Editing Knoxville, Tennessee (section)

==History==
{{Main|History of Knoxville, Tennessee}}
{{For timeline}}

===Early history===
The first people to form substantial settlements in what is now Knoxville were indigenous people who arrived during the [[Woodland period]] ({{c.}} 1000 B.C. to 1000 A.D.).<ref name="Fletcher Jolly III 1976">Fletcher Jolly III, "40KN37: An Early Woodland Habitation Site in Knox County, Tennessee", ''Tennessee Archaeologist'' 31, nos. 1–2 (1976), 51.</ref> One of the oldest artificial structures in Knoxville is a [[University of Tennessee Agriculture Farm Mound|burial mound]] constructed during the early [[Mississippian culture]] period ({{c.}} 1000–1400 A.D.). The earthwork mound has been preserved, but the campus of the University of Tennessee developed around it.<ref>Frank H. McClung Museum, "[http://mcclungmuseum.utk.edu/permanent/native/woodland.shtml Woodland Period] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120412122905/http://mcclungmuseum.utk.edu/permanent/native/woodland.shtml |date=April 12, 2012 }}". Retrieved: March 25, 2008.</ref>

Other prehistoric sites include an Early Woodland habitation area at the confluence of the Tennessee River and Knob Creek (near the [[Knox County, Tennessee|Knox]]–[[Blount County, Tennessee|Blount]] county line),<ref name="Fletcher Jolly III 1976"/> and [[Dallas phase]] Mississippian villages at Post Oak Island (also along the river near the Knox–Blount line),<ref>James Strange, "An Unusual Late Prehistoric Pipe from Post Oak Island (40KN23)", ''Tennessee Archaeologist'' 30, no. 1 (1974), 80.</ref> and at [[Bussell Island]] (at the mouth of the [[Little Tennessee River]] near [[Lenoir City, Tennessee|Lenoir City]]).<ref>Richard Polhemus, ''The Toqua Site—40MR6'', Vol. I (Norris, Tenn.: Tennessee Valley Authority, 1987), 1240-1246.</ref>

By the 18th century, the [[Cherokee]], an [[Iroquoian language]] people, had become the dominant tribe in the East Tennessee region; they are believed to have migrated centuries before from the [[Great Lakes region]]. They were frequently at war with the [[Muscogee|Creek]] and [[Shawnee]].<ref>Cora Tula Watters, "Shawnee". ''The Encyclopedia of Appalachia'' (Knoxville, Tenn.: University of Tennessee Press, 2006), 278–279.</ref><ref>Ima Stephens, "Creek", ''The Encyclopedia of Appalachia'' (Knoxville, Tenn.: University of Tennessee Press, 2006), 252–253.</ref> The Cherokee people called the Knoxville area ''kuwanda'talun'yi'', which means "mulberry place".<ref>[[James Mooney]], ''Myths of the Cherokee and Sacred Formulas of the Cherokee'' (Nashville: Charles Elder, 1972—reprint from 1891 and 1900), 526.</ref> Most Cherokee habitation in the area was concentrated in what the American colonists called the [[Overhill Cherokee|Overhill settlements]] along the [[Little Tennessee River]], southwest of Knoxville.

The first white traders and explorers were recorded as arriving in the [[Tennessee Valley]] in the late 17th century. There is significant evidence that Spanish explorer [[Hernando de Soto (explorer)|Hernando de Soto]] visited Bussell Island in 1540.<ref>[[Jefferson Chapman]], ''Tellico Archaeology: 12,000 Years of Native American History'' (Norris, Tenn.: Tennessee Valley Authority, 1985), 97.</ref> The first major recorded Euro-American presence in the Knoxville area was the [[Timberlake Expedition]], which passed through the confluence of the [[Holston River|Holston]] and [[French Broad River|French Broad]] into the Tennessee River in December 1761. [[Henry Timberlake]], an Anglo-American emissary from the [[Thirteen Colonies]] to the Overhill settlements, recalled being pleased by the deep waters of the Tennessee after his party had struggled down the relatively shallow Holston for several weeks.<ref>Henry Timberlake, Samuel Williams (ed.), ''Memoirs, 1756–1765'' (Marietta, Georgia: Continental Book Co., 1948), 54.</ref>

