1.
U.S. Route 61
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U. S. Route 61 is the official designation for a United States highway that runs 1,400 miles from New Orleans, Louisiana, to the city of Wyoming, Minnesota. The highway generally follows the course of the Mississippi River, and is designated the Great River Road for much of its route, as of 2004, the highways northern terminus in Wyoming, Minnesota, is at an intersection with Interstate 35. Until 1991, the highway extended north on what is now Minnesota State Highway 61 through Duluth to the Canada–US border near Grand Portage and its southern terminus in New Orleans, Louisiana, is at an intersection with Tulane Avenue at South Broad Street. The highway is called the Blues Highway because it connects Saint Paul, Minnesota, St. Louis, Missouri, Memphis, Tennessee, the Mississippi Delta. The route was an important south-north connection in the days before the highway system. Many southerners traveled north along US61 while going to St. Louis, the highway has a long musical history, being the supposed location where singer-songwriter Robert Johnson made a deal with the Devil for his successes. The road later gave its name to Minnesota native Bob Dylans album Highway 61 Revisited, and in the song of the same name, which imagines all sorts of fantastical events occurring alongside it. Other notable songs of the include a blues song recorded in 1957 by Sunnyland Slim, one in 1962 by Johnny Young. US61 in Louisiana is four-laned from its terminus in New Orleans to the Mississippi state line. The section of US61 from New Orleans to Baton Rouge is known as the Airline Highway, legend has it former Louisiana Gov. Huey P. On Airline Highway in Jefferson Parish in 1987, Baton Rouge televangelist Jimmy Swaggart was confronted by rival preacher Marvin Gorman as Swaggart exited the Texas Motel with a prostitute and this incident increased the areas reputation as a locale of seedy motels. Partly because of that reputation, the section in Jefferson Parish was later renamed Airline Drive, US61 is divided from the Tennessee state line to US82 in Leland. The highway south of Vicksburg to Natchez is mostly divided and four-lane, from Natchez to the Louisiana state line, US61 is now divided and four lanes. The Mississippi Department of Transportation is now upgrading the highway between Vicksburg and Leland to four lanes, beginning with replacement of the Yazoo River bridge at Redwood in Warren County. The road is known as the Blues Highway because it runs through the Mississippi Delta country. Highway 61 has been referenced in music by artists with roots in the region. It was on this stretch of highway that blues singer Bessie Smith died as a result of a car accident on September 26,1937. Like Route 66 in the Western U. S. the iconic US61 sign is so identified with the Clarksdale area that it is used to market different products
2.
Arkansas
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Arkansas is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. Its name is of Siouan derivation from the language of the Osage denoting their related kin, the states diverse geography ranges from the mountainous regions of the Ozark and the Ouachita Mountains, which make up the U. S. Interior Highlands, to the forested land in the south known as the Arkansas Timberlands, to the eastern lowlands along the Mississippi River. Arkansas is the 29th largest by area and the 33rd most populous of the 50 United States, the capital and most populous city is Little Rock, located in the central portion of the state, a hub for transportation, business, culture, and government. The northwestern corner of the state, such as the Fayetteville–Springdale–Rogers Metropolitan Area and Fort Smith metropolitan area, is a population, education, the largest city in the eastern part of the state is Jonesboro. The largest city in the part of the state is Pine Bluff. The Territory of Arkansas was admitted to the Union as the 25th state on June 15,1836, in 1861 Arkansas withdrew from the United States and joined the Confederate States of America during the Civil War. Upon returning to the Union in 1868, the state would continue to suffer due to its reliance on slavery. White rural interests continued to dominate the politics until the Civil Rights Movement. Arkansas began to diversify its economy following World War II and relies on its service industry, aircraft, poultry, steel, tourism, cotton, and rice. The culture of Arkansas is observable in museums, theaters, novels, television shows, restaurants, wright, and physicist William L. McMillan, who was a pioneer in superconductor research, have all lived in Arkansas. The name Arkansas derives from the root as the name for the state of Kansas. The Kansa tribe of Native Americans are closely associated with the Sioux tribes of the Great Plains, the word Arkansas itself is a French pronunciation of a Quapaw word, akakaze, meaning land of downriver people or the Sioux word akakaze meaning people of the south wind. In 2007, the legislature passed a non-binding resolution declaring the possessive form of the states name to be Arkansass which has been followed increasingly by the state government. Arkansas borders Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, Oklahoma to the west, Missouri to the north, as well as Tennessee, the United States Census Bureau classifies Arkansas as a southern state, sub-categorized among the West South Central States. The state line along the Mississippi River is indeterminate along much of the border with Mississippi due to these changes. Arkansas can generally be split into two halves, the highlands in the northwest half and the lowlands of the southeastern half, the highlands are part of the Southern Interior Highlands, including The Ozarks and the Ouachita Mountains. The southern lowlands include the Gulf Coastal Plain and the Arkansas Delta and this dual split can yield to general regions named northwest, southwest, northeast, southeast, or central Arkansas
3.
