Posted
on June 1, 2016
Kentucky
used to be a part of Virginia; it was Kentucky County, Virginia. In
the 1780s and early 1790s, the residents petitioned to separate from
Virginia and become their own state.
Finally, on this date in 1792,
that's exactly what happened.
Kentucky
is the 15th state.
Parts
of Tennessee were once in the state of North Carolina, but they broke
off and formed the State of Franklin. However, the residents'
attempts to join the U.S. as the State of Franklin were turned down,
and the various break-away counties ended up rejoining North
Carolina. However, North Carolina pretty much said, “We don't want
you anymore!” because it ceded the area to the U.S. government. It
was then set up as the Southwest Territory. On this date in 1796,
Tennessee became the 16th state of the United States.
Here
is some of what makes these two states special:
Kentucky
is called the bluegrass state,
because it has so many pastures covered with bluegrass.
It's
also known for horse racing and bluegrass music.
It
has the world's longest cave system, Mammoth Cave National Park.
It
is known for Kentucky Fried
Chicken!
It
has more miles of navigable water than any other state, other than
Alaska. “Navigable” means that the water is deep, wide, and slow
enough for a vessel (a ship or boat) to pass. Some rivers have rocky
sections that are too shallow, too fast, too bumpy for even kayaks to
safely pass, and most vessels cannot safely traverse most waterfalls.
It
features the only place in the Western Hemisphere where a moon-ow can
be regularly seen: Cumberland Falls.
It
features a natural sandstone arch that looks a lot like a human-built
bridge.
Tennessee
is partially covered by the
Appalachian Mountains and features portions of the Appalachian Trail
and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
It
is also known for “American music,” with Nashville and
Memphis...Opryland and Dollywood...the Country Music Hall of Fame and
Museum, the Memphis Rock N' Soul Museum, and the Rockabilly Hall of
Fame...Ryman Auditorium (formerly Grand Ole Opry House) and Elvis
Presley's Graceland. Country music is huge in Nashville, and Memphis
is considered to be the birthplace or at least early shaper of blues,
rock and roll, and rockabilly.
It
features the largest underground lake in the U.S.
It
is the birthplace of Moon Pies and cotton candy machines.
Tennessee
ties with Missouri in sharing its border with the most other states.
They each touch eight other states. Can you name all eight that
border Tennessee?
ANSWER:
Tennessee shares a border with Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina,
Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Missouri.
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on this date:
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