Tennessee Trivia & Tidbits - Page 11

Looking for Tennessee trivia? Try our list Tennessee little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

America’s favorite “pea picker,” Tennessee Ernie Ford (1919-1991) was born in Bristol (pop. 24,821) and entertained as a singer, TV host, and actor for 50 years. His 1955 single, Sixteen Tons, topped music charts.

first appeared: 4/27/2003

The last widow of a Union soldier of the Civil War, Gertrude Janeway, 93, died Jan. 17, 2003, at her three-room log cabin in Blaine (pop. 1,585). She was 18 when she married John Janeway, 81, who died in 1937.

first appeared: 4/20/2003

Earl Mitchell, a salesman for Chattanooga Bakery, created the MoonPie after coal miners said they wanted a snack that was filling and as big as the moon. His chocolate-covered marshmallow treat has filled the order since 1917.

first appeared: 4/13/2003

Twelve thousand pounds of catfish are deep-fried in washtubs each April in Paris (pop. 9,763) for the “World’s Biggest Fish Fry.”

first appeared: 4/6/2003

Beulah Henry of Memphis was dubbed “Lady Edison” in the 1930s. She held 49 patents, and her inventions included the bobbinless sewing machine and soap-filled sponges.

first appeared: 3/30/2003

In the 1940s and 1950s, Southern Potteries in Erwin (pop. 5,610) was one of the nation’s largest producers of hand-painted china, including the popular Blue Ridge China.

first appeared: 3/23/2003

In 1791, George Roulstone published the state’s first newspaper, the Knoxville Gazette, in Rogersville (pop. 4,240).

first appeared: 3/16/2003

Founded in 1794, Tusculum College in Greeneville (pop. 15,198) is the state’s oldest college.

first appeared: 3/9/2003

Tennessee fainting goats are descended from goats brought to Marshall County in the 1880s. When startled, the goats stiffen, causing them to fall over.

first appeared: 3/2/2003

No need to hang onto your hat in Oak Ridge (pop. 27,387). America’s least-windy city has an average wind speed of 4.4 mph.

first appeared: 2/23/2003

The Transylvania Purchase, completed March 17, 1775, near present-day Elizabethton (pop. 13,372), was at the time the nation’s largest private or corporate real estate deal. Land speculators purchased 20 million acres—from the Cumberland River watershed to the Kentucky River—from the Cherokee Indians, paving the way for frontier settlement.

first appeared: 2/16/2003

Trousdale County was created in 1870 from Wilson, Macon, Smith, and Sumner counties, and named for William Trousdale—a soldier, state senator, and governor of Tennessee. He was nicknamed the “War Horse of Sumner County.”

first appeared: 2/9/2003

Before entering statehood on June 1, 1796, Tennessee was part of the U.S. Territory South of the River Ohio.

first appeared: 2/2/2003

In 1905 in Nashville, Moses McKissack III and his brothers founded McKissack & McKissack, the country’s first minority-owned architectural and engineering firm. Their first job was Nashville’s Carnegie Library.

first appeared: 1/26/2003

Established in 1902, Dutch Maid Bakery in Tracy City (pop. 1,679) is considered Tennessee’s oldest family bakery. Founder John Baggenstoss, a Switzerland native, spoke Deutsch, or German, so the name became Dutch Maid.

first appeared: 1/19/2003

Cosby’s Ramp Festival is Tennessee’s oldest ongoing festival. Founded in 1954 in Cocke County, the annual May event celebrates the wild ramp, a vegetable that looks like a green onion, but tastes and smells like garlic.

first appeared: 1/12/2003

The tulip poplar was adopted as the state tree in 1947. It was used extensively by Tennessee pioneers to construct their homes and barns.

first appeared: 1/5/2003

Tennessee has not one, but five official songs: When It’s Iris Time in Tennessee, My Tennessee, Tennessee Waltz, Rocky Top, and My Homeland, Tennessee.

first appeared: 12/29/2002

Humphreys County was created in 1809 and named in honor of Parry Wayne Humphreys, a judge of the Superior Court of Tennessee and U.S. representative from Tennessee.

first appeared: 12/22/2002

In the 1930s, President Franklin D. Roosevelt set up the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to build dams and help farmers learn better growing methods. The TVA, which still exists today, also generated surplus electricity, created jobs, and conserved waterpower in several neighboring states.

first appeared: 12/15/2002

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