Tullahoma, Tennessee
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tullahoma is a city in Coffee County and Franklin County, Tennessee, in the south-central part of the state. The population was 17,994 at the 2000 census. The 2005 census estimate is 18,909. It is the central city of the Tullahoma micropolitan area, which consists of Coffee, Franklin, and Moore counties and is the second largest micropolitan area in Tennessee after the Cookeville micropolitan area.
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[edit] History
Tullahoma was founded in 1852 as a work camp along the new Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad. Its name is generally thought to be taken from a local Native American language, and might mean something like "red dirt." An alternative explanation (see Sam Davis Elliott's Soldier of Tennessee and sources cited therein) of the name is that Peter Decherd, who donated the land for the railroad right-of-way (and was therefore given the right to name two stations along the line), named one station Decherd, and the other Tulkahoma (later corrupted to Tullahoma). Tulkahoma was the name of Decherd's favorite horse, which was itself named for an Indian chief his grandfather had captured. Whatever the origin, Tullahoma is one of the few places in the world which does not share its name with any other place.
The town became highly significant during the Civil War, and served as the headquarters for the Confederate Army of Tennessee in 1863. The campaign of that year, which ultimately delivered control of Middle Tennessee to the Union and opened the door to Atlanta, is known as the Tullahoma Campaign.
Tullahoma was then still little more than a rough outpost, with no paved streets. 1863 was a wet year, and the place became known to the bedraggled troops of both sides as a place of endless mud. One witty officer on Union General William Hardee's staff is said to have written his own account of the origin of the name: "It is from two Greek words - 'Tulla' meaning mud, and 'Homa,' meaning more mud." The selection and use of Tullahoma as a headquarters by Confederate General Braxton Bragg has since been much criticized by military historians. Although the location was strategic with regard to the road and rail network, it had no strong natural defenses and little was done to fortify it during Bragg's occupation. Eventually the town was evacuated without a battle.
After the war, Tullahoma recovered slowly, but began to prosper from its vital railroad link. During this period, Tullahoma became renowned for its educational facilities, a rarity in the area at the time. At the turn of the 20th century, Tullahoma became a popular health destination, with many spas across town. Manufacturing grew up in the area, notably of shoes, clothing, and sporting goods. In 1924, the General Shoe Corporation was established there, which would eventually grow into Genesco Inc., a diversified apparel firm which is Tennessee's oldest listed firm on the New York Stock Exchange. In 1939, U.S. Highway 41A was built through town, giving Tullahoma access to Nashville and Chattanooga.
In the early to mid-20th century, the area benefited from considerable federal investment and development, from the Tennessee Valley Authority to the establishment of Camp Forrest, an infantry training center and later POW camp, and Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC), where the Air Force and NASA did early wind tunnel testing. Later the state located two significant institutions of higher learning there, Motlow State Community College, and the University of Tennessee's Space Institute.
Today manufacturing is a smaller part of the Tullahoma economy, but the town's growth has been steady, although slow, based on a mixture of education, services, tourism, and retail. The presence of AEDC and the Space Institute, combined with a convenient proximity to the aerospace center of Huntsville, Alabama, has bred a small but thriving aeronautical industry as well.
[edit] Geography
Tullahoma is located at (35.368511, -86.213258)GR1. It sits on the edge of the Highland Rim, where the topography is somewhat flatter than in the surrounding area. The region was known as the Pine Barrens to the first settlers.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 57.8 km² (22.3 mi²). 57.6 km² (22.2 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.45%) is water.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 17,994 people, 7,336 households, and 5,039 families residing in the city. The 2004 census estimate population is 18,677, making Tullahoma one of Tennessee's slowest growing cities. The population density was 312.5/km² (809.6/mi²). There were 7,890 housing units at an average density of 137.0/km² (355.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 89.69% White, 6.76% African American, 0.28% Native American, 1.01% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.64% from other races, and 1.57% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.71% of the population.
There were 7,336 households out of which 32.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.9% were married couples living together, 13.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.3% were non-families. 27.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.94.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.4% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 16.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 90.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $34,119, and the median income for a family was $39,797. Males had a median income of $33,662 versus $20,962 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,002. About 14.2% of families and 17.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.0% of those under age 18 and 13.0% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Trivia
A famous brand of whiskey, George Dickel, has its roots in Tullahoma. Additionally, Jack Daniel's whiskey is distilled 11 miles southwest of Tullahoma in neighboring Lynchburg.
Tullahoma celebrated its 150th (sesquicentennial) anniversary on October 4th, 2002.
Tullahoma High School "Wildcat" athletic teams compete in the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA) in public school divisions. The Tullahoma Wildcat Football Team is currently in the 4A classification while all other team sports compete in 3A.
Tullahoma High School Alumni include former NFL QB Steve Matthews, former NFL LB Antonio London, actor DJ Qualls (who did not graduate from this high school), Red Sox draft pick OF Tony Sheffield, 3rd Overall pick in the 2001 MLB draft Dewon Brazelton, former Giants minor leaguer Gary Phillips, former Mariners minor leaguer Marshall Nisbett, 2006 Dodgers 1st round draft pick Bryan Morris, Tennessee House of Representatives member Judd Matheny, and actress Samantha Burton, star of The Sandlot 2.
Professional wrestler Jimmy Valiant known as "The Boogie Woogie Man" and "Handsome" Jimmy Valiant and former Tennessee governor Isham G. Harris were both born "near" Tullahoma.
Tullahoma is the only city in the regional area to maintain tornado sirens, which the city activates when the National Weather Service issues tornado warnings.
[edit] External links
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
[edit] General
[edit] History
- Eyewitness account of the Tullahoma Campaign
- Logistical aspects of the Tullahoma Campaign
- The Tullahoma Campaign in the Tennessee Encyclopedia
[edit] Economy
- NASA contract won by Tullahoma corporation
- Middle Tennessee Industrial Development Assoc.'s Tullahoma fact sheet (PDF)
