93-513: Old North Knoxville is a neighborhood in Knoxville, Tennessee , United States, located just north of the city's downtown area. Initially established as the town of North Knoxville in 1889, the area was a prominent suburb for Knoxville's upper middle and professional classes until the 1950s. After a period of decline, preservationists began restoring many of the neighborhood's houses in the 1980s. In 1992, over 400 houses and secondary structures in
186-657: A mixed-use baseball stadium complex in the Old City neighborhood. According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 104.2 square miles (269.8 km ), of which 98.5 square miles (255.2 km ) is land and 5.6 square miles (14.6 km ), or 5.42%, is water. Elevations range from just over 800 feet (240 m) along the riverfront to just over 1,000 feet (300 m) on various hilltops in West Knoxville, with
279-408: A Union invasion, Buckner fortified Fort Loudon (in West Knoxville, not to be confused with the colonial fort to the southwest) and began constructing earthworks throughout the city. However, the approach of stronger Union forces under Ambrose Burnside in the summer of 1863 forced Buckner to evacuate Knoxville before the earthworks were completed. Burnside arrived in early September 1863, beginning
372-454: A daily average temperature of 38.2 °F (3.4 °C), with an average of 5 days where the high remains at or below freezing. The record high for Knoxville is 105 °F (41 °C) on June 30 and July 1, 2012 , while the record low is −24 °F (−31 °C) on January 21, 1985 . Annual precipitation averages just under 52 in (1,320 mm), and normal seasonal snowfall is 4.6 in (12 cm). The one-day record for snowfall
465-913: A decline in housing values. The formation of the Old North Knoxville Neighborhood Association in the 1970s, however, led to the restoration and rehabilitation of most of the neighborhood's historic homes. The Old North Knoxville Historic District covers 324 acres (131 ha), and includes properties along Alexander Street, East Anderson Avenue, Armstrong Avenue, East Baxter Avenue, Cornelia Street, Folsom Avenue, Fremont Place, Glenwood Avenue, Harvey Street, Kenyon Street, Kern Place, Matthews Place, McMillan Street, East Oklahoma Avenue, Rader Place, East Scott Avenue, Shepherd Place, Stewart Place, Thompson Place, and East Woodland Avenue. The district's 496 contributing buildings and structures consist primarily of houses and outbuildings, with one commercial structure. The neighborhood
558-695: A hotel, student housing, and 300 multi-family residential units. In June 2020, the Knoxville City Council announced the investment of over $ 5.5 million in federal and local funds towards the development of a business park along the Interstate 275 corridor in North Knoxville . The project was first proposed by a study prepared Knoxville-Knox County Metropolitan Planning Commission in 2007. In August 2020, UT President and Tennessee Smokies owner Randy Boyd announced plans of
651-642: A judge and state senator, before being nominated by the state legislature to replace Andrew Jackson in the U.S. Senate in 1825. In 1836, White ran unsuccessfully for president, representing the Whig Party . Anti-slavery and anti-secession sentiment ran high in East Tennessee in the years leading up to the Civil War. William "Parson" Brownlow , the radical publisher of the Knoxville Whig ,
744-465: A large supply of illegal whiskey . Running on an anti-tax platform, Dempster's allies managed to recapture the mayor's office in 1945, and Dempster was again appointed city manager. Dempster broke his campaign pledge, and proposed new city property taxes. This provoked the ire of Walker, who immediately mounted a campaign against Dempster. Walker blasted Dempster's new taxes, and claimed that "gambling, whiskey and prostitution" flourished when Dempster
837-528: A law school in an attempt to modernize the scope of the university. In 1879, the state changed its name to the University of Tennessee, at the request of the trustees, who hoped to secure more funding from the Tennessee state legislature. The post-war manufacturing boom brought thousands of immigrants to the city. The population of Knoxville grew from around 5,000 in 1860 to 32,637 in 1900. West Knoxville
930-462: A metro government failed, while school boards and the planning commissions would merge on July 1, 1987. With further annexation attempts stalling, Knoxville initiated several projects aimed at boosting revenue in its downtown area. The 1982 World's Fair —the most successful of these projects, with eleven million visitors—became one of the most popular expositions in U.S. history. The Rubik's Cube made its debut at this event. The fair's energy theme
1023-644: A new arts annex and gallery surrounded by many studios and new businesses as well. The Bijou and Tennessee Theatres underwent renovation, providing an initiative for the city and its developers to re-purpose the old downtown. Development has also expanded across the Tennessee River on the South Knoxville waterfront. In 2006, the city adopted the South Waterfront Vision Plan, a long-term improvement project to revitalize
