First capital of Tennessee, Knoxville today is the manufacturing center for the east Tennessee Valley. In its early days, Knoxville was a frontier outpost on the edge of the Cherokee nation, last stop on the way west. Headquarters of the Tennessee Valley Authority, marketplace for tobacco and livestock, Knoxville is also a diversified industrial city, a product of power plant rather than plantation and of the atomic age rather than the Old South (Oak Ridge is only 22 miles away). It is a gracious city with the University of Tennessee as a cultural center and dogwood-lined streets in its residential sections.

Founded by an American Revolution veteran from North Carolina and named after Secretary of War Henry Knox, Knoxville quickly became a provisioning place for westward-bound wagons. It was known for its whiskey and wild times. East Tennessee had many Union sympathizers; during the Civil War Knoxville was seized by Confederates and became headquarters for an army of occupation. In 1863, Southern troops withdrew to Chattanooga and a Union army moved in, only to be besieged by Confederates. While the battle for Knoxville saw large sections of the city destroyed, the Confederate attack was rebuffed, and Knoxville remained in Union hands for the rest of the war.

The postwar years brought many former Union soldiers, skilled Northern workmen, and investment capital to Knoxville. Within two decades, its population more than tripled. During and since World War II, it has enjoyed a similar period of industrial growth and commercial well-being. The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (1794) is located here.