters are generally much cooler and less stable, with occasional small amounts of snow. January has a daily average temperature of 38.2 °F (3.4 °C), with an average of 5 days[78] where the high remains at or below freezing.[b] The record high for Knoxville is 105 °F (41 °C) onJune 30 and July 1, 2012,[79] while the record low is −24 °F (−31 °C) onJanuary 21, 1985.[80] 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 is 17.5 in (44 cm), which occurred on February 13, 1960.[81][c]
Knoxville is roughly divided into theDowntown area and sections based on the four cardinal directions:North Knoxville,South Knoxville,East Knoxville, andWest 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,[86] and several neighborhoods along or just off Broadway south of Sharp's Ridge ("Downtown North").[87] While primarily home to 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[86] 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 andAlcoa Highway.
East Knoxville consists of the areas east of First Creek and the James White Parkway[86] and includes the neighborhoods of Parkridge, Burlington, Morningside, and Five Points. This area, concentrated along Magnolia Avenue, is home toChilhowee Park andZoo Knoxville.
North Knoxville consists of the areas north of Sharp's Ridge,[86] namely the Fountain City and Inskip-Norwood areas. This area's major commercial corridor is located along Broadway.
Knoxville, Tennessee – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
As of thecensus of 2010, the population of Knoxville was 178,874, a 2.9% increase from 2000.[95] The median age was 32.7,[96] with 19.1% of the population under the age of 18, and 12.6% over the age of 65.[95] The population was 48% male and 52% female. The population density was 1,815 persons per square mile.[95]
Data collected by the Census from 2005 to 2009 reported 83,151 households in Knoxville, with an average of 2.07 persons per household.[95] The home ownership rate was 51%, and 74.7% of residents had been living in the same house for more than one year.[95] The median household income was $32,609, and the per capita income was $21,528.[95] High school graduates were 83.8% of persons 25 and older, and 28.3% had earned a bachelor's degree or higher.[95] The city's poverty rate was 25%, compared with 16.1% in Tennessee and 15.1% nationwide.[95][97]
According to the opinion of the Economic Research Institute in a 2006 study, Knoxville was identified as the most affordable U.S. city for new college graduates, based on the ratio of typical salary to cost of living.[98]
This article needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(November 2023)
In 2011, 15.9% of the Knoxville MSA work force was employed by government entities, while 14.1% were employed in the professional service sector, 14% worked in education or health care, 12.7% were employed in the retail sector, 10.5% worked in leisure and hospitality, and 8.9% worked in the manufacturing sector.[100] The region had an unemployment rate of 7.9% in 2011.[100] In the 2010ACCRA Cost of Living Index was rated 89.6 (the national average was 100).[100] In 2007, there were over 19,000 registered businesses in Knoxville.[95] The city's businesses are served by the 2,100-member Knoxville Area Chamber Partnership.[100] The Knoxville Chamber is one of six partners in the Knoxville-Oak Ridge Innovation Valley, which promotes economic development in Knox and surrounding counties.[101]
The TVA, the nation's largest public power provider,[102] reported $10.5billion in revenue in 2021[103] and employs over 12,000 region-wide.[104] The largest company based in Knoxville is privately heldPilot Flying J, the nation's largest truck stop chain and sixth-largest private company, which reported over $29.23billion in revenue in 2012.[105] Knoxville is home to the nation's fourth-largest wholesale grocer, theH. T. Hackney Company, which reported $3.8billion (~$4.9 billion in 2023) in revenue in 2012,[106] and one of the nation's largest digital-centric advertising firms,Tombras Group, which reported $80million in revenue in 2011.[107][108]
The Knoxville area is home to 596 office buildings which contain over 21million square feet of office space.[100] The city's largest office building in terms of office space is theCity-County Building, which has over 537,000 square feet of office space. The First Tennessee Plaza and theRiverview Tower were the largest privately owned office buildings, with 469,672 square feet and 367,000 square feet, respectively.[111] Knoxville's largest industrial park is the 1,460-acre (590 ha) Forks of the River Industrial Park in southeastern Knoxville.[112] Other major industrial and business parks include the 800-acre (320 ha) EastBridge Industrial Park and Midway Business Park in eastern Knox County and the 271-acre (110 ha) WestBridge Industrial Park in western Knox County.