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#17327908610621116-626: A regional merchandising center. Local agricultural products—especially tobacco, corn, and whiskey—were traded for cotton, which was grown in the Deep South . The population of Knoxville more than doubled in the 1850s with the arrival of the East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad in 1855. Among the most prominent citizens of Knoxville during the Antebellum years was James White's son, Hugh Lawson White (1773–1840). White first served as
1209-445: A reported 26 square miles of " shoestring annexation " under the administration of Mayor Victor Ashe . Ashe's efforts were controversial, largely consisting of annexation of interstate right-of-ways , highway-oriented commercial clusters, and residential subdivisions to increase tax revenue for the city. Residents voiced opposition, citing claims of urban sprawl and government overreach. Knoxville's downtown has been developing, with
1302-689: A repository of Appalachian culture and is one of the gateways to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park . The first people to form substantial settlements in what is now Knoxville were indigenous people who arrived during the Woodland period ( c. 1000 B.C. to 1000 A.D.). One of the oldest artificial structures in Knoxville is a burial mound constructed during the early Mississippian culture period ( c. 1000–1400 A.D.). The earthwork mound has been preserved, but
1395-534: A state in 1796) until 1817, when the capital was moved to Murfreesboro . Early Knoxville has been described as an "alternately quiet and rowdy river town". Early issues of the Knoxville Gazette —the first newspaper published in Tennessee—are filled with accounts of murder, theft, and hostile Cherokee attacks. Abishai Thomas, a friend of William Blount, visited Knoxville in 1794 and wrote that, while he
1488-595: A town. McClung drew up sixty-four 0.5-acre (0.20 ha) lots. The waterfront was set aside for a town common. Two lots were set aside for a church and graveyard (First Presbyterian Church, founded 1792). Four lots were set aside for a school. That school was eventually chartered as Blount College and it served as the starting point for the University of Tennessee , which uses Blount College's founding date of 1794 as its own. In 1790, President George Washington appointed North Carolina surveyor William Blount governor of
1581-402: A training ground of sorts for welders and machinists who would later work on nearby Tennessee Valley Authority and Atomic Energy Commission projects. Dempster, a lifelong Democrat , became actively involved in Knoxville politics during the 1920s. In 1929, he was named city manager, a position created earlier in the decade. After his appointment, he convinced the state legislature to merge
1674-565: Is 17.5 in (44 cm), which occurred on February 13, 1960. Knoxville is the central city in the Knoxville Metropolitan Area, an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) designated metropolitan statistical area (MSA) that covers Knox, Anderson , Blount , Campbell , Grainger , Loudon , Morgan , Roane and Union counties. Researchers have mapped the Knoxville Metropolitan area as one of
1767-560: Is characterized by short front lawns and large sidewalks. Circa-1907 "Granitoid" pavement, known locally as "singing" pavement due to the sound it makes when cars drive over it, is still found along Kenyon Street. Houses in Old North Knoxville include designs by three established architects— George F. Barber, his son, Charles Barber, and the Swiss-born David Getaz. Architectural styles represented in
1860-513: The Battle of Campbell's Station (now Farragut ). On November 18, Union General William P. Sanders was mortally wounded while conducting delaying maneuvers west of Knoxville, and Fort Loudon was renamed Fort Sanders in his honor. On November 29, following a two-week siege , the Confederates attacked Fort Sanders but failed after a fierce 20-minute engagement. On December 4, after word of
1953-558: The Brookside Cotton Mill , the Fantz (Fanz) Sausage Factory, and two marble works . Rather than wait for annexation by Knoxville in order to obtain city services, North Knoxville incorporated as a separate city on January 16, 1889. L. A. Gratz was elected as the town's first mayor. The new town secured contracts for water and electric lighting deemed superior to the contracts Knoxville had forged, and North Knoxville School
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#17327908610622046-602: The Clinch River and Tennessee River (now Kingston ), but when the Cherokee refused to cede this land, Blount chose White's Fort. Blount named the new capital Knoxville after Revolutionary War General and Secretary of War Henry Knox , who at the time was Blount's immediate superior. Problems immediately arose from the Holston Treaty. Blount believed that he had "purchased" much of what is now East Tennessee when
2139-778: The Confederacy , General Felix Zollicoffer arrived in Knoxville as commander of the District of East Tennessee. While initially lenient toward the city's Union sympathizers, Zollicoffer instituted martial law in November, after pro-Union guerrillas burned seven of the city's bridges . The command of the district passed briefly to George Crittenden and then to Kirby Smith , who launched an unsuccessful invasion of Kentucky in August 1862. In early 1863, General Simon Buckner took command of Confederate forces in Knoxville. Anticipating
