Editing Dandridge, Tennessee (section)

==History==
In the 16th century, a substantial [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] chiefdom known as [[Chiaha]] was located on Zimmerman's Island, just southwest of Dandridge along the [[French Broad River]]. Spanish explorer [[Hernando de Soto]] spent several weeks at Chiaha in 1540, and [[Juan Pardo (explorer)|Juan Pardo]] built a small fort near the chiefdom's main village in 1567. Both expeditions were en route to the chiefdom of [[Coosa chiefdom|Coosa]] in what is now [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]. Zimmerman's Island is now submerged by Douglas Lake.<ref>Charles Hudson, ''The Juan Pardo Expeditions: Explorations of the Carolinas and Tennessee, 1566-1568'' (Tuscaloosa, Ala.: University of Alabama Press, 2005), 36-40.</ref>

[[File:View of town of Dandridge, Tennessee 1938.jpg|left|210px|thumb|Dandridge in 1938]]

The first Euro-American settlers arrived in Dandridge in 1783. In 1793, the town was officially named the county seat of Jefferson County, which had been created the previous year.<ref>Estle Muncy, "[http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=703 Jefferson County]."  ''The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture'', 2002.  Retrieved: February 18, 2008.</ref> The town was named for [[Martha Dandridge Washington]], the wife of [[George Washington|the first president of the United States]].<ref name="tnhillbillie.net" /><ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9V1IAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA99 | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | pages=99}}</ref>

On December 24, 1863, at the height of the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], a skirmish occurred at Dandridge as [[Confederate States Army|Confederate]] General [[James Longstreet]] and [[Union Army|Union]] General [[Ambrose Burnside]] struggled for control of [[Knoxville, Tennessee|Knoxville]]. As Longstreet's army retreated to [[Morristown, Tennessee|Morristown]], a detachment of his army intercepted and routed a pursuing Union brigade just north of Dandridge. The Union troops were forced to fall back to [[New Market, Tennessee|New Market]].<ref>Tennessee Historical Commission Marker IC 49 on the Jefferson County Courthouse lawn in Dandridge. Information accessed: February 17, 2008.</ref>

The construction of [[Douglas Dam]] on the French Broad River in 1942 proposed to flood almost all of downtown Dandridge, which was situated below the proposed reservoir's high-water mark. Residents of the town successfully petitioned then First Lady [[Eleanor Roosevelt]], pointing out that Dandridge was the only town in the United States named for the wife of George Washington. The [[Tennessee Valley Authority]] constructed a levee between downtown Dandridge and the reservoir.  The levee rises almost immediately behind the Town Hall, and runs roughly parallel to Main Street.<ref>Derek Hodges, "[http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18823161 Construction, Spurred by War Efforts, Broke Records] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608020121/http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18823161 |date=2011-06-08 }}."  The Mountain Press, September 17, 2007.  Retrieved: February 18, 2008.</ref>

In 1975, [[Interstate 40 in Tennessee|Interstate 40]] would be completed north of Dandridge, prompting town officials to [[Municipal annexation in the United States|annex]] the corridor of I-40 at exit 417 where it shares an interchange with [[Tennessee State Route 92|SR 92]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ellis |first1=Lisa |title=Dandridge |date=March 21, 2011 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |location=[[Charleston, South Carolina|Charleston]] |isbn=9781439626689 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XV1SzK4hgmcC |access-date=February 20, 2021 |language=English |format=E-book}}</ref>

In 2015, the Town of Dandridge began efforts to revitalize its downtown area and its waterfront.<ref name="plans">{{cite news |last1=Butera |first1=Steve |title=Plans in gear to develop Dandridge waterfront |url=http://hamblen.wbir.com/news/news/652642-plans-gear-develop-dandridge-waterfront |access-date=July 31, 2020 |work=[[WBIR-TV]] |date=October 1, 2014}}</ref> These plans include a public dock across the SR 92 bridge in Dandridge on TWRA owned land, improved bicycle and pedestrian access, a floating amphitheater, civic space, a swimming area, a farmer's market pavilion, commercial development space, and a hotel-conference center.<ref name="unveil">{{cite news |title=Dandridge unveils plans for waterfront development |url=https://www.wbir.com/article/news/dandridge-unveils-plans-for-waterfront-development/51-229756531 |access-date=July 31, 2020 |work=[[WBIR-TV]] |date=May 4, 2015}}</ref><ref name="master">{{cite web |last1=Thompson Engineering |last2=Town of Dandridge |title=Dandridge TN Waterfront Master Plan |url=https://issuu.com/townofdandridgetn/docs/dandridge-waterfront-master-plan |website=Issuu |access-date=July 31, 2020}}</ref><ref name="pedestrian">{{cite web |title=CORE OF DANDRIDGE PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE MASTER PLAN |url=https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/dantdot/long-range-planning/Dandridge_report_091416_with-Appendices.pdf |website=[[Tennessee Department of Transportation]] |access-date=July 31, 2020 |date=2016 }}</ref> The project is expected to be complete in the early to mid 2020s.<ref name="unveil"/>