===Settlement===
[[File:James White's Fort 20.jpg|thumb|[[James White's Fort]] in downtown Knoxville]]
The end of the [[French and Indian War]] and confusion brought about by the [[American Revolutionary War|American Revolution]] led to a drastic increase in Euro-American settlement west of the [[Appalachian Mountains]].<ref>William MacArthur, ''Knoxville, Crossroads of the New South'' (Tulsa, Okla.: Continental Heritage Press, 1982), 1-15.</ref> By the 1780s, white settlers were already established in the Holston and French Broad valleys. The U.S. Congress ordered all illegal settlers out of the valley in 1785 but with little success. As settlers continued to trickle into Cherokee lands, tensions between the settlers and the Cherokee rose steadily.<ref>Yong Kim, ''The Sevierville Hill Site: A Civil War Union Encampment on the Southern Heights of Knoxville, Tennessee'' (Knoxville, Tenn.: University of Tennessee Transportation Center, 1993), 9.</ref>

In 1786, [[James White (general)|James White]], a [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]] officer, and his friend James Connor built [[James White's Fort|White's Fort]] near the mouth of First Creek, on land White had purchased three years earlier.<ref name="ReferenceA">Kim, ''The Sevierville Hill Site'', 9.</ref> In 1790, White's son-in-law, [[Charles McClung]]—who had arrived from Pennsylvania the previous year—surveyed White's holdings between First Creek and Second Creek for the establishment of a town. McClung drew up sixty-four {{convert|0.5|acre|adj=on}} lots. The waterfront was set aside for a town common. Two lots were set aside for a church and graveyard (First Presbyterian Church, founded 1792). Four lots were set aside for a school. That school was eventually chartered as Blount College and it served as the starting point for the [[University of Tennessee]], which uses Blount College's founding date of 1794 as its own.

In 1790, President [[George Washington]] appointed North Carolina surveyor [[William Blount]] governor of the newly created [[Territory South of the River Ohio]]. One of Blount's first tasks was to meet with the Cherokee and establish territorial boundaries and resolve the issue of illegal settlers.<ref>MacArthur, 17.</ref> This he accomplished almost immediately with the [[Treaty of Holston]], which was negotiated and signed at White's Fort in 1791. Blount originally wanted to place the territorial capital at the confluence of the [[Clinch River]] and Tennessee River (now [[Kingston, Tennessee|Kingston]]), but when the Cherokee refused to cede this land, Blount chose White's Fort. Blount named the new capital Knoxville after Revolutionary War General and Secretary of War [[Henry Knox]], who at the time was Blount's immediate superior.<ref>William MacArthur, Jr., ''Knoxville: Crossroads of the New South'' (Tulsa, Oklahoma: Continental Heritage Press, 1982), 17-22.</ref>

Problems immediately arose from the Holston Treaty. Blount believed that he had "purchased" much of what is now East Tennessee when the treaty was signed in 1791. However, the terms of the treaty came under dispute, culminating in ongoing violence on both sides. When the government invited Cherokee chief [[Hanging Maw]] for negotiations in 1793, Knoxville settlers attacked the Cherokee against orders, killing the chief's wife. Peace was renegotiated in 1794.<ref>G. H. Stueckrath, "[http://www.knoxcotn.org/history/debow.html Incidents in the Early Settlement of East Tennessee and Knoxville] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090401050724/http://www.knoxcotn.org/history/debow.html |date=April 1, 2009 }}". Originally published in ''De Bow's Review'' Vol. XXVII (October 1859), O.S. Enlarged Series. Vol. II, No. 4, N.S. Pages 407-419. Transcribed for web content by Billie McNamara, 1999–2002. Retrieved: February 25, 2008.</ref>

===Antebellum era===
[[File:Craighead-Jackson House 01.jpg|thumb|The [[Craighead-Jackson House]] in Knoxville, built in 1818]]