2232-752: 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 Appalachian Mountains . By the 1780s, white settlers were already established in the Holston and French Broad valleys. The U.S. Congress ordered all illegal settlers out of the valley in 1785 but with little success. As settlers continued to trickle into Cherokee lands, tensions between
2325-620: The Henley Street Bridge , the Church Avenue and Fifth Avenue viaducts , four public library branches, and Bill Meyer Stadium . He also convinced the city to buy Chilhowee Park and Tyson Park. Dempster built several houses in Knoxville, some of which still stand in Fountain City and Old North Knoxville . Dempster hired the city's first African-American civil service secretary, and supported desegregation in
2418-434: The Knoxville campaign . Like the Confederates, he immediately began fortifying the city. The Union forces rebuilt Fort Loudon and erected 12 other forts and batteries flanked by entrenchments around the city. Burnside moved a pontoon bridge upstream from Loudon , allowing Union forces to cross the river and to build a series of forts along the heights of south Knoxville, including Fort Stanley and Fort Dickerson. As Burnside
2511-661: The National Conservation Exposition in 1913. The latter is sometimes credited with giving rise to the movement to create a national park in the Great Smoky Mountains, some 20 miles (32 km) south of Knoxville. Around this time, several affluent Knoxvillians began purchasing summer cottages in Elkmont and began to pursue the park idea more vigorously. They were led by Knoxville businessman Colonel David C. Chapman , who, as head of
2604-625: The Tennessee River . As of the 2020 United States census , Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state's third-most-populous city after Nashville and Memphis . It is the principal city of the Knoxville metropolitan area , which had a population of 879,773 in 2020. First settled in 1786, Knoxville was the first capital of Tennessee. The city struggled with geographic isolation throughout
2697-608: The Underground Railroad . Business interests, however, guided largely by Knoxville's trade connections with cotton-growing centers to the south, contributed to the development of a strong pro-secession movement within the city. The city's pro-secessionists included among their ranks J. G. M. Ramsey , a prominent historian whose father had built the Ramsey House in 1797. Thus, while East Tennessee and greater Knox County voted decisively against secession in 1861,
2790-636: The Ward Line shipping company. A railroad strike in 1903 left him briefly stranded in a hobo colony in Iowa . Dempster graduated from the Girls High School in Knoxville in 1906, having served as the school's class president. After high school, Dempster worked as a steam shovel operator on the Panama Canal project, excavating the canal's Miraflores and Pedro Miguel locks . During
2883-835: The Welsh Tract in Pennsylvania to work in a rolling mill. These Welsh families settled in an area now known as Mechanicsville . The Richards brothers also co-founded the Knoxville Iron Works beside the L&;N Railroad , also employing Welsh workers. Later, the site was used as the grounds for the 1982 World's Fair . Other companies that sprang up during this period were Knoxville Woolen Mills, Dixie Cement, and Woodruff's Furniture. Between 1880 and 1887, 97 factories were established in Knoxville, most of them specializing in textiles, food products, and iron products. By
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2976-642: The 18 major cities in the Piedmont Atlantic megaregion . The Knoxville Metropolitan area includes unincorporated communities such as Halls Crossroads , Powell , Karns , Corryton , Concord , and Mascot , which are located in Knox County outside of Knoxville's city limits. Along with Knoxville, municipalities in the Knoxville Metropolitan Area include Alcoa , Blaine , Maryville , Lenoir City , Loudon , Farragut , Oak Ridge , Rutledge , Clinton , Bean Station , and Maynardville . As of 2012,
3069-491: The 1890s, Knoxville was home to more than 50 wholesaling houses, making it the third largest wholesaling center by volume in the South. The Candoro Marble Works , established in the community of Vestal in 1914, became the nation's foremost producer of pink marble and one of the nation's largest marble importers. In 1896, Knoxville celebrated its achievements by creating its own flag. The Flag of Knoxville, Tennessee represents
3162-569: The 18th century, the Cherokee , an Iroquoian language people, had become the dominant tribe in the East Tennessee region; they are believed to have migrated centuries before from the Great Lakes region . They were frequently at war with the Creek and Shawnee . The Cherokee people called the Knoxville area kuwanda'talun'yi , which means "mulberry place". Most Cherokee habitation in the area
3255-577: The 1910s and 1920s, the Dempster Brothers Construction Company, operated by Dempster and his brothers, built a number of roads and railroads across the Southern Appalachian region. Dempster also served as a city manager and mayor of Knoxville, where he became known for his political battles with eccentric Knoxville businessman Cas Walker and Knoxville Journal editor Guy Smith Jr. Dempster