The largest bank operating in Knoxville in terms of local deposits is Memphis-basedFirst Horizon Bank, with $2.6billion (~$3.41 billion in 2023) in local deposits, representing about 16% of Knoxville's banking market.[113] It is followed by Charlotte-basedTruist Financial ($2.5billion), Birmingham-basedRegions Bank ($1.9billion), and locally headquartered Home Federal Bank of Tennessee ($1.6billion).[113] Other banks with significant operations in the city includeBank of America, First Bank (based inLexington, Tennessee), and locally owned Clayton Bank and Trust. Major brokerage firms with offices in Knoxville includeEdward Jones,Morgan Stanley Smith Barney,Wells Fargo, andMerrill Lynch.[114] As of 2011, Knox County's largest mortgage lender (by dollar volume) was Wells Fargo with over $300million (13% of the local market), followed by Mortgage Investors Group, SunTrust, Regions, and Home Federal.[115] Knoxville's largest accounting firm as of 2012 is Pershing Yoakley & Associates, with 49 localCPAs, followed by Coulter & Justus (44), and Pugh CPA's(43).[116]
Over 700 manufacturing establishments are scattered throughout the Knoxville area.[100] Sea Ray Boats is the city's largest manufacturer, employing 760 at its southeast Knoxville complex in 2009.[117] The city is home to several automobile parts operations, including ARC Automotive (air bag actuators) and a Key Safety Systems plant (seat belts and other restraints).[117] Other major manufacturing operations include a Melaleaca plant (personal care products), aCoca-Cola bottling plant, and aGerdau Ameristeel plant that produces steel rebar. Aircraft manufacturerCirrus also has its main customer delivery center based in Knoxville, which deals with aircraft maintenance & repair, flight training, and design personalization. Major manufacturing operations in the Knoxville MSA are conducted at the Y-12 plant in Oak Ridge, the DENSO plant and the Clayton Homes manufacturing center (both in Maryville), and the ALCOA plants in Alcoa.[118]
The Knoxville area is home to 182 shopping centers and factory outlets, and over 2,400 retail establishments.[100] One regional mall (West Town Mall) is located within the city, and two others (Foothills Mall in Maryville andOak Ridge City Center in Oak Ridge) are located within the Knoxville MSA. Knoxville retailers reported $6.47billion in sales in 2007, with just over $35,000 of retail sales per capita.[95]
Knoxville's primary retail corridor is located along Kingston Pike in West Knoxville. This area is home to West Town Mall, the 358-acreTurkey Creek complex (half is in Knoxville and half isFarragut), and over 30 shopping centers.[119] Downtown Knoxville contains a number of specialty shops, clubs, and dining areas, mostly concentrated in the Old City, Market Square, and along Gay Street. Other significant retail areas are located along Cumberland Avenue on the U.T. campus (mostly restaurants), Broadway in the vicinity of Fountain City, and Chapman Highway in South Knoxville.
The Tennessee Technology Corridor stretches across 7,000 acres (2,800 ha) between West Knoxville and Oak Ridge. The Corridor is home to 13research and development firms employing nearly 2,000.[123]
Concertgoers exiting theBijou Theatre following aMelvins concert, circa June 2022
Knoxville is home to a rich arts community and has many festivals throughout the year. Its contributions to old-time, bluegrass and country music are numerous, fromFlatt and Scruggs andHomer and Jethro toThe Everly Brothers.
TheKnoxville Symphony Orchestra (KSO), established in 1935, is the oldest continuing orchestra in the southeast.[124] The KSO maintains a core of full-time professional musicians and performs at more than 200 events per year. Its traditional venues include theTennessee Theatre, theBijou Theatre, and the Civic Auditorium, though it also performs at several non-traditional venues. TheKnoxville Opera performs a season of opera every year, accompanied by a chorus.[125] Knoxville was the location ofSergei Rachmaninoff's final concert in 1943, performed at Alumni Memorial Auditorium at the University of Tennessee.[126]
Knoxville's underground music scene is rooted with the promotion byAC Entertainment around 1979.[127] AC Entertainment, a local entertainment group, sought to expand the city's scene.[128] In the 1990s, notedalternative rock critic Ann Powers referred to the city as "Austin without the hype".[129][130] Knoxville is home to a vibrantpunk rock scene, having emerged from venues in the Old City district, specifically the Mill & Mine and Pilot Light venues.[131] Such punk and hardcore bands include UXB, the STDs, and Koro.[132][133][134] Knoxville hosts theBig Earsmusic festival since 2009. The festival, dubbed the "most ambitiousavant-garde festival in America in more than a decade" in a 2014Rolling Stone article, hosts musicians ranging from punk rock tochamber pop.[135]
The city also hosts numerous art festivals, including the 17-dayDogwood Arts Festival in April, which features art shows, crafts fairs, food and live music. Also in April is the Rossini Festival, which celebrates opera and Italian culture. June's Kuumba (meaning creativity inSwahili) Festival commemorates the region's African American heritage and showcases visual arts, folk arts, dance, games, music, storytelling, theater, and food.
