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Section 32 of the Tennessee Constitution states that "the erection of safe and comfortable prisons, the inspection of prisons, and the humane treatment of prisoners, shall be provided for." In 1796 the legislature passed three separate acts to establish courthouses,…

Regulation of railroads, common carriers, and public utilities in Tennessee has followed not only development in the technological and economic structures of those industries, but changes in general professional and public attitudes toward monopolies, competition and governmental regulation, particularly as…

The Tennessee River system covers 41,000 square miles, draining portions of sixty Tennessee counties and seven states. The Tennessee River is the largest tributary to the Ohio River and is its equal in water volume. From its mouth at Paducah,…

The Tennessee Daughters of the American Revolution are represented in Washington, D.C., by the Tennessee Room of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Museum. It is located in Memorial Continental Hall, a National Historic Landmark constructed between 1904 and…

In 1998 the Tennessee Scenic Rivers Act celebrated its thirtieth anniversary. The Tennessee program, a pioneering effort, was the second state river conservation program in the nation (Wisconsin was the first, but Tennessee's program was the more comprehensive). The Scenic…

In 1925 a group of high school administrators attending a meeting of the Tennessee State Teachers' Association in Nashville organized the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA). Commonly known as TSSAA, the Association exists "to stimulate and regulate the athletic…

Robert Latendresse began Tennessee Shell Company in Camden in 1954 to ship Tennessee mollusk shells to Japan. There the shells were cut, ground into round beads, and inserted by Japanese pearl farmers into mollusks in Japan's waters to be the…

The Tennessee Supreme Court decided in 1993 that the system of financing public education in Tennessee violated the provisions of the Tennessee Constitution guaranteeing equal protection of the law to all citizens. The court held that the Tennessee General Assembly…

The cornerstone of the Tennessee State Capitol was laid on July 4, 1845. William Strickland designed the building and supervised construction until his death in April 1854. Two architects assisted in its completion. Strickland's son, Francis, served as architect for…

Although recommended as early as the 1870s, a state forest system received its first impetus in 1900 when President William McKinley asked for a report on the natural resources of the Southern Appalachians, including Tennessee. In response to the report's…

Public Chapter 15 of the Public Acts of 1941 created the Tennessee State Guard. An earlier state guard existed during the Reconstruction era but had lapsed. State officials resurrected the concept of a state guard as part of their home-front…

The Tennessee State Library and Archives (TSLA) collects and preserves books and records of historical, documentary, and reference value and encourages and promotes library development throughout the state. It is the state agency responsible for preserving materials which document Tennessee's…

The Tennessee State Museum is devoted to collecting, preserving, and interpreting objects related to the history and culture of Tennessee. These items generally are conserved and displayed at the museum's main facility at the James K. Polk Center in downtown…

Interest in the construction of a penitentiary dates back to 1815, when a state Senate committee recommended construction of the structure using funds obtained through public subscription. This effort failed, and political infighting in the general assembly over the penitentiary…

Tennessee is divided into thirty-three state senatorial districts from which the members of the upper house of the Tennessee General Assembly are elected. Senators serve four-year terms, with those from even-numbered districts being elected in the same general election, and…

Tennessee is particularly rich in official state symbols. As of 1998 the list includes the flag, capitol and seal, two birds, two flowers, two fish, two rocks, two trees, eight songs, a poem, four insects, a reptile, an amphibian, a…

Opened in 1912, Tennessee State University (TSU) has become one of Tennessee's most recognized public higher education institutions, both nationally and internationally. Its athletes, including Ralph Boston, Wyomia Tyus, and Wilma G. Rudolph, have won twenty-nine medals in the Olympic…

Tennessee's first constitution did not create a state supreme court. The Constitution of 1796 provided only for "such superior and inferior courts" as the legislature should create, with the judges to be elected by the general assembly to serve "during…

In 1915, following an intense lobbying effort on the part of Putnam County's state representatives, the general assembly chartered Tennessee Polytechnic Institute (TPI), located on the grounds of Dixie College in Cookeville. Established in 1909 by the Church of Christ,…

Previously established in Houston, Texas, as the Houston Oilers, the Tennessee Titans, the first National Football League (NFL) team to be based in Tennessee, secured a move to Nashville in 1996 after reaching an agreement with the city that included,…