Interstate 40 in Tennessee
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The Tennessee section of I-40 is 455 miles long, the longest of any state. I-40 enters Tennessee from Arkansas via the Hernando de Soto Bridge, the Interstate passes across the southern half of Mud Island before crossing the Wolf River Harbor into downtown Memphis. At the I-240 interchange, I-40 abruptly turns north, following the route redesignated due to the Overton Park controversy in the 1970s. I-40 crosses the Wolf River three times in Memphis, as the passes near the neighborhoods of Frayser and Raleigh. I-40 leaves the Memphis area, crosses over the Loosahatchie River and Hatchie River, at mile 78, the road crosses the South Fork of the Forked Deer River into Jackson, and from Jackson proceeds through the northern half of Natchez Trace State Park. At mile 135, I-40 crosses the Tennessee River into Middle Tennessee, East of the Tennessee River, the rugged hills of the Western Highland Rim flank I-40 for a considerable stretch before the Interstate descends to the Nashville Basin between miles 186 and 188. In Downtown Nashville, I-40 converges with I-24 and I-65, making Nashville one of just four cities in the United States where six interstate legs converge within the citys boundaries. At mile 219, the Interstate crosses the Stones River just downstream from Percy Priest Dam, and continues for roughly 50 miles across mostly open farmland. Between miles 263 and 266, I-40 crosses the meandering Caney Fork five times before ascending the Eastern Highland Rim, the Interstate steadies at the edge of the table-top rim at mile 272 and continues across relatively flat farmland in south Cookeville. Between miles 292 and 297, the Interstate ascends the escarpment of the Cumberland Plateau. At mile 308, I-40 crosses the Tennessee Divide, where the Cumberland, I-40 remains relatively steady as it continues across the Cumberland Plateau and passes through the northern part of Crossville. East of Crossville, the Crab Orchard Mountains come into view as the road several hundred feet. At mile 329, the Interstate enters Crab Orchard Gap and proceeds through a valley once prone to rockslides. At mile 340, the Interstate enters the Eastern Time Zone, as it enters the Ridge-and-Valley province, I-40 crosses a series of ridges and valleys characteristic of the regions topography. At mile 351, the crosses the Clinch River, with the Kingston Fossil Plant and its 1. The road widens to four lanes at mile 368 as I-40 merges with I-75, knoxvilles skyline comes into view at mile 387 before the road passes through downtown Knoxville. Beyond Knoxville, the Interstate crosses the Holston and French Broad rivers, the massive mesh nets on the cliffslopes are indicative of the rockslide prevention measures along this stretch of I-40. The term Music Highway refers to a section of I-40 between Memphis and Nashville, I-40 was designated as such by an act of the Tennessee Legislature in 1997 from the eastern boundary of Davidson County to the Mississippi River in Shelby County, a distance of about 222 miles
4.