Skyline ofDowntown Knoxville, 2007Tennessee Amphitheater in Knoxville, 2015
Knoxville's two tallest buildings are the 27-story First Tennessee Plaza and the 24-story Riverview Tower, both on Gay Street.[136] Other prominent high-rises include the Tower at Morgan Hill,[137] theAndrew Johnson Building,[138] the Knoxville Hilton, theGeneral Building,The Holston, the TVA Towers,[139] and Sterchi Lofts. The most iconic structure is arguably theSunsphere, a 266-foot (81 m) steel truss tower built for the 1982 World's Fair;[140] it and theTennessee Amphitheater are the only two structures that remain from that World's Fair.[141]
Residential architecture tends to reflect the city's development over two centuries.William Blount Mansion (1791), in the oldest part of the city, is designed in a vernacularGeorgian style. "Streetcar suburbs" such asFourth and Gill,Parkridge, andFort Sanders, developed in the late 19th century with the advent oftrolleys, tend to contain large concentrations of Victorian andbungalow/Craftsman-style houses popular during this period. Early automobile suburbs, such asLindbergh Forest and Sequoyah Hills, contain late-1920s and 1930s styles such asTudor Revival, English Cottage, andMission Revival. Neighborhoods developed after World War II typically consist ofRanch-style houses.
The Knoxville Christmas in the City event runs for eight weeks of events at locations throughout the city including theSinging Christmas Tree and ice skating on the Holidays on Ice skating rink.[143][144]
The Knox County Public Library system consists of theLawson McGhee Library, located downtown, and 17 branch libraries, overseeing a collection of over 1.3million volumes.[100]
The University of Tennessee's athletics programs, nicknamed the "Volunteers", or "the Vols", are immensely popular.Neyland Stadium, where the Vols' football team plays, is one of the largest stadiums in the world seating 101,915,[168] andThompson–Boling Arena, home of the men's and women's basketball teams, is one of the nation's largest indoor basketball arenas. The telephone area code for Knox County and eight adjacent counties is 865 (VOL). Knoxville is also the home of theWomen's Basketball Hall of Fame, almost entirely thanks to the success ofPat Summitt and theUniversity of Tennessee women's basketball team.
Professional sports teams located in Knoxville include:
Knoxville is governed by a mayor and nine-member City Council. It uses the strong-mayor form of themayor-council system.[169] The council consists of six members fromsingle-member districts and three members electedat-large for the entire city. The council chooses from among its members the vice mayor (currently Tommy Smith), the Beer Board chairperson (currently Lauren Rider), and a representative to the Knoxville Transportation Authority (currently Debbie Helsley).[170] The City Council meets every other Tuesday at 7:00p.m. in the Main Assembly Room of theCity County Building.[171]
The current mayor isIndya Kincannon, who was sworn in as the city's second female mayor on December 21, 2019, replacing the first female mayor of the city,Madeline Rogero, who was elected in 2011. Interim mayorDaniel Brown, the first African American to hold the office, was appointed in January 2011 following the resignation ofBill Haslam, who was elected Governor of Tennessee. Other recent mayors include Haslam's predecessor,Victor Ashe (1987−2003),Kyle Testerman (1972−1975, 1984−1987), andRandy Tyree (1976−1983).
TheKnoxville Fire Department (KFD) provides Class2ISO service inside the city limits. The fire department operates 19 stations with 308 uniformed personnel.[172] KFD provides firefighting, first responder EMS response, vehicle extrication and HazMat response within the city limits.
