Tennessee Scavenger Hunt
Tennessee’s story rises like mist over the Smokies—rooted in mountain hollows, rolling through river valleys, and cresting high upon national tides. This is a state born of frontier defiance, where long hunters carved out new lives in untamed forests and statesmen debated the fate of nations in backwoods cabins. But the tale doesn’t pause at the log walls of yesteryear. It pulses forward with invention and artistry, from the primal depths of Mammoth Cave to the neon heights of the Sunsphere in Knoxville.
This is where Elvis cut his first record and Davy Crockett spun tall tales by firelight. Where atomic power surged silently from secret cities, and where the honky-tonk and hymnbook mingled freely in chapel and lounge alike. Tennessee's genius is not in choosing between heritage and change—it’s in threading them together into one unforgettable fabric. It’s classical columns and concrete domes, stone walls and steel spans, drive-ins and double arches, the Civil War and the Super Bowl.
The Volunteer State volunteered more than soldiers—it gave America some of its most resonant stories, most enduring music, and most curious roadside wonders. Every trail, town, and tower reveals another face of Tennessee: bold, unexpected, and profoundly American.
The photos and stories collected here are a fast and fun way to learn the explanations behind the quirks, the traditions and the secrets that make Tennessee uniquely Tennessee. Why was Knoxville the “Underwear Capital of the World”? Solved. What National Football League owner also owned the amusement park that became Dollywood? A mystery no more. How did a ladies rest room play a part in multiple American social movements? Identified. How did a 24-year old state congressman give women the right to vote in America? Revealed. How did Moon Pies and RC Cola become America’s favorite food combo? No one knows.
Where Rocket 88 first took flight, And Elvis crooned into the night. B.B. and Howlin’ Wolf were found, As Delta’s moan became world sound. A humble space, a legacy— The birthplace of rock’s energy
A steamboat man built pews and stage That echoed gospel, fiddle, rage. The Opry found its hallowed home Beneath this Gothic-arched dome. Now every chord and heartfelt plea Still stirs the “Mother Church” in key.
With cattle low and spirits high, They carved a town beneath the sky, Where spring and timber caught the eye. Donelson floated in the rest, And soon this fort—by name re-dressed— Grew into Nashville, fully blessed.
They battled peaks with barometers raised, Till Mitchell fell and Clingman blazed. The dome now wears a concrete crown, Where clouds swirl high above the town. A parkitecture twist, bold and stark, That rises modern in the park.
It rose once again with a fountain so fair— And ducks in parade from the lobby to lair. The grandeurs of Rome in an old Southern town, Where Mallards in elevators go up and down. From gilded collapse to a quacking refrain, The Peabody quivers with glamour again.
A newsboy turned a tycoon’s page, With press and dome, he graced the stage. Ochs raised this tower bold and grand Before he ruled Times’ paper land. Though Memphis holds his later fame, This gilded dome first bore his name.