Tennessee Vacation Guide System

Tennessee Fun Facts

Capital: Nashville

State abbreviation/Postal code: Tenn./TN

Governor: Bill Haslam, R (to Jan. 2015)

Lieut. Governor: Ron Ramsey, R (to Jan. 2015)

Senators: Lamar Alexander, R (to Jan. 2015); Bob Corker, R (to Jan. 2013)

U.S. Representatives: 9

Historical biographies of Congressional members

Entered Union (rank): June 1, 1796 (16)

Present constitution adopted: 1870; amended 1953, 1960, 1966, 1972, 1978

Motto: Agriculture and Commerce (1987)

Slogan: Tennessee—America at its best! (1965)

State symbols:

flower	iris (1933)
tree	tulip poplar (1947)
bird	mockingbird (1933)
horse	Tennessee walking horse
animal	raccoon (1971)
wild flower	passion flower (1973)
songs	“My Homeland, Tennessee” (1925); “When It's Iris Time in Tennessee” (1935); “My Tennessee” (1955); “Tennessee Waltz” (1965); “Rocky Top” (1982); “Tennessee” (1992); “The Pride of Tennessee” (1996)

Nickname: Volunteer State

Origin of name: Of Cherokee origin; the exact meaning is unknown

10 largest cities (2005 est.): Memphis, 672,277; Nashville-Davidson,¹ 549,110; Knoxville, 180,130; Chattanooga, 154,762; Clarksville, 112,878; Murfreesboro, 86,793; Jackson, 62,099; Johnson City, 58,718; Franklin, 53,311; Hendersonville, 44,876

Land area: 41,217 sq mi. (106,752 sq km)

Geographic center: In Rutherford Co., 5 mi. NE of Murfreesboro

Number of counties: 95

Largest county by population and area: Shelby, 909,035 (2005); Shelby, 755 sq mi.

State forests: 15 (162,371 ac,)

State parks: 54

Residents: Tennessean, Tennesseean

2005 resident population est.: 5,962,959

2000 resident census population (rank): 5,689,283 (16). Male: 2,770,275 (48.7%); Female: 2,919,008 (51.3%). White: 4,563,310 (80.2%); Black: 932,809 (16.4%); American Indian: 15,152 (0.3%); Asian: 56,662 (1.0%); Other race: 56,036 (1.0%); Two or more races: 63,109 (1.1%); Hispanic/Latino: 123,838 (2.2%). 2000 percent population 18 and over: 75.4; 65 and over: 12.4; median age: 35.9.

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