Knoxville is governed by a mayor and a nine-member City Council, six of which represent from single-member districts and three members are elected at-large. Council members are elected through a nonpartisan, district-wide primary in which top two vote-getters advance to a city-wide runoff election in November. Council members are elected to serve a four-year term that is eligible for reelection once.[175]
The University of Tennessee at Knoxville is the state's flagship public university. (Pictured: McClung Plaza)
Knoxville is home to themain campus of the University of Tennessee (UTK), which has operated in the city since the 1790s. As of 2011, UTK had an enrollment of over 27,000 and endowments of over $300million.[177] The school employs over 1,300 instructional faculty, and offers more than 300 degree programs.[178]
Johnson University (formerly Johnson Bible College) is aBible college affiliated with theChristian churches and churches of Christ. As of 2012, the school had an enrollment of 845. Johnson traditionally specializes in training preachers and ministers, but also offers degrees in counseling, teaching, music, and nonprofit management.[180]
South College (formerly Knoxville Business College) is afor-profit school located in West Knoxville that offers undergraduate and graduate programs in business, health care, criminal justice, and legal fields. The school had an enrollment of 717 as of 2010.[181]
Knoxville College was ahistorically black college that began operating in Knoxville in the 1870s. The school offered a Bachelor of Science in Liberal Studies and an Associate of Arts degree. Knoxville College had an enrollment of about 100 students as of 2010 and closed permanently in 2015.[182]
Public schools in Knoxville are part of theKnox County Schools system, which oversees 89 schools (50 elementary, 14 middle, 14 high, and 11 adult centers) serving over 56,000 students. This system includes fivemagnet schools and aSTEM academy.[100] Knox County high schools had a graduation rate of 86.6%, as of 2011.[184] The average classroom ratio is 14 students per teacher.[100]
According toArbitron's 2011 Radio Market Rankings, Knoxville had the nation's 72nd-largest radio market, with 684,700 households.[202] In 2010,country music stationWIVK (107.7 FM) had the market's highestAQH share at 16.3, followed by adult contemporary stationWJXB (97.5 FM) at 10.1, and news/talk stationWCYQ (100.3 FM) at 8.3.[203] Other stations includeRock music stationsWIMZ (103.5 FM) andWNFZ (94.3),Rhythmic Top 40 stationWKHT (104.5 FM),contemporary hit stationWWST (102.1 FM), andNational Public Radio stationWUOT (91.9 FM). The University of Tennessee radio station operates underWUTK (90.3 FM).
Knox County's hospital system contains over 2,600 licensed beds in seven general use hospitals and one children's hospital.[100] The city's largest hospital as of 2011 was theUniversity of Tennessee Medical Center, which had 581 beds, followed byFort Sanders Regional Medical Center (541), Parkwest Medical Center (462), and Physicians Regional (370).[211] The city's largest ambulatory surgery center was the Parkwest Surgery Center, which employed 58 physicians and 35 nurses, followed by the Fort Sanders West Outpatient Surgery Center and the St. Mary's Ambulatory Surgery Center South.[212]
2021 County Health Rankings places Knox county at 13th out the 95 counties. Life expectancy was 76.3 years. Health behaviors noted: 19% smokers versus state average of 21%, 29% of the population is obese vs 33% for the state, excessive drinking is 19% vs 17%, drug overdoses 52 per 100,000 with the state at 28 overdoses per 100,000.[213]
In the 2010s, Knoxville's air quality continued to greatly improve over that of past decades according to the American Lung Association's State of the Air 2017.[214][215]
The Knoxville Utilities Board (KUB) provides electricity, water, and wastewater management to Knoxville residents and businesses. KUB's service area covers 688 square miles and includes over 5,200 miles of power lines providing electricity to over 196,000 customers.[216] The average electric bill was just over $96 per month.[217] KUB purchases its electricity from theTennessee Valley Authority.[216]
The James White Parkway connectsI-40 with Downtown Knoxville.
