Knoxville, Tennessee

Knoxville is a city in <a href="/facts/Knox_County%2c_Tennessee/vqbCwsNk">Knox County, Tennessee</a>, United States, and its <a href="/facts/County_seat/ItAWPoWw">county seat</a>. Located on the <a href="/facts/Tennessee_River/wvEWnTy2">Tennessee River</a> within the <a href="/facts/Appalachian_Mountains/f7X1GBDE">Appalachian Mountains</a>, it is the largest city in the <a href="/facts/Grand_Divisions_of_Tennessee/1XMW2rvq">Grand Division</a> of <a href="/facts/East_Tennessee/Bn9oSGJP">East Tennessee</a>. Knoxville had a population of 190,740 at the <a href="/facts/2020_United_States_census/dTEm5TRr">2020 census</a>, making it the <a href="/facts/List_of_municipalities_in_Tennessee/K6Kec2Rh">third-most populous city</a> in Tennessee, while the <a href="/facts/Knoxville_metropolitan_area/6xePE9vx">Knoxville metropolitan area</a> has an estimated 958,000 residents.
First settled in 1786, Knoxville was the first capital of Tennessee. The city struggled with geographic isolation throughout the early 19th century; the <a href="/facts/History_of_rail_transportation_in_the_United_States/9hn9ywdj">arrival of the railroad</a> in 1855 led to an economic boom. The city was bitterly <a href="/facts/Tennessee_in_the_American_Civil_War/aFpBef3L">divided over the issue of secession</a> during the <a href="/facts/American_Civil_War/A9FT3ksD">American Civil War</a> and was occupied alternately by <a href="/facts/Confederate_States_of_America/jMSDM4q3">Confederate</a> and <a href="/facts/Union_(American_Civil_War)/KW6wJt7J">Union</a> armies, culminating in the <a href="/facts/Battle_of_Fort_Sanders/o93t6Rll">Battle of Fort Sanders</a> in 1863. Following the war, Knoxville grew rapidly as a major wholesaling and manufacturing center. The city's economy stagnated after the 1920s as the <a href="/facts/Great_Depression_in_the_United_States/WhukPD96">manufacturing sector collapsed</a>, the <a href="/facts/Urban_decay/smRgWPfJ">downtown area declined</a> and city leaders became entrenched in highly partisan political fights. Hosting the <a href="/facts/1982_World%2527s_Fair/3C2zPjEa">1982 World's Fair</a> helped reinvigorate the city, and <a href="/facts/Urban_Regeneration/xAKjesVQ">revitalization initiatives</a> 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 the flagship campus of the <a href="/facts/University_of_Tennessee/V28AVeaU">University of Tennessee</a>, whose sports teams, the <a href="/facts/Tennessee_Volunteers/UNDQSFsq">Tennessee Volunteers</a>, are popular in the surrounding area. Knoxville is also home to the headquarters of the <a href="/facts/Tennessee_Valley_Authority/RgV7orV4">Tennessee Valley Authority</a>, the <a href="/facts/Tennessee_Supreme_Court/f0VmLsEt">Tennessee Supreme Court</a>'s courthouse for East Tennessee, and the corporate headquarters of several national and regional companies. As one of the largest cities in the <a href="/facts/Appalachia/GGjCgGyK">Appalachian</a> region, Knoxville has positioned itself in recent years as a repository of Appalachian culture and is one of the gateways to the <a href="/facts/Great_Smoky_Mountains_National_Park/mb3tBlC3">Great Smoky Mountains National Park</a>.

Knoxville, Tennessee open-in-new

Knoxville, Tennessee