Jackson, Tennessee
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Jackson is the county seat of Madison County, Tennessee. Located 70 miles east of Memphis, it has long associated with the large city in trade. Its total population was 65,211 at the 2010 census and 67,265 in the 2012 Census estimate, Jackson is the primary city of the Jackson, Tennessee metropolitan area, which is included in the Jackson-Humboldt, Tennessee Combined Statistical Area. Jackson is Madison Countys largest city, and the second-largest city in West Tennessee next to Memphis and it is home to the Tennessee Supreme Courts courthouse for West Tennessee, as Jackson was the major city in the west when the court was established in 1834. In the antebellum era, Jackson was the city for an agricultural area based on cultivation of cotton. Beginning in 1851, the city became a hub of railroad systems ultimately connecting to major markets in the north and south, as well as east and west. This was key to its development, attracting trade and many workers on the railroads in the late 19th century with the construction of railroads after the American Civil War. Through the 1960s, the city was served by 15 passenger trains daily, the economy has adjusted to new businesses, with major manufacturing in the area. Based on the 2012 estimate, Jackson is the seventh-largest city in Tennessee, Jackson is located at 35°37′59″N 88°49′15″W. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 49.5 square miles. Jacksons executive Mayor is elected every four years. In 2007, Jerry Gist was elected to succeed Charles Farmer, since 1989, the city charter provides for election of a representative legislative body of nine members, each elected by single-member districts. Jacksons city court judge serves a term with a fixed salary during each term. Its current judge is Blake Anderson, the court may dispose of misdemeanors and hold a preliminary hearing for felonies. If the judge holds that probable cause is established for felonies, then the decision is sent to the jury for indictment. Jackson has been home to the Tennessee Supreme Courts courthouse for West Tennessee since 1834, when the court was established, Jackson was the major city in the western part of the state, as Memphis had not been developed at that point. This area was occupied by the historic Chickasaw people at the time of European encounter and they were pushed out by European-American settlers under various treaties. European-American settlement of Jackson began along the Forked Deer River before 1820, primarily by migrants arriving from eastern areas of the Upper South, such as Virginia and Kentucky
5.
Nashville, Tennessee
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Nashville is the capital of the U. S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in the central part of the state. The city is a center for the music, healthcare, publishing, banking and transportation industries and it is known as a center of the country music industry, earning it the nickname Music City, U. S. A. Since 1963, Nashville has had a consolidated city-county government which includes six municipalities in a two-tier system. Nashville is governed by a mayor, vice-mayor, and 40-member Metropolitan Council, thirty-five of the members are elected from single-member districts, five are elected at-large. Reflecting the citys position in government, Nashville is home to the Tennessee Supreme Courts courthouse for Middle Tennessee. According to 2015 estimates from the U. S. Census Bureau, the balance population, which excludes semi-independent municipalities within Nashville, was 654,610. The 2015 population of the entire 13-county Nashville metropolitan area was 1,830,345, the 2015 population of the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Columbia combined statistical area, a larger trade area, was 1,951,644. The town of Nashville was founded by James Robertson, John Donelson, and it was named for Francis Nash, the American Revolutionary War hero. Nashville quickly grew because of its location, accessibility as a port on the Cumberland River, a tributary of the Ohio River. By 1800, the city had 345 residents, including 136 African American slaves and 14 free blacks, in 1806, Nashville was incorporated as a city and became the county seat of Davidson County, Tennessee. In 1843, the city was named the permanent capital of the state of Tennessee, by 1860, when the first rumblings of secession began to be heard across the South, antebellum Nashville was a prosperous city. The citys significance as a port made it a desirable prize as a means of controlling important river. In February 1862, Nashville became the first state capital to fall to Union troops, the state was occupied by Union troops for the duration of the war. Within a few years after the Civil War, the Nashville chapter of the Ku Klux Klan was founded by Confederate veteran John W. Morton, meanwhile, the city had reclaimed its important shipping and trading position and developed a solid manufacturing base. The post–Civil War years of the late 19th century brought new prosperity to Nashville and these healthy economic times left the city with a legacy of grand classical-style buildings, which can still be seen around the downtown area. Circa 1950 the state approved a new city charter that provided for the election of city council members from single-member districts. This change was supported because at-large voting diluted the minority populations political power in the city and they could seldom gain a majority of the population to support a candidate of their choice
6.