The two principal interstate highways serving Knoxville areInterstate 40, which connects the city toAsheville (directly) andBristol (viaI-81) to the east andNashville to the west, andInterstate 75, which connects the city toChattanooga to the south andLexington to the north. The two interstates merge about 20 miles (32 km) west of Downtown Knoxville nearDixie Lee Junction and diverge as they approach the Downtown area, with I-40 continuing on through the Downtown area and I-75 turning north.Interstate 640 provides abypass for I-40 travelers, andInterstate 275 provides a faster connection to I-75 for Downtown travelers headed north. A spur route of I-40,Interstate 140 (Pellissippi Parkway), connects West Knoxville withMcGhee Tyson Airport and Maryville.[218]
Prior to its reconstruction for the 1982 World's Fair tourism traffic, the interchange of I-75 (now I-275) and I-40 was known as "Malfunction Junction", because its consistent state of traffic jammed throughout daily.[219]
Knoxville's busiest road is a stretch ofU.S. Route 129 known as Alcoa Highway, which connects the Downtown area with McGhee Tyson Airport and Maryville.[220] A merged stretch ofUS-70 andUS-11 enters the city from the east along Magnolia Avenue, winds its way through the Downtown area, crosses the U.T. campus along Cumberland Avenue ("The Strip"), and proceeds through West Knoxville alongKingston Pike. US-11 splits intoUS-11E and11W in Downtown, with the former connecting Knoxville toJefferson City andMorristown, and the latter withRutledge andBean Station.US-441, which connects Knoxville to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, passes along Broadway in North Knoxville, Henley Street in the Downtown area, and Chapman Highway in South Knoxville.US-25W, which enters from the east concurrent with US-70, connects Knoxville withClinton.[218]
Bridges over the Tennessee River
State Route 158 (SR 158) loops around the Downtown area from Kingston Pike just west of UT's campus, southward and eastward along Neyland Drive and the riverfront, and northward along the James White Parkway before terminating at I-40.SR 62 (Western Avenue, Oak Ridge Highway), connects Downtown Knoxville withOak Ridge to the west.SR 168, known as Governor John Sevier Highway, runs along the eastern and southern periphery of the city.SR 162 (Pellissippi Parkway) connects West Knoxville with Oak Ridge.SR 331 (Tazewell Pike) connects theFountain City area to rural northeast Knox County.SR 332 (Northshore Drive) connects West Knoxville andConcord.SR 33 (Maryville Pike, Maynardville Pike) traverses much of South Knoxville southward, and connects to the suburbs ofHalls Crossroads andMaynardville northward.[218]
Four vehicle bridges connect Downtown Knoxville with South Knoxville, namely the South Knoxville Bridge (James White Parkway), theGay Street Bridge (Gay Street), theHenley Street Bridge, or Henley Bridge (Henley Street), and the J. E. "Buck" Karnes Bridge (Alcoa Highway). Two railroad bridges, located between the Henley Street Bridge and Buck Karnes Bridge, serve the CSX and Northfolk Southern railroads. Smaller bridges radiating out from the downtown area include the Western Avenue Viaduct and Clinch Avenue Viaduct, the Robert Booker Bridge (Summit Hill Drive), the Hill Avenue Viaduct, and the Gay Street Viaduct.[218]
Public transportation is provided byKnoxville Area Transit (KAT), which operates over 80 buses,road trolleys, andparatransit vehicles, and transports more than 3.6million passengers per year. Regular routes connect the Downtown area, U.T., and most residential areas with major shopping centers throughout the city. KAT operates using city, state, and federal funds, and passenger fares, and is managed byVeolia Transport.[221]
Knoxville and the surrounding area is served byMcGhee Tyson Airport (IATA:TYS), a 2,250-acre (910 ha) airport equipped with two runways, one a 10,000-foot (3,000 m) runway, and the other a 9,000-foot (2,700 m) runway. The airport is located 10 miles south of Knoxville inAlcoa, but is owned by the non-profit Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority (MKAA).[222][223] McGhee Tyson offers eight major airlines serving 19 non-stop destinations, and averages 120 arrivals and departures per day. The airport includes the 21-acre (8.5 ha) Air Cargo Complex, which serves FedEx, UPS, and Airborne Express. TheMcGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base, located adjacent to the civilian airport, is home to theTennessee National Guard's134th Air Refueling Wing.[224]
The MKAA also owns theDowntown Island Airport, a 200-acre (81 ha)general aviation facility located on Dickinson's Island in southeast Knoxville. This airport is equipped with a 3,500-foot (1,100 m) runway, and averages about 225 operations per day. Over 100 aircraft, mostly single-engine planes, are based at the airport.[225]
Map of Street Railway Lines of the Knoxville Railway and Light Company c 1907Knoxville and Holston River Railroad MP15AC #2002 leads a train through Tyson Park near downtown Knoxville.
