Knoxville, Tennessee
- Alternate uses: Knoxville (disambiguation)
Knoxville is a city located in Knox County, Tennessee, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 173,890. It is the county seat of Knox County6, and is the third-largest city in the state of Tennessee. Its nickname is the Marble City, from when it was a major centre of marble distribution in the early 1900s. It was named in honour of the first Secretary of War, Henry Knox.
Knoxville is also the home of the University of Tennessee's primary campus (UTK). The university's sports teams, called the "Volunteers" or "Vols", are extremely popular in the surrounding area. In fact, the area code comprising Knoxville and nearby Oak Ridge is 865 (VOL).
Knoxville is also the home of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, thanks partly to the popularity of Pat Summitt and the University of Tennessee women's basketball team.
As of 2004, the current mayor is William Haslam.
History
Knoxville was founded in 1791 by Territorial Governor William Blount and named after George Washington's Secretary of War Henry Knox. Knoxville was the capital of the Southwest Territory from 1791 until 1797. In 1796, a constitutional convention was held in Knoxville to establish Tennessee as a state. When Tennessee entered the United States in 1797, Knoxville was the first capital of the state until 1815 when the capital was moved to Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
During the American Civil War, the Battle of Campbell Station was fought here on November 16, 1863. In that battle Confederate troops led by General James Longstreet unsuccessfully attacked Union forces under General Ambrose Burnside. The next day the two week long Siege of Knoxville began when Longstreet placed Knoxville under siege. The siege failed and Longstreet returned with his men to General Robert E. Lee.
In 1901, train robber Kid Curry (real name, Harvey Logan), a member of Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch was captured after shooting two deputies on Knoxville's Central Avenue. He escaped from the Knoxville Jail and rode away on the sherriff's stolen horse.
In 1933 during the Great Depression, the Tennessee Valley Authority was founded by the U.S. Government to help create jobs and attract manufacturing dependant on cheap electricity.
Knoxville hosted the 1982 World's Fair, from which the Sunsphere remains.
Geography
Knoxville is located at 35°58'22" North, 83°56'32" West (35.972882, -83.942161)1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 254.1 km² (98.1 mi²). 240.0 km² (92.7 mi²) of it is land and 14.1 km² (5.4 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 5.54% water.
The French Broad River (flowing from Asheville, North Carolina) joins the Tennessee River to the southeast of the city. Transportation is served by Interstate 40 to Asheville and Nashville and Interstate 75 to Chattanooga and Lexington, and by McGhee Tyson Airport.
Economy
Knoxville's economy is largely fuelled by the regional location of the main campus of the University of Tennessee, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the Tennessee Valley Authority, whose significance is recognised in the ordination of the Tennessee Technology Corridor between Oak Ridge and McGhee Tyson Airport.
Companies headquartered in Knoxville
- Bush Brothers and Company
- Goody's Family Clothing
- HGTV
- Metron North America
- Petro's Chili & Chips
- Pilot Corporation
- Regal Cinemas
Ruby Tuesday is headquartered in nearby Maryville. IPIX is headquartered in nearby Oak Ridge.
Colleges and universities
The Knoxville area is home to many colleges and universities:
- the University of Tennessee
- Knoxville College
- Pellissippi State Technical Community College (http://www.pstcc.edu)
- Maryville College (in nearby Maryville, Tennessee
- Johnson Bible College.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there are 173,890 people, 76,650 households, and 40,164 families residing in the city. The population density is 724.6/km² (1,876.7/mi²). There are 84,981 housing units at an average density of 354.1/km² (917.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 79.71% White, 16.20% African American, 0.31% Native American, 1.45% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.72% from other races, and 1.57% from two or more races. 1.58% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 76,650 households out of which 22.8% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.3% are married couples living together, 13.7% have a female householder with no husband present, and 47.6% are non-families. 38.3% of all households are made up of individuals and 11.4% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.12 and the average family size is 2.84.
In the city the population is spread out with 19.7% under the age of 18, 16.8% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 14.4% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 33 years. For every 100 females there are 90.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 86.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $27,492, and the median income for a family is $37,708. Males have a median income of $29,070 versus $22,593 for females. The per capita income for the city is $18,171. 20.8% of the population and 14.4% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 26.1% of those under the age of 18 and 12.0% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Famous Knoxvillians
- James Agee, author of A Death in the Family
- Polly Bergen, the Pepsi-Cola girl
- Kenny Chesney, country musician
- David Farragut, Civil War admiral
- Todd Helton, baseball player
- Dennis Hwang, graphic artist for Google
- David Keith, actor
- Johnny Knoxville
- Brownie McGhee, blues musician
- Chad Pennington, American football player (quarterback, New York Jets)
- Brad Renfro, actor
- Quentin Tarantino, film director
- Jake Thomas, actor
Famous non-native residents include:
- Frances Hodgson Burnett, author of Little Lord Fauntleroy
- Alex Haley, author of Roots
- Cormac McCarthy
Sites of interest
- Blount Mansion
- Frank H. McClung Museum
- James White Fort
- Knoxville Museum of Art
- Knoxville Zoo
- Tennessee Theatre
- Volunteer Landing
- Women's Basketball Hall of Fame
- World's Fair Park
Yearly events
- Dogwood Arts Festival
- GreekFest
- Honda Hoot
- Kuumba Festival
External links
- Restore Knoxville (http://www.restoreknoxville.com/)
- Official city of Knoxville website (http://www.ci.knoxville.tn.us/)
- Knoxville tourism site (http://www.knoxville.org/)
- Knoxville airport website (http://www.tys.org/)
- Knoxville News Sentinel (http://www.knoxnews.com/)