Knoxville served as capital of the Southwest Territory and as capital of Tennessee (admitted as a state in 1796) until 1817,<ref name="ReferenceA"/> when the capital was moved to [[Murfreesboro, Tennessee|Murfreesboro]]. Early Knoxville has been described as an "alternately quiet and rowdy river town".<ref name="wheeler"/> Early issues of the ''[[The Knoxville Gazette|Knoxville Gazette]]''—the first newspaper published in Tennessee—are filled with accounts of murder, theft, and hostile Cherokee attacks. Abishai Thomas, a friend of William Blount, visited Knoxville in 1794 and wrote that, while he was impressed by the town's modern frame buildings, the town had "seven taverns" and no church.<ref>MacArthur, ''Knoxville: Crossroads of the New South'', 23.</ref>

Knoxville initially thrived as a way station for travelers and migrants heading west. Its location at the confluence of three major rivers in the Tennessee Valley brought [[flatboat]] and later [[steamboat]] traffic to its waterfront in the first half of the 19th century, and Knoxville quickly developed into a regional merchandising center. Local agricultural products—especially tobacco, corn, and whiskey—were traded for cotton, which was grown in the [[Deep South]].<ref name="ReferenceA"/> The population of Knoxville more than doubled in the 1850s with the arrival of the [[East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad]] in 1855.<ref name="wheeler"/>

Among the most prominent citizens of Knoxville during the Antebellum years was James White's son, [[Hugh Lawson White]] (1773–1840). White first served as a judge and state senator, before being nominated by the state legislature to replace [[Andrew Jackson]] in the U.S. Senate in 1825. In 1836, White ran unsuccessfully for president, representing the [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig Party]].<ref>Jonathan Atkins, "[http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=1497 Hugh Lawson White] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170702071628/http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=1497 |date=July 2, 2017 }}". ''The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture'', 2002. Retrieved: February 26, 2008.</ref>

===American Civil War===
{{Main|Knoxville Campaign}}

{{See also|Battle of Fort Sanders}}
[[File:Charles-douglas-shooting-1862.jpg|thumb|right|Engraving of a Confederate soldier firing at Union supporter Charles Douglas on Gay Street in Knoxville in late 1861]]
Anti-slavery and anti-secession sentiment ran high in East Tennessee in the years leading up to the Civil War. [[Parson Brownlow|William "Parson" Brownlow]], the radical publisher of the [[Brownlow's Whig|Knoxville Whig]], was one of the region's leading anti-secessionists (although he strongly defended the practice of slavery).<ref>Forrest Conklin, "[http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=150 William Gannaway "Parson" Brownlow] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303210116/http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=150 |date=March 3, 2016 }}". ''The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture'', 2002. Retrieved: February 27, 2008.</ref> Blount County, just south of Knoxville, had developed into a center of abolitionist activity, due in part to its relatively large [[Quakers|Quaker]] faction and the anti-slavery president of [[Maryville College]], Isaac Anderson.<ref>Durwood Dunn, ''Cades Cove: The Life and Death of An Appalachian Community'' (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1988), 125.</ref> The [[Greater Warner Tabernacle AME Zion Church, Knoxville|Greater Warner Tabernacle AME Zion Church]] was reportedly a station on the [[Underground Railroad]].<ref>Knoxville-Knox County Metropolitan Planning Commission, "[http://www.knoxmpc.org/historic/areas/citylist.htm Designated Properties: Knoxville Historic Zoning Commission] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070712083132/http://www.knoxmpc.org/historic/areas/citylist.htm |date=July 12, 2007 }}". Retrieved: February 27, 2008.</ref>

Business interests, however, guided largely by Knoxville's trade connections with cotton-growing centers to the south, contributed to the development of a strong pro-secession movement within the city. The city's pro-secessionists included among their ranks [[J. G. M. Ramsey]], a prominent historian whose father had built the [[Ramsey House (Knox County, Tennessee)|Ramsey House]] in 1797.

