List of Tennessee state symbols
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tennessee, the Volunteer State, has many symbols.
Official symbols of the state are designated by act of the Tennessee General Assembly. The earliest state symbol was the first state seal, which was authorized by the original state constitution of 1796 and first used in 1802.[1] The current seal design was adopted in 1987. The most recent designation of an official state symbol was in 2003, when the tomato was named the state fruit.[2]
The General Assembly also has officially designated a state slogan, "Tennessee—America at Its Best," adopted in 1965, and a state motto, "Agriculture and Commerce," adopted in 1987 and based on the words on the state seal. [3]
Tennessee's best-known unofficial symbol probably is its nickname, the "The Volunteer State," which originated during the War of 1812 when many Tennesseans enlisted in the military in response to Governor Willie Blount's call for volunteers.[3]
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[edit] State symbols
| State flag | |
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Tennessee's state flag, adopted in 1905, has three stars representing the state's three Grand Divisions: West, Middle, and East Tennessee. The designer was LeRoy Reeves of the Third Regiment, Tennessee Infantry, who explained: "The three stars are of pure white, representing the three grand divisions of the state. They are bound together by the endless circle of the blue field, the symbol being three bound together in one – an indissoluble trinity."[4] |
| State seal | |
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Tennessee's current state seal, adopted in 1987, is a modernized version of the seal originally designed in 1801. The seal features the words "Agriculture" and "Commerce" and the date of the state's founding. The theme of "Agriculture" is illustrated by images of a plow, a bundle of wheat, and a cotton plant, while the theme of "Commerce" is illustrated by an image of a riverboat.[3] |
| State tree | |
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From the Acts of 1974, of the Public Chapter 204, the Tulip poplar was designated as the official state tree of Tennessee. The tree was chosen on the grounds that state never before had an official tree. The act stated that "because it grows from one end of the state to the other" and "was extensively used by the pioneers of the state to construct houses, barns, and other necessary farm buildings."[3] |
| State flowers | |
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Tennessee has two state flowers. The iris is the state's cultivated flower and the passion flower (Passiflora incarnata) is the state's wildflower.
In 1919, the Tennessee General Assembly passed a resolution providing for a state flower to be chosen by a vote of the state's school children, with the process to be overseen by a five-member commission. The resolution stated "That the flower which shall be named by the school children and certified by the commission shall be recognized as the State flower." Shortly after the resolution was enacted, a newspaper listed children's favorite flowers as including daisy, elder bloom, goldenrod, red clover, rose, sunflower, water lily, wild rose, and violet. However, after the votes were counted, the commission announced that the school children had selected the passion flower, making it the state flower. [5] The passion flower, called "Ocoee" by the Cherokee, is native throughout the state and was reported to be abundant. By the early 1930s, flower gardening was growing in popularity, garden clubs were being organized, and Nashville had become know for the iris. Gardeners campaigned to have the iris designated the state flower, and in 1933 the General Assembly adopted a resolution stating "The State of Tennessee has never adopted a State Flower" and designating the iris as the "State Flower of Tennessee." [5] Because the General Assembly had designated the iris as the state flower without rescinding the previous designation of the passion flower, the state essentially had two state flowers until 1973. In that year the General Assembly resolved the confusion by designating the passion flower the state wildflower and the iris the state cultivated flower.[2] The act naming the iris as the state flower did not specify a particular color or variety of this diverse plant. However, according to the Tennessee Department of State the purple iris is generally considered to be the state flower.[6] |
| State fruit | |
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In March 2003, the General Assembly enacted chapter 154 of the Public Acts, designating the tomato as the official state fruit of Tennessee.[6] As of 2003, tomatoes were the state's largest fruit crop.[7] Grainger County and the Ripley area in Lauderdale County are principal areas for tomato production.[7] The legislation to designate the tomato was sponsored by state Representative Dennis Roach of Rutledge, in Grainger County.[8] No particular variety of tomato is specified. [8][9] |
| State birds | |
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Tennessee has two state birds. The Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) was designated the state bird by the General Assembly in 1933. It had been selected earlier that year in an election conducted by the Tennessee Ornithological Society.
The bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus), also known as the partridge, was designated as the official state game bird by the General Assembly in 1988. |
| State fish | |
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Tennessee has two state fish, both designated in 1988. The official state sport fish is the Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides), a sought-after game fish.
The state commercial fish is the channel catfish, Ictalurus lacustris, which is found in most Tennessee streams and many lakes and is widely stocked and reared in farm ponds. |
| State wild animal | |
_2.jpg/200px-Raccoon_(Procyon_lotor)_2.jpg) |
The raccoon (Procyon lotor) became the official state wild animal in 1971. |
| State reptile | |
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State Reptile - Eastern Box Turtle |
| State insects | |
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Tennessee has several official state insects.[3]
The firefly or lightning bug (Lampyridae family) and the insect known as ladybeetle, ladybug, or ladybird beetle, Coccinella septempunctata, were designated state insects by Public Chapter 292 of the Acts of 1975. The firefly species Photinus pyralis is the most familiar firefly species in the state. In 1990, Public Chapter 725 designated the honeybee (Apis mallifera) as the official state agricultural insect. Most recently, in 1995 the Zebra Swallowtail, Eurytides marcellus, was designated Tennessee's official butterfly by Public Chapter 896 of the 99th General Assembly. |
[edit] State songs
Tennessee's official state songs are:[3]
- My Homeland, Tennessee, by Nell Grayson Taylor (words) and Roy Lamont Smith (music), was adopted as a state song by the General Assembly in 1925.
- When It's Iris Time in Tennessee, by Willa Waid Newman, was designated a state song in 1935, two years after the iris became the state flower.
- My Tennessee, by Frances Hannah Tranum, is the state's official public school song, adopted by the General Assembly in 1955.
- The Tennessee Waltz, by Redd Stewart and Pee Wee King, was designated an official song of the state by the General Assembly in 1965.
- Rocky Top, by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, was adopted as an official song of Tennessee in 1982.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Tennessee Symbols and Honors: Official Seal of the State, Tennessee Blue Book 2005-2006, pages 514-515. (Accessed November 26, 2007)
- ^ a b State Symbols and History, Tennessee Secretary of State website
- ^ a b c d e f Tennessee Symbols and Honors, Tennessee Blue Book 2005-2006
- ^ Tennessee State Flag, Tennessee Military Department website
- ^ a b Tennessee State Wildflower, NetState website, last updated March 30, 2006, accessed November 26, 2007
- ^ a b State Symbols and History: State Plants, Tennessee Secretary of State website
- ^ a b Tasting Tennessee's State Fruit, press release, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, August 4, 2003 (Accessed January 2, 2008)
- ^ a b Legislative briefs: House declares tomato Tennessee's state fruit, by Duren Cheek, The Tennessean, April 1, 2003.
- ^ Arkansas State Fruit & Vegetable, NetState website, last updated October 9, 2007, accessed January 2, 2008
[edit] External links
- Tennessee State Symbols and History, Tennessee Department of State website
- Tennessee Symbols and Honors, Tennessee Blue Book
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