Page Contents for Bristol, Tennessee

Statistics & Facts

Weather & Climate

History & History-related items

City Attractions

Government

Chamber of Commerce.

Community news

Miscellany

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Statistics & Facts

The Tennessee state capital is Nashville.
The population of Bristol is approximately 23,421 (1990), 26702 (2010).
The approximate number of families is 10,403 (1990), 11456 (2010).
The amount of land area in Bristol is 54.343 sq. kilometers.
The amount of surface water is 0.313 sq kilometers.
The distance from Bristol to Washington DC is 335 miles.
The distance to the Tennessee state capital is 261 miles. (as the crow flies)
Bristol is positioned 36.56 degrees north of the equator and 82.19 degrees west of the prime meridian.
Bristol elevation is 1,615 feet above sea level.
Bristol average annual precipitation is 41.4 inches peryear.
Bristol average temperature is (summer) 78, (winter) 38 degrees F.
The average low temperature is (January) 25 degrees F.
The average high temperature is (July) 85.5 degrees F.

Climate

four season
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History & History Related Items

Bristol, located in the states of Tennessee and Virginia, is a unique city, rich in history and legend. In the early 1800s the tract of land upon which Bristol is now located was known as Sapling Grove and the plantation on which it existed was called Mountain View or King's Meadows. The area was once inhabited by Cherokee Indians.
Scotch-Irish pioneers settled in the region in the 1700s, and after the Revolutionary War, Col. James King, a patriot of 1776, obtained a large bounty of land near the Sapling Grove tract. His estate became known as Holly Bend. In 1814, Col. King bought a portion of the Sapling Grove tract, lying in both Virginia and Tennessee, for his son, James King Jr. Upon this land, the young King established a flourishing plantation known as Sapling Grove or Mountain View. The remaining Virginia portion of Sapling Grove became the property of Capt. John Goodson and later passed to his son, Col. Samuel E. Goodson.
With the advent of railroads in the mid 1850s, Joseph R. Anderson, a son-in-law of King Jr., saw the potential of the area for the development of a commercial trading center. He bought a large tract of land, lying in both Virginia and Tennessee and laid out the town of Bristol, named for the manufacturing city in England. At the same time, Goodson laid out Goodsonville on a portion of his land. In 1856, that portion of Anderson's development located in Virginia and all of Goodson's development were incorporated as Goodson, and Bristol Tennessee was incorporated the same year. The Virginia side of town remained Goodson until 1890.
The towns grew rapidly and became an important railroad link between the North and the South during the Civil War. In 1881, the center of Main Street, now State Street, was designated as the state line by the city councils, and in 1901, Tennessee ceded to Virginia the lands needed to move the line into the middle of the street. The same year it was accepted by the Virginia General Assembly and by consent of the U.S. Congress.
Presently, along State Street, metal plates following the center line mark the exact boundary between these two famous cities that straddle the border. A lighted sign, which was erected in 1910 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, spans across State Street declaring Bristol Tennessee and Bristol Virginia "A good place to live." History information from the Bristol Chamber of Commerce.
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Attractions

Tennessee and Virginia state line runs right through the middle of town. On State Street (the main street) you can shop in Virginia and cross the street and shop in Tennessee.

Other attractions in the area include: Paramount Theater
Tennessee Ernie Ford House
Birthplace of Country Music alliance
Bristol Motor Speedway
Appalachian Caverns

Bristol Caverns
1157 Bristol Caverns Hwy
Phone: 423-878-2011
See Stalactites and Stalagmites created over 400 million yeras ago. The local Indians once used the area as an attack and escape route. There is an underground river in the cavern also.
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Bristol City Government

A Website for Bristol. Bristol has a Council-City Manager type of government

Bristol Chamber

Bristol Chamber of Commerce
Bristol Tennessee and Bristol Virginia
20 Volunteer Parkway
Bristol, Tennessee 37620
Phone: 423-989-4850
Fax: 423-989-4867

Bristol Community News

7 Jul 2016 - Bristol Tennesee - Man Goes On Shooting Rampage Responding to a report of shootings three police officers receive gun fire from Lakeem Scott, a black man. Apparently the shooter was upset about incedents about black people being mistreated by police. All of his vitims were white. He killed one person and injured three others, including a police officer.

Bristol Organizations

Bristol Chamber of Commerce
Bristol Tennessee and Bristol Virginia
20 Volunteer Parkway
Bristol, Tennessee 37620
Phone: 423-989-4850
Fax: 423-989-4867 Bristol

Miscellany

Average snowfall is 16.2 inches per year.