Thus, while East Tennessee and greater Knox County voted decisively against secession in 1861, the city of Knoxville favored secession by a 2–1 margin. In late May 1861, just before the secession vote, delegates of the [[East Tennessee Convention]] met at Temperance Hall in Knoxville in hopes of keeping Tennessee in the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]]. After Tennessee voted to secede in June, the convention met in [[Greeneville, Tennessee|Greeneville]] and attempted to create a separate Union-aligned state in East Tennessee.<ref>MacArthur, ''Knoxville: Crossroads of the New South'', 42-44.</ref><ref>Eric Lacy, ''Vanquished Volunteers: East Tennessee Sectionalism from Statehood to Secession'' (Johnson City, Tenn.: East Tennessee State University Press, 1965), pp. 217–233.</ref>

[[File:SiegeofKnoxville.jpg|thumb|left|Photograph showing the aftermath of the siege of Knoxville, December 1863]]

[[File:Holstontreaty.JPG|thumb|Statue representing the signing of the Treaty of the Holston in downtown Knoxville]]In July 1861, after Tennessee had joined the [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]], General [[Felix Zollicoffer]] arrived in Knoxville as commander of the District of East Tennessee. While initially lenient toward the city's Union sympathizers, Zollicoffer instituted [[martial law]] in November, after pro-Union guerrillas [[East Tennessee bridge burnings|burned seven of the city's bridges]]. The command of the district passed briefly to [[George B. Crittenden|George Crittenden]] and then to [[Edmund Kirby Smith|Kirby Smith]], who launched an [[Confederate Heartland Offensive|unsuccessful invasion of Kentucky]] in August 1862. In early 1863, General [[Simon Bolivar Buckner|Simon Buckner]] took command of Confederate forces in Knoxville. Anticipating a Union invasion, Buckner fortified Fort Loudon (in West Knoxville, not to be confused with the [[Fort Loudoun (Tennessee)|colonial fort]] to the southwest) and began constructing earthworks throughout the city. However, the approach of stronger Union forces under [[Ambrose Burnside]] in the summer of 1863 forced Buckner to evacuate Knoxville before the earthworks were completed.<ref>Kim, ''The Sevierville Hill Site'', 10.</ref>

Burnside arrived in early September 1863, beginning the [[Knoxville campaign]]. Like the Confederates, he immediately began fortifying the city. The Union forces rebuilt Fort Loudon and erected 12 other forts and batteries flanked by entrenchments around the city. Burnside moved a pontoon bridge upstream from [[Loudon, Tennessee|Loudon]], allowing Union forces to cross the river and to build a series of forts along the heights of south Knoxville, including Fort Stanley and Fort Dickerson.<ref>Kim, ''The Sevierville Hill Site'', 10-12.</ref>

As Burnside was fortifying Knoxville, a Confederate army under [[Braxton Bragg]] defeated Union forces under [[William Rosecrans]] at the [[Battle of Chickamauga]] (near the Tennessee-Georgia line) and laid siege to [[Chattanooga, Tennessee|Chattanooga]]. On November 3, 1863, the Confederates sent General [[James Longstreet]] to attack Burnside at Knoxville and prevent him from reinforcing the Union at Chattanooga. Longstreet wanted to attack the city from the south, but lacking the necessary pontoon bridges he was forced to cross the river further downstream at Loudon on November 14 and march against the city's heavily fortified western section. On November 15, General [[Joseph Wheeler]] unsuccessfully attempted to dislodge Union forces in the heights of south Knoxville, and the following day Longstreet failed to cut off retreating Union forces at the [[Battle of Campbell's Station]] (now [[Farragut, Tennessee|Farragut]]).

On November 18, Union General [[William P. Sanders]] was mortally wounded while conducting delaying maneuvers west of Knoxville, and Fort Loudon was renamed Fort Sanders in his honor. On November 29, following a [[Siege of Knoxville|two-week siege]], the Confederates [[Battle of Fort Sanders|attacked Fort Sanders]] but failed after a fierce 20-minute engagement. On December 4, after word of the Confederate [[Chattanooga campaign|defeat at Chattanooga]] reached Longstreet, he broke his siege of Knoxville.<ref>Kim, ''The Sevierville Hill Site'', 15-17.</ref> The Union victories in the Knoxville campaign and at Chattanooga put much of East Tennessee under Union control for the rest of the war.

