Destination Tennessee

Tennessee is a state located in the Southern United States. In 1796, it became the sixteenth state to join the Union. The capital city is Nashville, and the largest city is Memphis. The area now known as Tennessee was first inhabited by Paleo-Indians nearly 11,000 years ago.

• Tennessee Guide: A-Z

» Andrew Johnson National Historic Site

Andrew Johnson National Historic Site is a National Historic Site in Greeneville, Tennessee, maintained by the National Park Service. It was established to honor Andrew Johnson, 17th President of the United States, who became president after Abraham Lincoln's death. The site includes two of Johnson's homes, his tailor shop, and his grave site …

» Belle Meade Plantation

Belle Meade Plantation, located in Belle Meade, Tennessee, is an historic plantation mansion whose grounds now function as a museum. In 1807, Virginian John Harding bought Dunham's Station log cabin and 250 acres (100 ha) on the Natchez Trace. In the early years, Harding boarded horses for neighbors such as Andrew Jackson …

» Belmont Mansion

Belmont Mansion, also known as Acklen Hall, and originally known as Belle Monte, is a historic mansion located in Nashville, on the campus of Belmont University that today functions as a museum. In 1849, Adelicia Hayes Franklin married Joseph Alexander Smith Acklen, a young attorney from Alabama, and they immediately began construction of Belle Monte …

» Chattanooga, Tennessee

Chattanooga touts many attractions, including the Tennessee Aquarium, caverns, and new waterfront attractions along and across the Tennessee River. In the downtown area is the Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel, housed in the renovated Terminal Station and exhibiting the largest HO model train layout in the United States …

» Country Music Hall of Fame

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum identifies and preserves the evolving history and traditions of country music and educates its audiences. Functioning as a local history museum and as an international arts organization, the CMF, located at 222 Fifth Avenue South in Nashville, Tennessee …

» Delta Queen

The Delta Queen is an American sternwheel steamboat that is a U.S. National Historic Landmark. Historically, she has been used for cruising the major rivers that constitute the drainage of the Mississippi River, particularly in the American South. As of June 2009, she is docked in Chattanooga, Tennessee and has been converted into a hotel …

» Dollywood

Dollywood is a theme park owned by entertainer Dolly Parton and the Herschend Family Entertainment Corporation. It is located in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Dollywood has 3,000 people on its payroll, making it the largest employer in that community. Dollywood features rides, traditional crafts and music of the Smoky Mountains area …

» Fort Loudoun

Fort Loudoun was a British colonial fort in present-day Monroe County, Tennessee, near the towns of the Overhill Cherokee. The fort was reconstructed during the Great Depression and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965. The British colony of South Carolina built the fort in 1756, naming it for John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun …

» Fort Pillow State Park

Fort Pillow State Park is a state park in western Tennessee that preserves the American Civil War site of the Battle of Fort Pillow. The 1,642 acre Fort Pillow, located in Lauderdale County on the Chickasaw Bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River, is rich in both historic and archaeological significance …

» Graceland

Graceland is a large white-columned mansion and 13.8-acre estate that was home to Elvis Presley in Memphis, Tennessee. It is located on Elvis Presley Boulevard. It currently serves as a museum. It was opened to the public in 1982. The site was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1991 and declared a National Historic Landmark in 2006 …

» Grand Ole Opry

The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, that has presented the biggest stars of that genre since 1925. Dedicated to honoring country music and its history, the Opry showcases a mix of legends and contemporary chart-toppers performing country, bluegrass, folk, gospel, and comedic performances and skits …

» Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a US National Park and UNESCO World Heritage Site that straddles the ridgeline of the Great Smoky Mountains, part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are a division of the larger Appalachian Mountain chain. The border between Tennessee and North Carolina runs through the centerline of the park …

» James K. Polk Ancestral Home

The James K. Polk Ancestral Home, also known as James K. Polk House, is U.S. President James K. Polk's only surviving home other than the White House. It is located at 301 West 7th St., Columbia, Tennessee. The home was built by his father, Samuel Polk, in 1816. The Federal style brick home was constructed while James was at the University of North Carolina …

» The Hermitage

The Hermitage is a historical plantation and museum located in Davidson County, Tennessee, 12 miles east of downtown Nashville. The plantation was owned by Andrew Jackson, the seventh President of the United States, from 1804 until his death at the Hermitage in 1845. Jackson only lived at the property occasionally until he retired from public life in 1837 …

» Knoxville, Tennessee

First settled in 1786, Knoxville was the first capital of Tennessee. The city struggled with geographic isolation throughout the early 19th century, though 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 …

» Memphis, Tennessee

Because it occupies a substantial bluff rising from the Mississippi River, the site of Memphis is a natural location for settlement. The area was first settled by the Mississippian Culture and then by the Chickasaw Indian tribe. For 10,000 years they occupied the bluffs along the river, building a large mound on the bluff …

» Nashville, Tennessee

Perhaps the biggest factor in drawing visitors to Nashville is its association with country music. Many visitors to Nashville attend live performances of the Grand Ole Opry, the world's longest running live radio show. The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is another major attraction relating to the popularity of country music …

» Oak Ridge, Tennessee

Oak Ridge was established in 1942 as a production site for the Manhattan Project - the massive operation that developed the atomic bomb. Scientific development still plays a crucial role in the city's economy and culture. The location and low population also helped keep the town a secret, though the population grew from about 3,000 in 1942 to 75,000 in 1945 …

» Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

Pigeon Forge is a mountain resort city in Sevier County, Tennessee, located in the southeastern United States. Situated just five miles north of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Pigeon Forge is primarily a tourist resort. The city's attractions include Dollywood and numerous outlet malls and music theaters …

» Ryman Auditorium

The Ryman Auditorium (formerly Grand Ole Opry House and Union Gospel Tabernacle) is a 2,362-seat live performance venue, located in Nashville, Tennessee and is best known as the most famous former home of the Grand Ole Opry. It was built by Thomas Ryman, a riverboat captain and Nashville businessman who owned several saloons. …