By Ralphine Major
It is one of the state’s greatest natural resources—the beautiful Tennessee River. Formed by the merging of the Holston and French Broad rivers, the Tennessee flows through Knoxville south to Chattanooga before dipping into the northern tip of Alabama, nearing Mississippi, and turning back up into Tennessee toward Kentucky. Tracing its course on a map, the Tennessee is almost a natural divide of the state’s three distinct regions: West Tennessee, Middle Tennessee, and East Tennessee. So fascinated was I at the U-shaped natural divide that I once used the illustration as a visual aid for a speech class when I was at The University of Tennessee.
A cruise down the Tennessee is spectacular. Among businesses and homes are several landmarks including the historic Blount Mansion that was home to Governor William Blount; the City-County Building that houses several of the local government offices; Calhoun’s Restaurant where many boats of the VOL Navy dock during Tennessee’s home football games at Neyland Stadium; First Baptist Church; Thompson Boling Arena, the site of Tennessee’s home basketball games; and Calvary Baptist Church.
The vantage point of the picture shown here captures a fantastic view of downtown Knoxville’s landscape with the Tennessee River carving its rightful place through the city. The Sunsphere, face of the 1982 World’s Fair; the historic Andrew Johnson Building which was built as a hotel and later served as home to the central offices for Knox County Schools; and the former Hyatt Regency on the far right are some of the prominent sites in this photo. The beautiful Tennessee River, a vital piece of Tennessee history that remains a special part of Tennessee today.
Words of Faith: “But thou, Lord, art most high for evermore.” Psalm 92:8 (KJV).