===Reconstruction and the Industrial Age===
[[File:Knoxville-republic-quarry.jpg|thumb|upright|Early-1900s photograph of the Republic Marble Quarry near Knoxville]]

After the war, northern investors such as brothers Joseph and David Richards helped Knoxville recover relatively quickly. The Richards brothers convinced 104 Welsh immigrant families to migrate from the [[Welsh Tract]] in [[Pennsylvania]] to work in a rolling mill. These Welsh families settled in an area now known as [[Mechanicsville, Knoxville|Mechanicsville]].<ref name=atkin>[http://caloncymreig.tnhillbillie.net/content/view/89/32/ The Old Atkin Street Church and Knoxville's Welsh Community] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130413204148/http://caloncymreig.tnhillbillie.net/content/view/89/32/ |date=April 13, 2013 }}. Originally published in the ''Knoxville Journal and Tribune''. Retrieved: September 7, 2010.</ref> The Richards brothers also co-founded the Knoxville Iron Works beside the [[L&N Railroad]], also employing Welsh workers. Later, the site was used as the grounds for the [[1982 World's Fair]].<ref name="hindsight">{{cite web |last=Neely |first=Jack |title=1982 World's Fair in Hindsight |url=https://knoxvillehistoryproject.org/1982-worlds-fair-in-hindsight/ |website=Knoxville History Project |access-date=April 22, 2022 |date=April 2022 |archive-date=May 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220522222415/https://knoxvillehistoryproject.org/1982-worlds-fair-in-hindsight/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Knoxville-knitting-works-1910.jpg|thumb|left|Child labor at Knoxville Knitting Works, photographed by [[Lewis Wickes Hine]] in 1910]]

Other companies that sprang up during this period were Knoxville Woolen Mills, Dixie Cement, and Woodruff's Furniture. Between 1880 and 1887, 97 factories were established in Knoxville, most of them specializing in textiles, food products, and iron products.<ref name=wheelereoa>William Bruce Wheeler, "Knoxville, Tennessee". ''The Encyclopedia of Appalachia'' (Knoxville, Tenn.: University of Tennessee Press, 2006), 375.</ref> By the 1890s, Knoxville was home to more than 50 wholesaling houses, making it the third largest wholesaling center by volume in the South.<ref name=wheelereoa/> The [[Candoro Marble Works]], established in the community of Vestal in 1914, became the nation's foremost producer of [[Tennessee marble|pink marble]] and one of the nation's largest marble importers.<ref>Linda Snodgrass, "[http://notes.utk.edu/bio/unistudy.nsf/7332b42094ea15f685256bbc005814ba/c48e4cd3bc2fbf1185256bc0006da6ee The Candoro Marble Works] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090628100005/http://notes.utk.edu/bio/unistudy.nsf/7332b42094ea15f685256bbc005814ba/c48e4cd3bc2fbf1185256bc0006da6ee |date=June 28, 2009 }}". 2000. Retrieved: February 28, 2008.</ref> In 1896, Knoxville celebrated its achievements by creating its own flag.<ref>Found in Knoxville City Code of Ordinances Chapter 1, Section 1-12 www.knoxvilletn.gov/government/city_ordinances_charter</ref> The [[Flag of Knoxville, Tennessee]] represents the city's progressive growth due to agriculture and industry.<ref>"Statement as to the Adoption of the Knoxville City Flag", November 6, 1896, Knoxville Minute Book, Book L, p.380.</ref>

In 1869, Thomas Humes, a Union sympathizer and president of East Tennessee University, secured federal post-war damage reimbursement and state-designated [[Morrill Land-Grant Acts|Morrill Act]] funding to expand the college, which had been occupied by both armies during the war. [[Charles William Dabney|Charles Dabney]], who became president of the university in 1887, overhauled the faculty and established a law school in an attempt to modernize the scope of the university. In 1879, the state changed its name to the University of Tennessee, at the request of the trustees, who hoped to secure more funding from the Tennessee state legislature.<ref name="The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, 2002">Milton Klein, "[http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=1429 University of Tennessee] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110830171619/http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=1429|date=August 30, 2011}}". ''The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, 2002. Retrieved: February 28, 2008.''</ref>

