Guest Author - Beth Green

Tennessee became the 16th state of the Union on June 1, 1796.

The name Tennessee was derived from the word “Tanasi”, the name for Cherokee Indian villages.

Kingston, Knoxville, and Murfreesboro were all temporary capitals of Tennessee. Nashville was named the official capital of the state on October 7, 1843.

The Tennessee flag is a crimson field with three stars in a circle on a blue background. The three stars represent the mountains, highlands and lowlands of Tennessee.

The state nickname is the Volunteer State, which was adopted during the War of 1812. The name was chosen because of the valor displayed by volunteer soldiers from Tennessee during the Battle of New Orleans.

The state motto is Agriculture and Commerce.

The Mockingbird is the state bird of Tennessee. Best known for its song, the Mockingbird is skilled in sound imitation, and can mimic around 40 different sounds and songs of other birds. The Mockingbird is gray, with a while belly, wing patches and tail feathers. Mockingbirds can be up to 9 inches long.

There are several colors of the cultivated flower, the Iris, but the purple Iris is widely recognized as the state flower of Tennessee. It was adopted as the state flower in 1933.

Two insects, the firefly and the ladybug, have been named the state insects.

The state gem is the Tennessee River Pearl. River pearls are taken from fresh-water mussels.

The Tulip Poplar is the official state tree of Tennessee. The tree was named the state tree in 1947, and was used by pioneers to build houses, barns and other buildings. The trees can reach 200 feet tall; have brownish-gray bark, smooth broad leaves, and green-orange tulip-like flowers.

Tennessee has such a rich musical history that it has five state songs. These songs are “When It’s Iris Time in Tennessee”, “My Homeland, Tennessee”, “My Tennessee”, “Tennessee Waltz”, and “Rocky Top”.

The 45th Vice President of the United States, Al Gore, lived in Carthage, Tennessee. One of the most famous residents of Tennessee was Elvis Presley, who lived in Memphis.

Other famous Tennessee residents include frontiersman Davy Crockett (Green County); actor Morgan Freeman (Memphis); actress Cybill Shepherd (Memphis); and many singers, including Aretha Franklin (Memphis), Tina Turner (Brownville), Dolly Parton (Sevierville), and Lester Flatt (Overton County), among others.