When Tennessee became a state in 1796, the total population was just 77,000.

Born in the hills of Tennessee in the 1940s, Mountain Dew was originally invented by two brothers, Barney and Ally Hartman, for use as a mixer with whiskey. Mountain Dew is actually slang for "moonshine," and some of the early bottles were even adorned with sketches of a character called Willy the Hillbilly!

Davy Crockett, commonly referred to as the "King of the Wild Frontier", grew up in East Tennessee, where he gained a reputation for hunting and storytelling. Crockett became famous during his lifetime for larger-than-life exploits popularized by stage plays and almanacs. After his death, he continued to be credited with acts of mythical proportion and became one of America's best-known folk heroes.

Tennessee is known as The Volunteer State, a nickname that may have been earned during the War of 1812 because of the prominent role played by volunteer soldiers from Tennessee, especially during the Battle of New Orleans. Other sources suggest the name refers to volunteers for the Mexican-American War, in which President James K. Polk's call for 2,600 nationwide volunteers resulted in 30,000 volunteers from Tennessee alone, largely in response to the death of Davy Crockett at the Alamo.

In 1927, record producer Ralph Peer of Victor Records began recording local musicians in Bristol, Tennessee in attempt to capture the local sound of traditional "folk" music. One of these local sounds was created by the Carter Family who received $50 for each song they recorded. Another performer who auditioned for Peer in an empty Bristol warehouse was Jimmie Rodgers, the "Father of Country Music". The U.S. Congress officially recognized Bristol as the "Birthplace of Country Music" in 1998.

Graceland, Elvis Presley's home in Memphis, Tennessee, is the second-most visited house in the U.S., with over 600,000 visitors a year. Only the White House sees more tourists.

It is bordered by eight states, with Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina to the east, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi to the south, Arkansas to the west, and Missouri to the northwest.

Beneath the mossy hills and flat farmlands of Tennessee lies a complex network of more than 10,000 caves, from a subterranean lake so large its full extent has yet to be discovered to the cavern that inspired Johnny Cash to seek sobriety.

American clergyman and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was fatally shot at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968, at 6:01 p.m. CST. He was rushed to St. Joseph's Hospital, where he died at 7:05 p.m.

In March 1876, the Mississippi River suddenly changed course near the settlement of Reverie, Tennessee, leaving a small part of Tipton County, Tennessee, attached to Arkansas and separated from the rest of Tennessee by the new river channel.