Rail freight in Knoxville is handled by twoClass I railroads,CSX andNorfolk Southern, and oneshortline, theKnoxville and Holston River Railroad. Railroads account for about 12% of the Knoxville area's outbound freight and 16% of the area's inbound freight.[226] The city has two major rail terminals: the Burkhart Enterprises terminal at the Forks of the River Industrial Park just east of the city, and the TransFlo facility adjacent to the U.T. campus.[226] Knoxville's two old passenger stations, theSouthern Terminal and theL&N Station, now serve non-railroad functions.
Norfolk Southern, which controls about 210 miles (340 km) of tracks in the Knoxville area,[226] averages 35 freight trains through the city per day,[227] and operates a majorclassification yard, the John Sevier Yard, just east of the city. The company uses a small rail yard near the I-40/I-275 interchange in Downtown Knoxville for a staging area.[226] The Norfolk Southern system includes spur lines to the coal fields aroundMiddlesboro, Kentucky, and the ALCOA plants in Blount County.[226]
CSX controls about 76 miles (122 km) of tracks in the Knoxville area, much of which is located along an important north–south line between Cincinnati and Louisville to the north and Chattanooga and Atlanta to the south.[226] Minor switching operations for CSX occur at the TransFlo facility near the U.T. campus.[226] The CSX system includes spur lines to TVA'sBull Run Fossil Plant and theOak Ridge National Laboratory in Anderson County, and the ALCOA plants in Blount County.[226]
The Knoxville and Holston River Railroad (KXHR) is a subsidiary ofGulf and Ohio Railways, a shortline holding company headquartered at theJames Park House in Downtown Knoxville. The KXHR operates a 19-mile (31 km) line between the Burkhart terminal at Forks of the River and the Coster Yard in North Knoxville, where the freight is transferred to CSX and Norfolk Southern lines ortransloaded onto trucks.[226] The KXHR also manages theKnoxville Locomotive Works at the Coster Yard, and operates theThree Rivers Rambler, a tourist train that runs along the riverfront.[228]
Knoxville is an international port connected via navigable channels to the nation's inland waterways and theGulf of Mexico. The city's waterfront lies just under 700 river miles from theMississippi River (via theTennessee andOhio rivers),[229] and just under 900 river miles fromMobile, Alabama, on the Gulf of Mexico (via the Tennessee River andTennessee-Tombigbee Waterway).[230] TVA maintains a minimum 9-foot (2.7 m) channel on the entirety of the Tennessee River. The minimum size of locks on Tennessee River and Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway dams is 600 feet (180 m) by 110 feet (34 m).[231]
Most commercial shipping on the Tennessee River is provided bybarges, which deliver on average half a million tons of cargo to Knoxville per year, mostlyasphalt, road salt, and steel andcoke.[232] Burkhart Enterprises operates the city's most active public barge terminal at its Forks of the River facility, handling approximately 350,000 tons of barge cargo per year.[232] Knoxville Barge and Chattanooga-based Serodino, Inc., provide barge shipping services to and from the city.
Recreational craft that frequent the river include smalljohnboats, fishing boats and yachts. Boat slips and a marina are located at Volunteer Landing in the Downtown area. The VOL Navy, a flotilla of several dozen boats, swarms the river during weeks when the U.T. football team plays at Neyland Stadium. Cruise lines operating in the city include theVolunteer Princess, a luxury yacht, and theStar of Knoxville, apaddlewheel riverboat.
