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Dennis, John Bartlett

John B. Dennis, financier and creator of modern Kingsport, was born in Gardiner, Maine, the eldest son of David and Julia Bartlett Dennis. His father was a prominent businessman and president of the Merchants National Bank of Gardiner, and Dennis…

Dolly Parton

Between 1968 and 1975 Dolly Parton appeared weekly on the Porter Wagoner show. Dolly and Porter are featured here opening fan mail in February 1970.

Giovanni, Yolande Cornelia "Nikki"

Writer Nikki Giovanni expresses her version of the late twentieth-century African American experience through poetry and essays. Though her parents left Knoxville after her birth, Giovanni returned for summers with her grandparents and graduated from Knoxville's Austin High School before…

Harwell, Beth Halteman

Beth Halteman Harwell is the state representative for Tennessee’s 56th district, located in Metro Nashville Davidson County. She has served in this post since 1988 and was elected Speaker of the House by her legislative peers in 2011. She has…

Haslam, William Edward

Bill Haslam is a successful businessman, served as Mayor of Knoxville (2003–2011), and is currently serving as the 49th Governor of Tennessee. He assumed office in 2011. Forbes tagged him in 2016 as the richest elected official in the United…

Hyde III, J.R.

J. R. “Pitt” Hyde III started the operation that became AutoZone in 1979 as part of Malone & Hyde, a company founded by his grandfather. In 2004, Hyde was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame—an achievement that the institution…

National Campground

Interior view of open-shed tabernacle at the National Campground in Loudon County.

National Campground

The National Campground, located in rural Loudon County, has held religious camp meetings since the late Reconstruction era. In 1873 individuals from congregations representing the Presbyterian, Cumberland Presbyterian, Baptist, Methodist Episcopal Church, South, Friends (Quakers), and the Methodist Episcopal Church…

Opry House And Opryland Hotel

Opening in 1972, the Opryland theme park was a popular destination in Nashville until its closing by Gaylord Enterprises in 1997.

Port Royal State Historic Area

The thirty-four-acre site of Port Royal in Montgomery County preserves one of Middle Tennessee's earliest settlement areas. The first permanent settlers arrived in 1784, and the first meeting of the Tennessee County Court, North Carolina, was held nearby in 1788.…

Shelby County

Shelby County Courthouse.

The Emancipator

First page of the first issue of The Emancipator, April 30, 1820.

The Patrons of Husbandry

The Patrons of Husbandry, or Grange, was the first general farm organization in the United States. Established by the Minnesota agricultural reformer Oliver H. Kelly in December 1867, it briefly flourished in Tennessee during the 1870s, providing Tennessee's small farmers…

Walking Horse National Celebration

The Walking Horse National Celebration in Shelbyville in 1950.

World War I

Albert P. Smith (left) and McGregor Smith.

Worth, Inc.

This family-owned baseball and softball equipment company was founded by George Sharp Lannom Jr. in Tullahoma in 1912 as Lannom Manufacturing Company. It began as a producer of leather horse collars and harnesses. Recognizing the decline of animal-powered farming, Lannom…

Zion Presbyterian Church

Zion Church in 1971. Photograph by Jack E. Boucher, HABS, Library of Congress.

Zollicoffer, Felix Kirk

Confederate Brigadier General Felix K. Zollicoffer attempted to pacify Unionists in East Tennessee in 1861 before meeting defeat and death at the battle of Mill Springs in Kentucky. Born in Maury County and educated at Jackson College, he became a…

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