Tennessee Quick Facts

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• Tennessee is only a day’s drive from two-thirds of the U.S. population

• Tennessee is home to six airports, 54 state parks and 152 golf courses

• Population (2002): 5,797,289

• Principal Cities:
Memphis (pop. 650,100)
Nashville (pop. 545,524)
Knoxville (pop. 173,890)
Chattanooga (pop. 155,554)

• Tennessee has a generally mild climate while enjoying the beauty of four distinct seasons. Summer’s average temperatures are 89.0°F (high) and 67.5°F (low). Winter’s temperatures average 49.4°F (high) and 30.4°F (low) with an average of 5.6 inches of snowfall in Memphis and 16 inches in NE Tennessee. The average annual rainfall is 49.69 inches.

• Tennessee has many state symbols:
Flower..................Iris
Tree......................Tulip Poplar Bloom
Bird......................Mockingbird
Wild Animal..........Raccoon
Fish......................Largemouth Bass
State Gem............Tennessee River Pearls
State Rock............Limestone

HISTORICAL

• Three United States Presidents called Tennessee home, including Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk and Andrew Johnson.

• Sequoyah (born in Vonore) created the Cherokee alphabet.

• In 1960, Wilma Rudolph became the first American woman to earn three Olympic gold medals.

• Memphian Clarence Saunders created the first grocery store chain – Piggly Wiggly.

• Tennessean Jack Massey is the only person in American history to take three companies to the New York Stock Exchange: Kentucky Fried Chicken, Hospital Corporation of America and Winners, Corp.

• The legendary David (Davy) Crockett was a Tennessean.

• Carnton Plantation is home to McGavock Confederate Cemetery, the largest privately owned military cemetery in the nation and the setting for the New York Times best-selling book Widow of the South.

• The Bell Witch Cave in Adams is home to the only documented, authentic “haunting” in the U.S.