Tennessee Fun Facts
Information About Tennessee, Tennessee Geography,
and Tennessee Schools

The capital of Tennessee is Nashville and the largest city is Memphis. Residents of Tennessee are referred to as “Tennesseans.”

The unofficial nickname of Tennessee is “The Volunteer State.” Tennessee has five official state songs: “My Homeland, Tennessee,” “When It's Iris Time in Tennessee,” “My Tennessee,” “Tennessee Waltz,” and “Rocky Top.” The state motto is “Agriculture and Commerce.”

The state of Tennessee was named after the Little Tennessee River. Originally "Tanasi," the river took its name from two Cherokee villages on its banks.

Tennessee’s state bird is the Mockingbird. The state flower is the Iris and the state tree is the Tulip Poplar.

Tennessee is ranked 16th in population and received its statehood July 1, 1796.

Bordering states of Tennessee are Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina and Virginia. The Tennessee River and Mississippi River are major bodies of water associated with Tennessee.

Major industries of Tennessee include mining (coal), electrical power, enriched uranium production, music, automobile manufacturing, farming (tobacco, cattle, soybeans, cotton) and walking horses.

There were 904,818 K12 students in the Tennessee public schools in 1996. Out of those students 77,450 were first grade students. There were also 54,790 K12 public school teachers in the Tennessee public schools system. There were a total of 1,565 Tennessee public schools in 1996. (Source: IES National Center for Education Statistics)

Want to know about preparing for the Tennessee Comprehensive Assesment Program or TCAP Standardized Tests?

Are you interested in information on Homeschooling in Tennessee or a Tennessee homeschool parent support group?

Time4Learning has put together a guide for new homeschoolers, the Welcome to Homeschooling Guide.