The post-war manufacturing boom brought thousands of immigrants to the city. The population of Knoxville grew from around 5,000 in 1860 to 32,637 in 1900. West Knoxville was annexed in 1897, and over 5,000 new homes were built between 1895 and 1904.<ref name=wheeler>W. Bruce Wheeler, "[http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=745 Knoxville] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120427042406/http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=745 |date=April 27, 2012 }}". ''The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture'', 2002. Retrieved: February 28, 2008.</ref> In 1901, train robber [[Harvey Logan|Kid Curry]] (whose real name was Harvey Logan), a member of [[Butch Cassidy]]'s [[Wild Bunch]] was captured after shooting two deputies on Knoxville's Central Avenue. He escaped from the Knoxville jail and rode away on a horse stolen from the sheriff.<ref name="kidcurry">{{cite news |title=Butch Cassidy partner 'Kid Curry' earned Knoxville notoriety |url=https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/local/2018/06/26/butch-cassidy-partner-kid-curry-earned-knoxville-notoriety/735411002/ |access-date=July 10, 2022 |work=[[Knoxville News Sentinel]] |date=June 27, 2018}}</ref>

===Progressive Era and the Great Depression===
[[File:kingstonpike.jpg|thumb|right|Kingston Pike, {{c.}} 1910, with the former Cherokee Bridge]]

Knoxville hosted the Appalachian Exposition in 1910 and 1911 and the [[National Conservation Exposition]] in 1913. The latter is sometimes credited with giving rise to the movement to create a [[national park]] in the Great Smoky Mountains, some {{convert|20|mi}} south of Knoxville.<ref name="Jack Neely 2006">Jack Neely, "Knoxville, Tennessee". ''The Encyclopedia of Appalachia'' (Knoxville, Tenn.: University of Tennessee Press, 2006), 654.</ref> Around this time, several affluent Knoxvillians began purchasing summer cottages in [[Elkmont, Tennessee|Elkmont]] and began to pursue the park idea more vigorously. They were led by Knoxville businessman Colonel [[David C. Chapman]], who, as head of the Great Smoky Mountains Park Commission, was largely responsible for raising the funds for the purchase of the property that became the core of the park. The [[Great Smoky Mountains National Park]] opened in 1933.<ref>Carlos Campbell, ''Birth of a National Park In the Great Smoky Mountains'' (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1969), 13-18, 32.</ref>

[[File:Knoxville-gay-street-1900s.jpg|thumb|left|Gay Street in the early 1900s]]

Knoxville's reliance on a manufacturing economy left it particularly vulnerable to the effects of the [[Great Depression]]. The Tennessee Valley also suffered from frequent flooding, and millions of acres of farmland had been ruined by soil erosion. To control flooding and improve the economy in the Tennessee Valley, the federal government created the [[Tennessee Valley Authority]] (TVA) in 1933. Beginning with [[Norris Dam]], TVA constructed a series of [[Hydroelectricity|hydroelectric dams]] and other power plants throughout the valley over the next few decades, bringing flood control, jobs, and electricity to the region.<ref name=wheelertva>W. Bruce Wheeler, "[http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=1362 Tennessee Valley Authority] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110830171439/http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=1362 |date=August 30, 2011 }}". ''The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture'', 2002. Retrieved: February 28, 2008.</ref> The Federal [[Works Progress Administration|Works Projects Administration]], which also arrived in the 1930s, helped build [[McGhee Tyson Airport]] and expand [[Neyland Stadium]].<ref name=wheeler/> TVA's headquarters, which consists of twin high rises built in the 1970s, were among Knoxville's first modern high-rise buildings.

In 1947, [[John Gunther]] dubbed Knoxville the "ugliest city" in America in his best-selling book ''[[Inside U.S.A. (book)|Inside U.S.A.]]'' Gunther's description jolted the city into enacting a series of beautification measures that helped improve the appearance of the downtown area.<ref name="Jack Neely 2006"/>