3348-402: The 1920s as the manufacturing sector collapsed , the downtown area declined and city leaders became entrenched in highly partisan political fights. Hosting the 1982 World's Fair helped reinvigorate the city, and revitalization initiatives by city leaders and private developers have had major successes in spurring growth in the city, especially the downtown area. Knoxville is the home of
3441-461: The 1920s. North Knoxville continued to grow until the 1940s, by which time most of the original residents had died or moved away. Knoxville's continued expansion northward and westward, as well as the onset of automobile travel, drew the residents of the city's early suburbs further out to newer neighborhoods along the city's periphery. During the 1950s and 1960s, many of the neighborhood's larger houses were converted into low-rent apartments, causing
3534-481: The 1950s and 1960s, and after the establishment of the Interstate Highway System in the 1960s, the railroad—which had been largely responsible for Knoxville's industrial growth—began to decline. The rise of suburban shopping malls in the 1970s drew retail revenues away from Knoxville's downtown area. While government jobs and economic diversification prevented widespread unemployment in Knoxville,
3627-481: The 1970s, were among Knoxville's first modern high-rise buildings. In 1947, John Gunther dubbed Knoxville the "ugliest city" in America in his best-selling book Inside U.S.A. Gunther's description jolted the city into enacting a series of beautification measures that helped improve the appearance of the downtown area. Knoxville's textile and manufacturing industries largely fell victim to foreign competition in
3720-431: The 750-acre waterfront fronting three miles of shoreline on the Tennessee River. The project's primary focus is the commercial and residential development over a 20-year timeline. Knoxville Baptist Hospital, located on the waterfront, was demolished in 2016 to make room for a mixed-use project called One Riverwalk. The development consisted of three office buildings, including a headquarters for Regal Entertainment Group ,
3813-571: The CSA but not the Knoxville MSA, include Morristown, Rutledge, Dandridge , Jefferson City , Sevierville, Gatlinburg , Pigeon Forge , LaFollette, Jacksboro , Harriman, Kingston , Rockwood , and Newport. The combined population of the CSA as of the 2000 Census was 935,659. Its estimated 2008 population was 1,041,955. Knoxville is roughly divided into the Downtown area and sections based on
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3906-491: The Confederate defeat at Chattanooga reached Longstreet, he broke his siege of Knoxville. The Union victories in the Knoxville campaign and at Chattanooga put much of East Tennessee under Union control for the rest of the war. After the war, northern investors such as brothers Joseph and David Richards helped Knoxville recover relatively quickly. The Richards brothers convinced 104 Welsh immigrant families to migrate from
3999-681: The Dempster Brothers Construction Company, which built roads, railroads, and small dams in Tennessee, North Carolina , Georgia , Virginia , and Kentucky . While initially lucrative, the company was forced into bankruptcy at the onset of the Great Depression . Dempster's Fountain City home (still standing at the corner of Broadway and Gibbs) was auctioned off to pay his debts. In spite of these setbacks, Dempster and his brothers reorganized their remaining resources to form Dempster Brothers , Inc., which focused on heavy machinery. In 1935,
4092-591: The Great Smoky Mountains Park Commission, was largely responsible for raising the funds for the purchase of the property that became the core of the park. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park opened in 1933. Knoxville's reliance on a manufacturing economy left it particularly vulnerable to the effects of the Great Depression . The Tennessee Valley also suffered from frequent flooding, and millions of acres of farmland had been ruined by soil erosion. To control flooding and improve
4185-578: The James White Parkway and includes the neighborhoods of Parkridge, Burlington, Morningside, and Five Points. This area, concentrated along Magnolia Avenue, is home to Chilhowee Park and Zoo Knoxville . North Knoxville consists of the areas north of Sharp's Ridge, namely the Fountain City and Inskip-Norwood areas. This area's major commercial corridor is located along Broadway. As of the 2020 United States census , there were 190,740 people, 83,492 households, and 40,405 families residing in
4278-734: The Knoxville area was the Timberlake Expedition , which passed through the confluence of the Holston and French Broad into the Tennessee River in December 1761. Henry Timberlake , an Anglo-American emissary from the Thirteen Colonies to the Overhill settlements, recalled being pleased by the deep waters of the Tennessee after his party had struggled down the relatively shallow Holston for several weeks. The end of
