Knoxville, tennessee's
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History of Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville is the third-largest city in the United States behind Memphis and Nashville and is the county seat of Knox County. It is also the principal city of the "Knoxville, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area" which is included in the "Knoxville-Sevierville, Tennessee Combined Statistical Area". As of the 2000 United States Census, Knoxville had a total population of 173,890 with a metro population of 655,400.
Of Tennessee's four major cities, Knoxville is second oldest to Nashville which was founded in 1779. Knoxville 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. The city was named in honor of the first United States 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 1930s, no fewer than 20 textile and clothing mills operated in Knoxville, and the industry was the city's largest employer. Most of the mills were located in the historic Old City. In the 1950s, 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 recognition of this popularity, the telephone area code for Knox County and eight adjacent counties is Area code 865|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 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball women's basketball team.
As of 2006, the current mayor is Bill Haslam, who defeated Madeline Rogero in 2003. The previous mayor of sixteen years, Victor Ashe, was named Ambassadors from the United States to Poland in June 2004. Ashe was term-limited and could not serve another term.
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