===1982 World's Fair and 20th century===
[[File: Nitrogen determination apparatus, part of research conducted during World War II by the Tennessee Valley Authority and the University of Tennessee, 1942.jpg|thumb|upright|Research laboratory at U.T. in the early 1940s]]
Knoxville's textile and manufacturing industries largely fell victim to foreign competition in the 1950s and 1960s, and after the establishment of the [[Interstate Highway System]] in the 1960s, the railroad—which had been largely responsible for Knoxville's industrial growth—began to decline. The rise of suburban shopping malls in the 1970s drew retail revenues away from Knoxville's downtown area. While government jobs and economic diversification prevented widespread unemployment in Knoxville, the city sought to recover the massive loss of revenue by attempting to annex neighboring communities. Knoxville annexed the communities of [[Bearden, Knoxville|Bearden]] and [[Fountain City, Knoxville|Fountain City]], which were Knoxville's largest [[suburb]]s, in 1962.<ref name="big180">{{cite web |last=Neely |first=Jack |title=THE BIG 1-8-0 |url=https://knoxvillehistoryproject.org/the-big-1-8-0/ |website=The Knoxville History Project |access-date=February 22, 2021}}</ref> Knoxville officials attempted the annexation of the neighboring [[Farragut, Tennessee|Farragut]]-[[Concord, Tennessee|Concord]] community in western Knox County, but the city failed following the [[Municipal corporation|incorporation]] of Farragut in 1980.<ref name="smith40">{{cite web |last=Smith |first=Wendy |title=Farragut at 40 |url=https://www.knoxtntoday.com/farragut-at-40/ |website=KnoxTNToday |access-date=February 22, 2021 |date=January 20, 2020}}</ref> These annexation attempts often turned combative, and several attempts to [[Consolidated city-county|consolidate]] Knoxville and Knox County into a metro government failed, while school boards and the planning commissions would merge on July 1, 1987.<ref name=wheeler/>

[[File:Sterchi.jpg|thumb|left|The Sterchi Lofts building, formerly Sterchi Brothers Furniture store, the most prominent building on Knoxville's "100 Block"]]
[[File:Sunsphere_03.jpg|thumb|upright|The [[Sunsphere]], with riders aboard a nearby sky-lift during the [[1982 World's Fair]]]]
With further annexation attempts stalling, Knoxville initiated several projects aimed at boosting revenue in its downtown area. The [[1982 World's Fair]]—the most successful of these projects, with eleven million visitors—became one of the most popular expositions in U.S. history.<ref name="bie1982">{{Cite web|title=1982 Knoxville|url=https://www.bie-paris.org/site/en/1982-knoxville|access-date=July 12, 2020|website=bie-paris.org}}</ref> The [[Rubik's Cube]] made its debut at this event.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sunsphere history |url=https://www.visitknoxville.com/listing/sunsphere/567/ |website=Knoxville, TN visitor info}}</ref> The fair's energy theme was selected because Knoxville was home to TVA's headquarters and for its proximity to [[Oak Ridge National Laboratory]]. The [[Sunsphere]], a {{convert|266|ft|adj=on}} steel truss structure topped with a gold-colored glass sphere, was built for the fair and remains one of Knoxville's most prominent structures,<ref>W. Bruce Wheeler, "[http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=754 Knoxville World's Fair of 1982] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120427042704/http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=754 |date=April 27, 2012 }}". ''The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History Culture'', 2002. Retrieved: February 28, 2008.</ref> along with the adjacent [[Tennessee Amphitheater]].

During the 1980s and into the 1990s, the city would see one of its largest expansions of its city limits, with a reported 26 square miles of "[[shoestring annexation]]" under the administration of Mayor [[Victor Ashe]]. Ashe's efforts were controversial, largely consisting of annexation of interstate [[Right-of-way (property access)|right-of-ways]], highway-oriented commercial clusters, and residential subdivisions to increase tax revenue for the city. Residents voiced opposition, citing claims of [[urban sprawl]] and government overreach.<ref name="deannex">{{cite web |title=Deannexation option could lead to smaller Tennessee cities |url=https://legallysociable.com/2016/03/17/deannexation-option-could-lead-to-smaller-tennessee-cities/ |website=Legally Sociable |publisher=[[WBIR-TV]] |access-date=October 23, 2021 |date=March 17, 2016}}</ref>