Knoxville, Tennessee
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Knoxville is a city in the U. S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Knox County. The city had an population of 185,291 in 2015. Knoxville is the city of the Knoxville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The KMSA is, in turn, the component of the Knoxville-Sevierville-La Follette Combined Statistical Area. First settled in 1786, Knoxville was the first capital of Tennessee, the city struggled with geographic isolation throughout the early 19th century. The arrival of the railroad in 1855 led to an economic boom, during the Civil War, the city was bitterly divided over the secession issue, and was occupied alternately by both Confederate and Union armies. Following the war, Knoxville grew rapidly as a wholesaling and manufacturing center. The citys economy stagnated after the 1920s as the manufacturing sector collapsed, Knoxville is the home of the flagship campus of the University of Tennessee, whose sports teams, called the Volunteers or Vols, are extremely popular in the surrounding area. The first people to form settlements in what is now Knoxville arrived during the Woodland period. One of the oldest artificial structures in Knoxville is a burial mound constructed during the early Mississippian culture period, the earthwork mound is now surrounded by the University of Tennessee campus. By the 18th century, the Cherokee had become the dominant tribe in the East Tennessee region, although they were consistently at war with the Creek, the Cherokee people called the Knoxville area kuwandatalunyi, which means Mulberry Place. Most Cherokee habitation in the area was concentrated in the Overhill settlements along the Little Tennessee River, the first Euro-American traders and explorers were recorded as arriving in the Tennessee Valley in the late 17th century. There is significant evidence that Hernando de Soto visited Bussell Island in 1540, the end of the French and Indian War and confusion brought about by the American Revolution led to a drastic increase in Euro-American settlement west of the Appalachians. By the 1780s, Euro-American settlers were established in the Holston. The U. S. Congress ordered all illegal settlers out of the valley in 1785, as settlers continued to trickle into Cherokee lands, tensions between the settlers and the Cherokee rose steadily. In 1786, James White, a Revolutionary War officer, and his friend James Connor built Whites Fort near the mouth of First Creek, on land White had purchased three years earlier. In 1790, Whites son-in-law, Charles McClung—who had arrived from Pennsylvania the previous year—surveyed Whites holdings between First Creek and Second Creek for the establishment of a town, mcClung drew up 640. 5-acre lots. The waterfront was set aside for a town common, two lots were set aside for a church and graveyard
7.
Bristol, Tennessee
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Bristol is a city in Sullivan County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 26,702 at the 2010 census and it is the twin city of Bristol, Virginia, which lies directly across the state line between Tennessee and Virginia. The boundary between the two cities is also the line, which runs along State Street in their common downtown district. The U. S. Congress recognized Bristol as the Birthplace of Country Music in 1998, Bristol is the birthplace of Tennessee Ernie Ford. Bristol is also the site of Bristol Motor Speedway, a NASCAR short track that is one of the most well-known motorsports facilities in the country. In 1927 record producer Ralph Peer of Victor Records began recording local musicians in Bristol and they received $50 for each song they recorded. That same visit by Peer to Bristol also resulted in the first recordings by Jimmie Rodgers, since 1994, the Birthplace of Country Music Alliance has promoted the city as a destination to learn about country music and the citys role in the creation of an entire music genre. Currently, the Alliance is organizing the building of a new Cultural Heritage Center to help educate the public about the history of music in the region. Every year, during the weekend in September, a music festival called the Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion takes place. The festival is held downtown, where Tennessee and Virginia meet, Bristol is located in the northeast corner of Tennessee, at 36°34′9″N 82°11′51″W. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 29.5 square miles. Bristol features a subtropical climate with warm to hot summers and short. Due to the elevation of the city, Bristol does not quite experience the hot summers seen in parts of the South. Bristol on average sees roughly 40 inches of precipitation per year, snow does occasionally fall in the city, as the city averages roughly 15 inches of snow annually. As of the census of 2000, there were 24,821 people,10,648 households, the population density in 2000 was 846 people per square mile. There were 11,511 housing units at a density of 392.2 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 95. 15% White,2. 97% African American,0. 31% Native American,0. 64% Asian,0. 01% Pacific Islander,0. 23% from other races, and 0. 70% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0. 68% of the population, nearly 32% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14. 1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older
8.