Knoxville has appeared in music, literature and television. Film directorQuentin Tarantino was born in Knoxville, and the city and East Tennessee are frequently mentioned in his films, such as in the 1994 filmPulp Fiction, in whichBruce Willis' character (and the watch given to him byChristopher Walken's character) is from Knoxville.[233]
In literature, authorCormac McCarthy is from Knoxville, and several of his books feature the city, such asSuttree, a 1979 semi-autobiographical novel.James Agee also lived in the city, and his 1957 posthumous autobiographical novelA Death in the Family provides a portrait of life in Knoxville, while also wrestling with the death of Agee's father in a car accident, and the impact this had on his family.[234]
The first part ofJames Herman Robinson's 1950 autobiography,The Road Without Turning, takes place in Knoxville,[importance?] and "The Man in the Overstuffed Chair", a 1985 short story by playwrightTennessee Williams, gives a brief description of the death of Williams' father, Cornelius, at a Knoxville hospital, and his subsequent burial atOld Gray Cemetery.[237]
Pulitzer Prize-winning authorPeter Taylor's last novel in 1994,In the Tennessee Country, refers to a "Knoxville cemetery" where the main character's grandfather (a fictitious politician) is buried. This may refer to Old Gray Cemetery, where Taylor's own grandfather, GovernorRobert Love Taylor, was originally buried in 1912.[238]
Swiss travel writerAnnemarie Schwarzenbach visited Knoxville in the 1930s, and wrote an essay about the city, "Auf der Schattenseite von Knoxville", which was published in the December 1937 edition of the Swiss magazine,National Zeitung.[239]
A number of early country music songs were recorded in Knoxville as the "St. James Sessions" in 1930, such as "Satan is Busy In Knoxville" by Leola Manning.[240][241]
^Tennessee Code 2-13-208 requires all municipal elections and their respective offices to benonpartisan.[8]
^In 1915, 1921, 1990, and 2013, no day the entire year remained at or below freezing.[78]
^This contributed to the winter of 1959−60 being the snowiest on record, with a total of 56.7 in (144 cm). On the other extreme, five winters, most recently 2007−08, have recorded only a trace of snowfall.[78]
^Mean monthly maxima and minima (i.e. the expected highest and lowest temperature readings at any point during the year or given month) calculated based on data at said location from 1991 to 2020.
^Official records for Knoxville kept January 1871 to February 1942 at downtown and at McGhee Tyson Airport since March 1942. For more information, seeThreadex
^Lucile Deaderick,Heart of the Valley: A History of Knoxville, Tennessee (Knoxville, Tenn.: East Tennessee Historical Society, 1976).
^Mark Banker,Appalachians All: East Tennessee and the Elusive History of an American Region (Knoxville, Tenn.: University of Tennessee Press, 2010), p. 83.
^Jack Neely,From the Shadow Side: And Other Stories of Knoxville, Tennessee (Tellico Books, 2003).
^abcdefghiW. Bruce Wheeler, "KnoxvilleArchived April 27, 2012, at theWayback Machine".The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, 2002. Retrieved: February 28, 2008.
^"Ask Doc Knox", "Downtown's Homegrown Revival",Metro Pulse, November 16, 2011. Accessed at the Internet Archive, October 1, 2015.
^King, Niki (December 12, 2011)."Urban Appalachia: Who, Where and What is it?!".The Hillville. RetrievedJuly 28, 2020.Knoxville, Roanoke and Pittsburgh all had spots in Planetizen's list of top 100 public spaces, an indication of the urban-loving lifestyles that flourish there.
^Harlan, Will (November 29, 2012)."Knoxville plans greenway to the Smokies".Blue Ridge Outdoors. RetrievedJuly 28, 2020.Knoxville, the self-proclaimed 'Gateway to the Smokies', has big plans to build a greenway system that connects it to the country's most popular national park.
^abFletcher Jolly III, "40KN37: An Early Woodland Habitation Site in Knox County, Tennessee",Tennessee Archaeologist 31, nos. 1–2 (1976), 51.
^James Strange, "An Unusual Late Prehistoric Pipe from Post Oak Island (40KN23)",Tennessee Archaeologist 30, no. 1 (1974), 80.
^Richard Polhemus,The Toqua Site—40MR6, Vol. I (Norris, Tenn.: Tennessee Valley Authority, 1987), 1240-1246.
^Cora Tula Watters, "Shawnee".The Encyclopedia of Appalachia (Knoxville, Tenn.: University of Tennessee Press, 2006), 278–279.
^Ima Stephens, "Creek",The Encyclopedia of Appalachia (Knoxville, Tenn.: University of Tennessee Press, 2006), 252–253.
^James Mooney,Myths of the Cherokee and Sacred Formulas of the Cherokee (Nashville: Charles Elder, 1972—reprint from 1891 and 1900), 526.
^Jefferson Chapman,Tellico Archaeology: 12,000 Years of Native American History (Norris, Tenn.: Tennessee Valley Authority, 1985), 97.