===21st century and economic renaissance===
[[File:Market-square-north-tn1.jpg|thumb|The north end of the Market Square in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA, viewed from the TVA towers courtyard. The square's stage dominates the view at the center. The seven-story Arnstein Building rises top-center.]]
Knoxville's downtown has been developing, with the opening of the [[Women's Basketball Hall of Fame]] and the [[Knoxville Convention Center]], [[Market Square, Knoxville#Decline and revitalization|the redevelopment of Market Square]], a new visitors center, a [[Museum of East Tennessee History|regional history museum]], a [[Regal Entertainment Group|Regal Cinemas]] theater, several restaurants and bars, and many new and redeveloped condominiums. Since 2000, Knoxville has successfully brought business back to the downtown area. The arts in particular have begun to flourish; there are multiple venues for outdoor concerts, and Gay Street hosts a new arts annex and gallery surrounded by many studios and new businesses as well. The [[Bijou Theatre (Knoxville, Tennessee)|Bijou]] and [[Tennessee Theatre]]s underwent renovation, providing an initiative for the city and its developers to re-purpose the old downtown.<ref name="revitalize">{{cite web |title=Revitalizing Gay Street in Knoxville |url=https://architectsandartisans.com/revitalizing-gay-street-in-knoxville/ |website=Architects + Artisans |access-date=August 3, 2020 |date=May 6, 2014 }}</ref>

Development has also expanded across the Tennessee River on the South Knoxville waterfront. In 2006, the city adopted the South Waterfront Vision Plan, a long-term improvement project to revitalize the 750-acre waterfront fronting three miles of shoreline on the Tennessee River.<ref name="waterfront">{{cite web |title=South Waterfront |url=https://knoxvilletn.gov/government/city_departments_offices/redevelopment/south_waterfront |website=City of Knoxville |access-date=August 3, 2020 |archive-date=August 13, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200813171556/https://knoxvilletn.gov/government/city_departments_offices/redevelopment/south_waterfront |url-status=dead }}</ref> The project's primary focus is the commercial and residential development over a 20-year timeline.<ref name="waterfront"/> Knoxville Baptist Hospital, located on the waterfront, was demolished in 2016 to make room for a mixed-use project called One Riverwalk.<ref name="oneriverwalk">{{cite news |last=Marcum |first=Ed |title=Rendering of new Regal headquarters in Knoxville released |url=https://www.knoxnews.com/story/money/2016/09/19/rendering-of-new-regal-headquarters-in-knoxville-released/91073804/ |access-date=August 3, 2020 |work=[[Knoxville News Sentinel]] |date=September 19, 2016}}</ref> The development consisted of three office buildings, including a headquarters for [[Regal Entertainment Group]], a hotel, student housing, and 300 multi-family residential units.<ref name="oneriverwalk"/>

In June 2020, the Knoxville City Council announced the investment of over $5.5{{spaces}}million in federal and local funds towards the development of a business park along the [[Interstate 275 (Tennessee)|Interstate 275]] corridor in [[North Knoxville, Knoxville, Tennessee|North Knoxville]].<ref name="raucoules">{{cite news |last=Raucoules |first=Gregory |title=Knoxville aims to spur economic growth with $5.5 million investment into I-275 business park |url=https://www.wate.com/news/knoxville-aims-to-spur-economic-growth-with-5-5-million-investment-into-i-275-business-park/ |access-date=October 4, 2020 |work=[[WATE-TV]] |date=June 23, 2020}}</ref> The project was first proposed by a study prepared Knoxville-Knox County Metropolitan Planning Commission in 2007.<ref name="corridorstudy">{{cite web |title=I-275/North Central Street Corridor Study |url=https://archive.knoxmpc.org/plans/corridor/i275_study.pdf |website=Knoxville-Knox County Metropolitan Planning Commission |access-date=October 5, 2020 |date=2007 }}</ref> In August 2020, UT President and [[Tennessee Smokies]] owner [[Randy Boyd (university president)|Randy Boyd]] announced plans of a [[Mixed-use development|mixed-use]] [[baseball stadium]] complex in the [[Old City, Knoxville|Old City]] neighborhood.<ref name="oldcitypark">{{cite news |last=Whetstone |first=Tyler |title=Tennessee Smokies owner Randy Boyd makes first pitch for downtown Knoxville stadium |url=https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/politics/2020/08/11/randy-boyd-makes-first-pitch-downtown-knoxville-stadium/5494072002/ |access-date=October 4, 2020 |work=[[Knoxville News Sentinel]] |date=August 11, 2020}}</ref>