Shelby County, Tennessee
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Shelby County is a county in the U. S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2010 census, the population was 927,644 and it is the states largest county both in terms of population and geographic area. Its county seat is Memphis, the most populous city in Tennessee, the county was named for Governor Isaac Shelby of Kentucky. Shelby County is part of the Memphis, TN-MS-AR Metropolitan Statistical Area and it is bordered on the west by the Mississippi River. Within the Mississippi Delta, the county developed as a center of cotton plantations in the antebellum era, the economy has become more diversified. From 1877-1950, the county had 20 lynchings, the highest number in the state, obion and Lake counties, at the northwest border of the state, had 18 and 13 lynchings in this period, respectively, but with much smaller populations. The violence was part of terrorism to suppress blacks. Shelby County was established by European-American migrants in 1819, the county was part of the lands acquired by the United States government from the Chickasaw as part of the Jackson Purchase of 1818. The county was named for Isaac Shelby, the governor of Kentucky who had helped negotiate the land acquisition. From 1826 to 1868, the county seat was located at Raleigh, Tennessee on the Wolf River, after the American Civil War, in recognition of the growth of Memphis, well before the American Civil War, the population of the county was majority black and mostly slaves. Memphis developed as a cotton market, with many brokers. After the war, many stayed on the land by working as sharecroppers. From 1877-1950, there were 20 lynchings of blacks by whites in Shelby County, most blacks were disenfranchised around the turn of the century when the state passed laws raising barriers to voter registration, and also imposed Jim Crow. Blacks were mostly closed out of the system for more than six decades. In the 20th century, mechanization of agriculture reduced the need for workers at a time when industries. The Great Migration resulted in many African Americans moving from rural areas into Memphis or out of state to northern cities for work, after World War II, highways were constructed that led to development of much new housing on the outskirts of Memphis where land was cheap. Suburbanization, with retail businesses following new residents, took place in the county, with continued residential and suburban development, the population became majority white. Six towns in the county have become incorporated, other communities are unincorporated, residents enjoy many parks in the area as well as attractions in the city of Memphis
9.
