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Knoxville is the third-largest city in the state of Tennessee behind Memphis and Nashville and is the county seat location of Knox County, Tennessee, United States. It is the principal city of and is included in the "Knoxville, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area" which is included in the "Knoxville-La Follette, Tennessee-Sevierville, Tennessee Combined Statistical Area". As of the 2005 census estimates, Knoxville had a total population of 180,130, with a metro population of 655,400. Of all of Tennessee's four major cities, Knoxville is the oldest. It also was the state's first capital when Tennessee was admitted into the Union in 1796, in which capacity it served until 1819, when the capital was moved to Murfreesboro. It was named in honor of the first Secretary of War, Henry Knox. One of Knoxville's nicknames is The Marble City. In the early 20th century, a number of quarries were active in the city, supplying Tennessee Pink marble (actually Ordovician limestone of the Holston Formation), to much of the country. Notable buildings such as the National Gallery in Washington are constructed of Knoxville marble. The National Gallery's fountains were turned by Candoro Marble Company, which once ran the largest marble lathes in the United States. Knoxville was once also known as the Underwear Capital of the World. In the 1930's, no fewer than 20 textile and clothing mills operated in Knoxville, and the industry was the city's largest employer. In the 1950's, the mills began to close, causing an overall population loss of 10% by 1960. 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 the surrounding counties is 865 (VOL). Knoxville is also the home of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, almost entirely thanks to the popularity of Pat Summitt and the University of Tennessee women's basketball team. As of 2006, the current mayor is Bill Haslam. The previous mayor of sixteen years, Victor Ashe, was named United States Ambassador to Poland in June 2004.
History White's Fort was settled in 1786 by James White, a militia officer during the American Revolutionary War. When William Blount, the territorial governor of the Southwest Territory, moved the territorial capital to White's Fort in 1791, he renamed it Knoxville in honor of Henry Knox, the American Revolutionary War general and Washington's Secretary of War. Knoxville served as the territorial capital until 1796, when a constitutional convention was held in Knoxville to establish Tennessee as a state. When Tennessee entered the United States in 1796, Knoxville was the first capital of the state until 1815, when the capital was moved to Murfreesboro. During the American Civil War, the Battle of Campbell's Station was outside Knoxville 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, which culminated in the Battle of Fort Sanders, failed and Longstreet returned with his men to General Robert E. Lee. The Battle of Fort Sanders (precipitated by the Siege of Knoxville, which began on November 17, 1863) was an engagement of the American Civil War fought in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Confederacy had never had effective control of large areas of East Tennessee. There had been little slavery practiced in East Tennessee, partly due to moral opposition to the practice and partly due to the fact that little of the land was suitable to plantation agriculture; pro-Union and Republican sentiment ran high and most East Tennesseans had not been in favor of secession. Therefore, Union forces had little trouble occupying Knoxville early in the conflict. 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 the sherriff's stolen horse. In 1948, the soft drink Mountain Dew was first marketed in Knoxville, originally designed as a mixer for whiskey.* In 1933 during the Great Depression, the Tennessee Valley Authority was founded and headquarted in Knoxville by the U.S. government to help create jobs and attract manufacturing dependent on cheap electricity. Knoxville hosted the 1982 World's Fair, from which the Sunsphere remains. In 1999, the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame opened in the city. Geography
Nearby towns and cities Neighborhoods
Major streets Demographics As of the census of 2000, there were 177,661 people, 76,650 households, and 40,164 families residing in the city, and greater Knoxville (metro) has a population of 704,431. The population density was 724.6/km² (1,876.7/mi²). There were 84,981 housing units at an average density of 354.1/km² (917.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 79.7% White, 16.2% 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. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.58% of the population. There were 76,650 households out of which 22.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.3% were married couples living together, 13.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 47.6% were non-families. 38.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.12 and the average family size was 2.84. In the city the population was 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 were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 90.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 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 had a median income of $29,070 versus $22,593 for females. The per capita income for the city is $18,171. About 14.4% of families and 20.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.1% of those under age 18 and 12.0% of those age 65 or over. 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, the National Transportation Research Center, and the Tennessee Valley Authority. These make Knoxville the heart of the high-tech Tennessee Valley Corridor, which extends from Blacksburg, Virginia to Huntsville, Alabama. Because of its central location in the eastern half of the United States, many warehousing and distribution companies operate in and around Knoxville. Major companies headquartered in Knoxville Education
Culture Knoxville is home to a rich arts community and has many festivals throughout the year. BLENDER magazine, in its "20 Most Rock & Roll towns in the U.S." feature (May '03), ranked Knoxville the 17th best music scene in the United States. In the ’90s, noted alternative-music critic Ann Powers, author of Weird Like Us: My Bohemian America, referred to the city as “Austin without the hype". The city also hosts numerous art festivals, including the 17-day Dogwood 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 in Swahili) Festival commemorates the region’s African American heritage and showcases visual arts, folk arts, dance, games, music, storytelling, theater, and food. Autumn on the Square showcases national and local artists in outdoor concert series at historic Market Square, which has been revitalized with specialty shops and residences. Every Labor Day brings Boomsday, the largest Labor Day fireworks display in the United States. Events Media Local television stations are as follows: Nearby attractions Sites of interest Sports Famous Knoxvillians For a longer list of notable Knoxvillians, see Famous non-native residents include: Sister cities Knoxville has seven sister cities as designated by Sister Cities International: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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