4371-642: The Tennessee in Knoxville include First Creek and Second Creek, which flow through the downtown area, Third Creek, which flows west of U.T., and Sinking Creek, Ten Mile Creek, and Turkey Creek, which drain West Knoxville. Knoxville falls in the humid subtropical climate ( Köppen : Cfa ) zone. Summers are hot and humid, with the daily average temperature in July at 78.4 °F (25.8 °C), and an average of 36 days per year with temperatures reaching 90 °F (32 °C). Winters are generally much cooler and less stable, with occasional small amounts of snow. January has
4464-414: The annexation of Fountain City in 1962, North Knoxville became "Old" North Knoxville. Old North Knoxville is located just off Broadway (part of U.S. Route 441 ), about halfway between downtown Knoxville to the south and Sharp's Ridge to the north. The neighborhood straddles a hill that gradually rises from First Creek and descends toward Second Creek. East Scott Avenue traverses the hill's crest, with
4557-401: The areas west of U.T. and includes the suburban neighborhoods of Sequoyah Hills , West Hills , Bearden , Cumberland Estates , Westmoreland, Suburban Hills, Cedar Bluff , Rocky Hill , and Ebenezer. This area, concentrated largely around Kingston Pike, is home to thriving retail centers such as West Town Mall and Turkey Creek . East Knoxville consists of the areas east of First Creek and
4650-615: The campus of the University of Tennessee developed around it. Other prehistoric sites include an Early Woodland habitation area at the confluence of the Tennessee River and Knob Creek (near the Knox – Blount county line), and Dallas phase Mississippian villages at Post Oak Island (also along the river near the Knox–Blount line), and at Bussell Island (at the mouth of the Little Tennessee River near Lenoir City ). By
4743-411: The city from the south, but lacking the necessary pontoon bridges he was forced to cross the river further downstream at Loudon on November 14 and march against the city's heavily fortified western section. On November 15, General Joseph Wheeler unsuccessfully attempted to dislodge Union forces in the heights of south Knoxville, and the following day Longstreet failed to cut off retreating Union forces at
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#17327908610624836-668: The city of Knoxville favored secession by a 2–1 margin. In late May 1861, just before the secession vote, delegates of the East Tennessee Convention met at Temperance Hall in Knoxville in hopes of keeping Tennessee in the Union . After Tennessee voted to secede in June, the convention met in Greeneville and attempted to create a separate Union-aligned state in East Tennessee. In July 1861, after Tennessee had joined
4929-532: The city sought to recover the massive loss of revenue by attempting to annex neighboring communities. Knoxville annexed the communities of Bearden and Fountain City , which were Knoxville's largest suburbs , in 1962. Knoxville officials attempted the annexation of the neighboring Farragut - Concord community in western Knox County, but the city failed following the incorporation of Farragut in 1980. These annexation attempts often turned combative, and several attempts to consolidate Knoxville and Knox County into
5022-507: The city's central business district and municipal offices, the Old City and Gay Street are mixed residential and commercial areas. South Knoxville consists of the parts of the city located south of the river and includes the neighborhoods of Vestal, Lindbergh Forest, Island Home Park , Colonial Hills, and Old Sevier. This area contains major commercial corridors along Chapman Highway and Alcoa Highway . West Knoxville generally consists of
5115-424: The city's progressive growth due to agriculture and industry. In 1869, Thomas Humes, a Union sympathizer and president of East Tennessee University, secured federal post-war damage reimbursement and state-designated Morrill Act funding to expand the college, which had been occupied by both armies during the war. Charles Dabney , who became president of the university in 1887, overhauled the faculty and established
5208-748: The city, and parts of McAnnally Ridge in the northeastern part of the city. The Tennessee River , which passes through the downtown area, is formed in southeastern Knoxville at the confluence of the Holston River , which flows southwest from Virginia, and the French Broad River , which flows west from North Carolina. The section of the Tennessee River that passes through Knoxville is part of Fort Loudoun Lake, an artificial reservoir created by TVA's Fort Loudoun Dam about 30 miles (48 km) downstream in Lenoir City . Notable tributaries of
5301-516: The city. As of the census of 2010, the population of Knoxville was 178,874, a 2.9% increase from 2000. The median age was 32.7, with 19.1% of the population under the age of 18, and 12.6% over the age of 65. The population was 48% male and 52% female. The population density was 1,815 persons per square mile. The racial and ethnic composition of the city was 76.1% white , 17.1% black , 0.4% Native American , 1.6% Asian , and 0.2% Pacific Islander . Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.6% of
5394-470: The company introduced the "Dempster-Dumpster," the first large-scale waste container that could be mechanically emptied into a garbage truck. As orders for this product arrived from around the world, the company devoted all of its resources to the production of Dempster-Dumpsters. In 1939, the company introduced the Dempster-Balester, which crushed and baled automobiles. During World War II ,