Tipton County, Tennessee
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Tipton County is a county located on the western end of the U. S. state of Tennessee, in the Mississippi Delta region. As of the 2010 census, the population was 61,081, Tipton County is part of the Memphis, TN–MS–AR Metropolitan Statistical Area. From about 10,000 BCE, Paleo-Indians and later Archaic-Indians lived as communities of hunter-gatherers in the area covers the modern day southern United States. While there were chiefdoms and centers along the Mississippi and its tributaries, their center was at Cahokia, in present-day Illinois east of St. Louis. The Tipton Phase people were an expression of the Mississippian culture. They still inhabited the region of modern-day Tipton County during the time of first contact with Europeans, by the end of the Mississippian period, the land was claimed and populated by the Chickasaw tribe. The exact origins of the Chickasaw are uncertain, around 1800, Europeans began settling the Chickasaw-inhabited lands east of the Mississippi River. Chickasaw land in what known as West Tennessee and southwestern Kentucky was ceded in the Jackson Purchase. Both states grew considerably as a result of this purchase, in 1818, both sides agreed to the transfer by signing the Treaty of Tuscaloosa. The Chickasaw were to be paid annuities for 15 years, but the United States was often late with payment and these were often delayed or were of poor quality. The earthquake changed the course of the river near the settlement of Reverie, the old riverbed is west of Reverie. The river now runs east of Reverie, putting Reverie on the Arkansas side, while most of the area of Tipton County is located east of the river, on the Tennessee side. This area was part of the culture associated with the Mississippi Delta. With the increase in population, the county was established on October 29,1823 from parts of Shelby County, the land was former Chickasaw Indian territory. The county was named for Jacob Tipton, father of Armistead Blevins, Tipton was killed by Native Americans in 1791 in a conflict over the Northwest Territory. Jacob Tipton was the son of John Tipton, a rival of John Sevier during Tennessees State of Franklin period, early Mississippi River steamboat commerce flourished in Tipton County. In 1830, the community of Randolph, one of the earliest settlements in Tipton County, was the most important shipping point in Tennessee, but its fortunes declined in later years. Riverboat traffic gradually yielded to freight being shipped by railroad, the first rail service in Tipton County was established in December 1855, when the Memphis and Ohio Railroad completed the route from Memphis to Nashville, running through what is now Mason
10.
White County, Tennessee
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White County is a county located in the U. S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2010 census, the population was 25,841, on September 11,1806, an act of the Tennessee General Assembly created White County out of Smith and Jackson counties, responding to a petition signed by 155 residents of the area. The countys original geographic area included all of what are now White and Warren counties, as well as parts of modern Cannon, Coffee, DeKalb, Franklin, Grundy, Putnam, the origin of the countys name is disputed. The county is held to be named for John White, a Revolutionary War soldier, surveyor. White had moved his family to the Cumberland Mountains from Virginia in 1789, however, some historians suggest the county was named for Revolutionary War soldier James White, the founder of Knoxville. A temporary county seat was established near Rock Island, now in Warren County, three years later a permanent county seat was established on the banks of the Calfkiller River and named Sparta. In 1840, White County became a destination for people all over the country when Christopher Haufmann erected a large hotel on Bon Air Mountain. The hotel was near some mineral springs as well as being at a high altitude, White County was the site of a very large saltpeter mining operation during the Civil War. The Cave Hill Saltpeter Pits, located on Cave Hill near the mouth of England Cove, were intensively mined, Saltpeter is the main ingredient of gunpowder and was obtained by leaching the earth from these caves. The Civil War deeply affected White County, although no battles were fought in the area. As it was on the border between the largely pro-Union East Tennessee and pro-Confederate Middle Tennessee, the county was the scene of bloodshed from partisans of both sides. One famous Confederate guerrilla operating in the area was Champ Ferguson, Ferguson was tried by a military court, convicted and executed by hanging, one of only two Confederates executed for war crimes. He is buried in France Cemetery near Sparta, over the subsequent decades, White County slowly rebuilt from the ashes of war. The county was connected to the world by railroad, mainly because of the booming coal mining industries being started on Bon Air Mountain. The mountain was rich in coal, and enterprising local businessmen were quick to realize the profit potential that represented. Several mining towns sprang up on the part of the county, including Bon Air, Eastland. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 379 square miles. The eastern part of the county lies atop the Cumberland Plateau, while the portion is situated on the Highland Rim
I-55 / US 61 / US 64 / US 70 / US 79 at the Arkansas state line at Memphis
I-40 east of Brownsville
I-40 / US 412 northeast of Jackson
I-440 in Nashville
I-840 northwest of Murfreesboro
I-140 in Knoxville
I-26 / US 23 in Kingsport
I-81 in Bristol
US 11E / US 19 / SR 34 in Bristol
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Media related to Tennessee State Route 1 at Wikimedia Commons