Sections

In 1861, as the nation divided, so did Tennessee. In the state's three grand divisions, Confederates and Unionists fought their own political war to determine which way Tennessee would go as the Confederate States of America took form in neighboring…

Reflecting the divided allegiances of Tennesseans during that great struggle, a number of memorials throughout the state, both Union and Confederate, honor participants in the Civil War. Despite some exceptions, most monuments are found in one of three localities: on…

Tennessee's strategic location made it a prime target of the Union armies during the Civil War. It was, in fact, the only Confederate state that came entirely under Union control before the war ended. The invasion of Tennessee began early…

On March 31, 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed legislation to create the Civilian Conservation Corps, the first of the New Deal agencies. The CCC employed young men and gave them an opportunity to develop new skills and prepare them…

The Tennessee General Assembly formed Claiborne County in 1801 from parts of Grainger and Hawkins Counties and named it for William C.C. Claiborne, Tennessee's first congressional representative. The most important historic feature of Claiborne County is the Cumberland Gap, located…

Internationally recognized Life photographer Ed Clark was born in Nashville in 1911. Pursuing an early interest in photography, Clark dropped out of Hume-Fogg High School to work as a photographer's assistant at the Nashville Tennessean. For thirteen years he served…

Sam L. Clark, nationally known anatomist, scientist, and medical educator, was born in Nashville on October 5, 1898, a son of Martin and Margaret Ransom Lillard Clark. His grandfather, Dr. William Martin Clark, was a founder and owner at one…

The county seat of Montgomery County and the second oldest municipality in Middle Tennessee, Clarksville is the state's fifth largest city, with a population of 103,455. Established in 1784 by the North Carolina legislature as the seat of Tennessee County…

Philander P. Claxton, the "Crusader for Public Education in the South," was born in a log cabin in rural Bedford County in 1862. He attended several "cabin" schools and received a secondary education at a backwoods academy, where, at age…

The Tennessee General Assembly created Clay County on June 16, 1870, from the isolated northern sections of Overton and Jackson Counties. Citizens of the new county believed they would have a better opportunity to participate in self-government in their own…

Robert E. Clay, a pioneer of rural education for African Americans in Tennessee, helped to build hundreds of rural, county, and city schools. Clay was born on June 25, 1875, in Bristol, Virginia, to Harry and Frances Clay. He married…

Major general in the Army of Tennessee, Patrick R. Cleburne was born on St. Patrick's Day in County Cork, Ireland, and immigrated to the United States in 1849. Cleburne settled in Helena, Arkansas, where he rose in social position and…

In the history of southern statehouses, there have been numerous incandescent governors whose rhetorical skills and platform theatrics mesmerized voters, but none was more skillfully trained or more spectacular than Frank Clement, Tennessee's governor from 1953 to 1959 and again…

Once the antebellum home of attorney, planter, and political figure General Gideon J. Pillow (1806-1877), Clifton Place in Maury County is one of the more lavish examples of Greek Revival architecture in southern Middle Tennessee. The nearly intact plantation is…

Country music star Patsy Cline was born Virginia Patterson Hensley on September 8, 1932, in Gore, Virginia. She was an entertainer from an early age but nearly lost her voice and her life when complications from a serious throat infection…

Clingman's Dome, the highest point in Tennessee, crowns the Great Smoky Mountains at an elevation of 6,643 feet. It is created from folded, fractured, and faulted Precambrian rocks. On the Smokies' rugged shoulders one will find primarily the ancient Ocoee…

A series of events from 1947 to 1958 placed the Civil Rights story of Clinton, the seat of Anderson County, on the national stage as one of the starting points in the modern Civil Rights movement. With the end of…

Artist Carroll Cloar was born in Earle, Arkansas, on January 18, 1913. His childhood memories of his birthplace defined his art during the latter part of his career and gained him national recognition. Flat color forms and decorative patterning are…

On July 21, 1899, Chattanooga attorneys Benjamin F. Thomas and Joseph B. Whitehead signed an agreement with Asa Candler, president of the Coca-Cola Company, to receive exclusive rights to bottle the soft drink throughout most of the United States. Fellow…

In 1797 the Tennessee General Assembly created Cocke County from Jefferson County, naming the new county in honor of William Cocke, a Revolutionary War soldier who supported the establishment of the State of Franklin, helped write Tennessee's first state constitution,…