Transportation

Until the late nineteenth century, the United States emphasized the construction of railroads rather than highways. Few cohesive road networks existed, and most roads were in a deplorable condition. The Good Roads Movement began about 1880, peaked with the passage…

The trails, traces, and finally roads used by early immigrants to travel to the Cumberland settlements had two main routes. A northern route started south of Clinch Mountain (near Blaine), crossed the Clinch River (east of Oak Ridge), and continued…

Officially named the Dwight D. Eisenhower System of Interstate and Defense Highways, the interstate highway system has had a profound impact upon the physical, economic, and cultural landscapes of the United States. Most Americans travel the system without thinking about…

One of the most popular Whig politicians in antebellum Tennessee, James C. Jones was born in Wilson County. Reared by an uncle after his father's death, Jones learned farming by working for his guardian. He occasionally attended common schools and…

In an era when spectacular train wrecks were common, the fate of Illinois Central engineer Jonathan Luther Jones should not have aroused popular interest. Yet "Casey Jones, the Brave Engineer" has become one of Tennessee's great folk heroes and a…

Located on ninety-three acres along the Tennessee River in downtown Lenoir City, the Lenoir Car Works was once the largest and most important business in Loudon County. The earliest operation was the Bass Foundry and Machine Company, which produced iron…

Described as the most historic, yet little known, site in East Tennessee, Long Island played a significant role in the state's early history. Situated on the outskirts of present-day Kingsport on the Holston River, the island was located on the…

Lookout Mountain has been important to the environmental, military, and tourism history of Tennessee. Point Lookout, the extremity overlooking the river valley at Moccasin Bend, has attracted tourists since antebellum days. The 1863 Civil War battle fought on its slope…

The Louisville and Nashville (L&N) Railroad achieved national recognition as one of the most profitable and influential railroads in the southern market from the second half of the nineteenth to well into the twentieth century. The foundation for the company's…

The Memphis and Charleston (M&C) Railroad was the last link in a chain of early railroads connecting the Atlantic Coast to the Mississippi River. Its route from Memphis to Chattanooga across Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama is still an important rail…

Associated with the Progressive era and City Beautiful Movements of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the development of the Memphis Park and Parkway System laid the foundation for municipal park systems across Tennessee. The Memphis system also represented…

As soon as the first proposal to build a transcontinental railroad reached Congress in 1845, Memphis area leaders launched a campaign to become the Mississippi terminus. Their city was neither as old nor as powerful as New Orleans or St.…

There are five bridges that span the Mississippi River from Tennessee. A “Hands Across the River” Committee was formed in 1946 to discuss the construction of a bridge linking West Tennessee to Missouri. The U.S. Department of Commerce and Bureau…

The 3,658 miles of the Mississippi River makes it one of the longest rivers in the world. Its drainage basin covers two-fifths of the continental United States, extending from western Pennsylvania to Idaho and from Canada to the Gulf of…

Located along the banks of the Tennessee River in Perry County, Mousetail Landing State Park is one of the state's most recent parks, dedicated in 1986. The park's 1,249 acres offer hiking, fishing, boating, camping, and outdoor recreational facilities. The…

William E. Myer was a leading figure in the early twentieth-century transformation of Tennessee archaeology from a casual hobby to a professional science and in the development of both overland and river transportation systems. Myer was born in Kentucky in…

The Nashville and Chattanooga (N&C) Railroad created new towns, new wealth, and a new corporate landscape as it brought the industrial age to Middle Tennessee. The railroad was the first complete line to operate in Tennessee in 1854 and was…

Arthur J. Dyer, an 1891 graduate of the Vanderbilt Engineering School, founded the Nashville Bridge Company, the state's most productive and important bridge building firm. Dyer worked for a variety of bridge companies over in the 1890s before he borrowed…

This National Historic Landmark symbolizes the power of railroad companies, specifically the Louisville and Nashville (L&N) Railroad, over the transportation and economy of turn-of-the-century Tennessee. Built between 1898 and 1900, and designed by L&N company engineer Richard Montfort, the building…

From the port of Natchez on the Mississippi River, the Natchez Trace followed over 500 miles of intertwining Indian paths through the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations across the Tennessee River to Nashville. For reasons of national security, Winthrop Sargent, first…