Tennessee Trivia & Tidbits - Page 13

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

Tennessee is the 36th state in size, containing 42,244 square miles. The greatest distance from north to south is about 120 miles, and from east to west is about 500 miles.

first appeared: 7/21/2002

The first African elephant born in captivity in the Western Hemisphere was born at the Knoxville Zoo in March 1978.

first appeared: 7/14/2002

Created in 1807, Bedford County was named for Thomas Bedford Jr., a Revolutionary War officer and landowner who contributed to the development of the area.

first appeared: 7/7/2002

Iroquois, bred at Nashville’s Belle Meade Plantation, was the first American winner of the English Derby in 1881. Such modern thoroughbreds as Secretariat trace their bloodlines to Iroquois.

first appeared: 6/30/2002

In 1836, Cannon County was named in honor of Newton Cannon, then governor of Tennessee. The original bill named the county after U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall, but a change was made at the last minute.

first appeared: 6/23/2002

Old Fort Marr in Polk County is the oldest blockhouse in the United States, built in 1814.

first appeared: 6/16/2002

Created in 1807, Warren County is named in honor of Gen. Joseph Warren, the Revolutionary War officer who sent Paul Revere on his famous midnight ride in 1775.

first appeared: 6/9/2002

Unicoi County, situated in the Appalachian Mountains, derived its name from the American Indian word U’nika—meaning white, hazy, or fog-like—most likely a description of the mountains.

first appeared: 6/2/2002

Fort Loudoun, built in 1756, was one of the earliest British fortifications on the western frontier. It is now a 1,200-acre state historic site near Vonore (pop. 1,162).

first appeared: 5/26/2002

Smith County, created in 1799, was named for Daniel Smith, a U.S. senator, Revolutionary War officer, and secretary of the Territory South of the River Ohio (later Tennessee). He also produced the first map of the state.

first appeared: 5/19/2002

Robertson County was named in honor of state senator, pioneer, and soldier James Robertson. Nicknamed the “Father of Tennessee,” Robertson founded Nashville.

first appeared: 5/12/2002

Lawrence County was named for Capt. James Lawrence, who, during the War of 1812, commanded the ship Chesapeake. He is known for his command, “Don’t give up the ship!”

first appeared: 5/5/2002

Created in 1797, Cocke County was named in honor of Sen. William Cocke, a soldier in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.

first appeared: 4/28/2002

Prior to 1848, Cerro Gordo in Hardin County was called White’s Ferry after John White, who operated a local ferry. After his death, soldiers returning from the Mexican War re-named the community after one of that war’s battles.

first appeared: 4/21/2002

Crimson clover was first planted in Franklin County in 1892. When World War I interrupted European trade, the world turned to Franklin County for this important product used as a strong soil builder.

first appeared: 4/14/2002

Noted astronomer Edward Emerson Barnard, a Nashville native, made the first photographic discovery of a comet and discovered the fifth moon of Jupiter soon after joining the Lick Observatory in 1887.

first appeared: 4/7/2002

Sale Creek (pop. 750) was so named after an auction was held on its banks of property taken from the Chickamauga Indians by Gen. Evan Shelby and his troops following their 1779 area expedition in the Revolutionary War.

first appeared: 3/31/2002

Samuel Carter, a Civil War hero from Elizabethton (pop. 13,372), is the only U.S. military officer to have held the ranks of both Army general and Navy admiral.

first appeared: 3/24/2002

In 1822, Auburntown in Cannon County was called Poplar Stand because of its abundance of poplar trees. A year later it was called Auburn, a name it kept until 1919 when the postal service re-named it Auburntown to avoid conflict with three other towns named Auburn.

first appeared: 3/17/2002

In 1948, WDIA in Memphis became the first radio station in the country with a format designed exclusively for an African-American audience.

first appeared: 3/10/2002

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