5487-432: The company produced pontoon boats and other equipment for the US Navy. The company introduced the Dempster Dumpmaster , the first front-loading garbage truck, in the 1950s. The Dempster Brothers plant on Springdale Avenue in Knoxville consisted of eleven buildings on 27 acres (11 ha), and employed 450 workers. For humanitarian purposes, the plant employed a large number of handicapped workers. The plant served as
5580-453: The district include Queen Anne , Eastlake , Folk Victorian , Bungalow / Craftsman , Dutch Colonial Revival , Tudor Revival , Neoclassical Revival , American Foursquare , and Shingle . The district has one Colonial Revival home (517 East Oklahoma) and one home designed in the French Eclectic style (518 Glenwood). Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Tennessee , United States, on
5673-439: The downtown area declined with the rise of suburban shopping centers. After he proposed a modest tax increase, Knoxvillians revolted, and voted him out of office in 1955. Dempster served as the campaign manager for Henry Horton 's gubernatorial campaign in 1928, and was subsequently appointed the state's commissioner of finance and taxation. In 1932, he was appointed to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Commission, which
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#17327908610625766-405: The downtown area setting at just over 900 feet (270 m). High points include Sharp's Ridge in North Knoxville at 1,391 feet (424 m) and Brown Mountain in South Knoxville at 1,260 feet (380 m). Knoxville is situated in the Great Appalachian Valley (known locally as the Tennessee Valley), about halfway between the Great Smoky Mountains to the east and the Cumberland Plateau to
5859-425: The early 19th century; the arrival of the railroad in 1855 led to an economic boom. The city was bitterly divided over the issue of secession during the American Civil War and was occupied alternately by Confederate and Union armies, culminating in the Battle of Fort Sanders in 1863. Following the war, Knoxville grew rapidly as a major wholesaling and manufacturing center. The city's economy stagnated after
5952-535: The economy in the Tennessee Valley, the federal government created the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in 1933. Beginning with Norris Dam , TVA constructed a series of hydroelectric dams and other power plants throughout the valley over the next few decades, bringing flood control, jobs, and electricity to the region. The Federal Works Projects Administration , which also arrived in the 1930s, helped build McGhee Tyson Airport and expand Neyland Stadium . TVA's headquarters, which consists of twin high rises built in
6045-465: The flagship campus of the University of Tennessee , whose sports teams, the Tennessee Volunteers , are popular in the surrounding area. Knoxville is also home to the headquarters of the Tennessee Valley Authority , the Tennessee Supreme Court 's courthouse for East Tennessee, and the corporate headquarters of several national and regional companies. As one of the largest cities in the Appalachian region, Knoxville has positioned itself in recent years as
6138-500: The four cardinal directions: North Knoxville , South Knoxville , East Knoxville , and West Knoxville . Downtown Knoxville traditionally consists of the area bounded by the river on the south, First Creek on the east, Second Creek on the west, and the railroad tracks on the north, though the definition has expanded to include the U.T. campus and Fort Sanders neighborhood, and several neighborhoods along or just off Broadway south of Sharp's Ridge ("Downtown North"). While primarily home to
6231-421: The late 1880s, when it was incorporated as the town of North Knoxville, and continued after its annexation by Knoxville in 1897. The neighborhood's earliest residents included doctors, politicians, and business managers, and some its earliest houses were designed by prominent Knoxville architects, such as George Barber , Charles Barber, and David Getaz. As Knoxville continued expanding northward, most notably with
6324-419: The neighborhood were added to the National Register of Historic Places as the Old North Knoxville Historic District. In the years following the Civil War , Knoxville experienced an economic boom that brought about a rapid increase in the city's population. The city gradually expanded northward and westward to accommodate the influx of new residents. The housing boom reached what is now Old North Knoxville in
6417-399: The newly created Territory South of the River Ohio . One of Blount's first tasks was to meet with the Cherokee and establish territorial boundaries and resolve the issue of illegal settlers. This he accomplished almost immediately with the Treaty of Holston , which was negotiated and signed at White's Fort in 1791. Blount originally wanted to place the territorial capital at the confluence of