^Henry Timberlake, Samuel Williams (ed.),Memoirs, 1756–1765 (Marietta, Georgia: Continental Book Co., 1948), 54.
^William MacArthur,Knoxville, Crossroads of the New South (Tulsa, Okla.: Continental Heritage Press, 1982), 1-15.
^Yong Kim,The Sevierville Hill Site: A Civil War Union Encampment on the Southern Heights of Knoxville, Tennessee (Knoxville, Tenn.: University of Tennessee Transportation Center, 1993), 9.
^MacArthur,Knoxville: Crossroads of the New South, 23.
^Jonathan Atkins, "Hugh Lawson WhiteArchived July 2, 2017, at theWayback Machine".The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, 2002. Retrieved: February 26, 2008.
^MacArthur,Knoxville: Crossroads of the New South, 42-44.
^Eric Lacy,Vanquished Volunteers: East Tennessee Sectionalism from Statehood to Secession (Johnson City, Tenn.: East Tennessee State University Press, 1965), pp. 217–233.
^abKnoxville-Oak Ridge Innovation Valley, [www.knoxvillechamber.com/pdf/demographics/MajorManufacturers.doc Top 50 Major Manufacturers in the Knoxville Area—2009]. Retrieved: January 14, 2012.
^Moon Blue Ridge & Smoky Mountains—Page 279 1612380662 Deborah Huso—2011 Christmas in the City (865/215-4248, www.cityofknoxville.org, Nov.–Dec.) covers eight weeks of festivities at various locations throughout the city. The activities include... Santa, as well as ice skating on Knoxville's Holidays on Ice skating rink.
^"International Biscuit Festival Weekend".NEWS RELEASES City of Knoxville, Tennessee Daniel T. Brown, Mayor. ci.knoxville.tn.us. June 2, 2010. Archived fromthe original on September 28, 2011. RetrievedApril 24, 2011.
^USGS topographical maps. The entirety of the Tennessee River (652 miles), plus 46 miles along the Ohio River to where it empties into the Mississippi.
^Richard Simms, "Huckleberry Finn is Alive and WellArchived May 10, 2013, at theWayback Machine",Chattanooga Times-Free Press, November 27, 2008. The trip is 437 miles along the Tennessee River from Knoxville to the entrance of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway (near Pickwick Landing Dam in Hardin County), 234 miles along the waterway to Demopolis, Alabama, and another 214 miles along Tombigbee and Mobile rivers to Mobile.
^Agee, James (2009) [1957].A Death in the Family. London, England: Penguin Classics.ISBN978-0143105718.
^M. Thomas Inge, Charles Reagan Wilson, et al.,The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture: Literature (University of North Carolina Press, 2008), p. 174.
Barber, John W., and Howe, Henry.All the Western States and Territories... (Cincinnati, Ohio: Howe's Subscription Book Concern, 1867). pp.631–632.
Carey, Ruth. "Change Comes to Knoxville", inThese Are Our Voices: The Story of Oak Ridge 1942–1970, edited by James Overholt, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, 1987.
Jennifer Long; "Government Job Creation Programs-Lessons from the 1930s and 1940s"Journal of Economic Issues . Volume: 33. Issue: 4. 1999. pp 903+, a case study of Knoxville.
Isenhour, Judith Clayton.Knoxville, A Pictorial History. (Donning Company, 1978, 1980).
"Knoxville".The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture. Archived fromthe original on April 15, 2006. RetrievedMarch 14, 2006.
McDonald, Michael, and Bruce Wheeler.Knoxville, Tennessee: Continuity and Change in an Appalachian City University of Tennessee Press, 1983. the standard academic history
McKenzie, Robert Tracy.Lincolnites and Rebels: A Divided Town in the American Civil War (2009) on Knoxvilleexcerpt and text search
The Future of Knoxville's Past: Historic and Architectural Resources in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Knoxville Historic Zoning Commission, October 2006).
Rothrock, Mary U., editor.The French Broad-Holston Country: A History of Knox County, Tennessee. (Knox County Historical Committee; East Tennessee Historical Society, 1946).
Temple, Oliver P.East Tennessee and the Civil War (1899) 588pponline edition
Wheeler, Bruce. "Knoxville, Tennessee: A Mountain City in the New South" (University of Tennessee Press, 2005).