6510-501: The offices of city manager and mayor. This move proved unpopular, and Dempster was defeated by W. W. Mynatt in the mayoral election of 1937. Dempster continued to lead the opposition to Mynatt, forming an alliance with Knoxville businessman Cas Walker, who had a strong populist backing in the city. During the 1930s, while city manager, Dempster began to clash with Guy Smith, Jr., editor of the Republican -leaning Knoxville Journal . Smith once stated that Dempster should be "relegated to
6603-480: The opening of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame and the Knoxville Convention Center , the redevelopment of Market Square , a new visitors center, a regional history museum , a Regal Cinemas theater, several restaurants and bars, and many new and redeveloped condominiums. Since 2000, Knoxville has successfully brought business back to the downtown area. The arts in particular have begun to flourish; there are multiple venues for outdoor concerts, and Gay Street hosts
6696-403: The political ash heap and buried so deeply that one of his own Dumpsters can't dig him out." Dempster, likewise, quietly ordered the police to scour the city for Smith's car, and tow it away if it was illegally parked (which it often was). Smith ordered Journal photographers to crop Dempster from favorable group shots, and Dempster organized a raid that caught Journal owner Roy Lotspeich with
6789-667: The population of the Knoxville Metropolitan Area was 837,571. The Knoxville MSA is the chief component of the larger OMB-designated Knoxville- Sevierville - La Follette Combined Statistical Area (CSA). The CSA also includes the Morristown Metropolitan Statistical Area ( Hamblen , Grainger , and Jefferson counties) and the Sevierville ( Sevier County ), La Follette (Campbell County), Harriman (Roane County), and Newport ( Cocke County ) micropolitan statistical areas . Municipalities in
6882-565: The population. People reporting more than one race formed 2.5% of the population. George Roby Dempster George Roby Dempster (September 16, 1887 – September 18, 1964) was an American businessman, inventor, and politician, active primarily in Knoxville, Tennessee , during the first half of the 20th century. Dempster is known for the invention of the Dempster- Dumpster , a now-commonly-used trash receptacle that can be mechanically emptied into garbage trucks. During
6975-455: The project, Dempster nearly lost his life on several occasions when rock slides caused his steam shovel to flip over. He also contracted typhoid fever , and bickered with famed physician William C. Gorgas over the most effective treatment. One of Dempster's earliest innovations was a device that allowed his shovel's dipper to mechanically empty its load. After returning to Knoxville, Dempster, along with his brothers, Thomas and John, formed
7068-419: The settlers and the Cherokee rose steadily. In 1786, James White , a Revolutionary War officer, and his friend James Connor built White's Fort near the mouth of First Creek, on land White had purchased three years earlier. In 1790, White's son-in-law, Charles McClung —who had arrived from Pennsylvania the previous year—surveyed White's holdings between First Creek and Second Creek for the establishment of
7161-400: The slopes gradually descending southward to East Baxter Avenue and northward to East Woodland Avenue, leaving the houses along East Scott approximately 20 to 40 feet higher than other houses in the neighborhood. The Old North Knoxville Historic District is roughly bounded by East Woodland Avenue to the northwest, Bluff Street to the northeast, Armstrong Avenue to the east, and Central Avenue to
7254-498: The south. Several other historic districts lie in the vicinity, namely Mechanicsville to the southwest, Fourth and Gill to the south, Park City to the east, and North Hills to the northeast. North Knoxville remained predominantly rural until the latter half of the 19th century. An 1871 map of Knoxville shows scant development along "Broad Street" (Broadway) north of the Knoxville National Cemetery . In
7347-498: The treaty was signed in 1791. However, the terms of the treaty came under dispute, culminating in ongoing violence on both sides. When the government invited Cherokee chief Hanging Maw for negotiations in 1793, Knoxville settlers attacked the Cherokee against orders, killing the chief's wife. Peace was renegotiated in 1794. Knoxville served as capital of the Southwest Territory and as capital of Tennessee (admitted as
7440-487: The west. The Great Valley is part of a sub-range of the Appalachian Mountains known as the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians , which is characterized by long narrow ridges flanked by broad valleys. Prominent Ridge-and-Valley structures in the Knoxville area include Sharp's Ridge and Beaver Ridge in the northern part of the city, Brown Mountain in South Knoxville, parts of Bays Mountain just south of
7533-432: The years after the Civil War, however, Knoxville's railroad access and an influx of northern capital helped make Knoxville a major warehousing and textile manufacturing center, bringing about an exponential increase in population. By 1886, several houses and several roads (including Armstrong and "Kennion") had been built in what is now Old North Knoxville, and several factories had been built nearby along Second Creek, namely
7626-493: Was annexed in 1897, and over 5,000 new homes were built between 1895 and 1904. In 1901, train robber Kid Curry (whose real name was Harvey Logan), a member of Butch Cassidy 's Wild Bunch was captured after shooting two deputies on Knoxville's Central Avenue. He escaped from the Knoxville jail and rode away on a horse stolen from the sheriff. Knoxville hosted the Appalachian Exposition in 1910 and 1911 and
7719-528: Was born in 1887, the ninth child of Scottish immigrant John Dempster and Irish immigrant Ann Doherty. John Dempster co-managed Scott, Dempster and Company, a gristmilling firm that operated a mill on First Creek. As a teenager, George Dempster travelled around the country working odd jobs for various companies, including the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway , the Atlanta, Birmingham and Atlantic Railroad, and
7812-591: Was concentrated in what the American colonists called the Overhill settlements along the Little Tennessee River , southwest of Knoxville. The first white traders and explorers were recorded as arriving in the Tennessee Valley in the late 17th century. There is significant evidence that Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto visited Bussell Island in 1540. The first major recorded Euro-American presence in
7905-521: Was fortifying Knoxville, a Confederate army under Braxton Bragg defeated Union forces under William Rosecrans at the Battle of Chickamauga (near the Tennessee-Georgia line) and laid siege to Chattanooga . On November 3, 1863, the Confederates sent General James Longstreet to attack Burnside at Knoxville and prevent him from reinforcing the Union at Chattanooga. Longstreet wanted to attack
7998-602: Was held in high esteem by parents. At the time of its incorporation, North Knoxville was considered one of the best residential neighborhoods in Knoxville, due in part to its relatively small concentration of lower class residents, and by 1895, the town had a population of 3,200. North Knoxville was annexed by Knoxville in 1897. By the early 1900s, trolley tracks connected North Knoxville to downtown Knoxville. The neighborhood consisted primarily of upper middle and professional class residents, including business managers, doctors, lawyers, and professors. One section of Glenwood Avenue
8091-471: Was impressed by the town's modern frame buildings, the town had "seven taverns" and no church. Knoxville initially thrived as a way station for travelers and migrants heading west. Its location at the confluence of three major rivers in the Tennessee Valley brought flatboat and later steamboat traffic to its waterfront in the first half of the 19th century, and Knoxville quickly developed into
8184-450: Was in power. After Walker was elected mayor in 1946, Dempster resigned as city manager. Walker's new city manager, Paul Morton, accused Dempster of cronyism , and undid most of Dempster's contracts and pay raises. Walker's term as mayor proved tumultuous, and Dempster's allies managed to oust Walker in a recall election in 1947. Dempster was elected mayor in 1951. His tenure was largely stagnant, as two major textile mills closed, and
8277-551: Was known as "Doctors' Hill," since nearly every home on the block was occupied by a physician. Business leaders living in the neighborhood included Brookside Cotton Mill manager William Lang, H. T. Hackney Company president (and later mayor of Knoxville) Benjamin Morton, and several Southern Railway officials. George Dempster , inventor of the Dempster-Dumpster and a mayor of Knoxville, lived in Old North Knoxville in
8370-403: Was one of the region's leading anti-secessionists (although he strongly defended the practice of slavery). Blount County, just south of Knoxville, had developed into a center of abolitionist activity, due in part to its relatively large Quaker faction and the anti-slavery president of Maryville College , Isaac Anderson. The Greater Warner Tabernacle AME Zion Church was reportedly a station on
8463-470: Was responsible for buying land for the national park. Dempster ran for governor in 1940, and lost in the primaries to Prentice Cooper . Dempster was named a delegate to the 1956 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, although he largely retired from city politics after his defeat in 1955. He later rejoined his old nemesis Cas Walker in a successful attempt to thwart city-county consolidation, which
8556-467: Was selected because Knoxville was home to TVA's headquarters and for its proximity to Oak Ridge National Laboratory . The Sunsphere , a 266-foot (81 m) steel truss structure topped with a gold-colored glass sphere, was built for the fair and remains one of Knoxville's most prominent structures, along with the adjacent Tennessee Amphitheater . During the 1980s and into the 1990s, the city would see one of its largest expansions of its city limits, with
8649-547: Was soundly rejected by Knoxville and Knox County voters in a 1959 referendum. Dempster died of a heart attack on September 18, 1964. Over 1,000 mourners, among them US senators Al Gore, Sr. , and Herbert S. Walters , crowded into the St. James Episcopal Church for Dempster's funeral. He was buried next to his wife in Greenwood Cemetery. Buildings constructed during Dempster's tenures as city manager and mayor include
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