Kingsport Facts
Fact 1: Settlement in the area dates back to the 1760s, when William King established a boat service here to cross over the Holston River. In the first quarter of the 19th century, the settlements that rose up on either side of the river joined to become King's Port. Almost 100 years later, city leaders purchased over 1000 acres of land and contracted developer John Nolen to design the United States' first planned city.
Fact 2: Kingsport combines with neighboring Bristol and Johnson City to form Eastern Tennessee's Tri-City area. The Tri-Cities include over 60 communities spanning 14 counties in Tennessee and Washington County, Virginia. In 1999, the Tri-Cities gained the unique distinction of being named an All-American City, the first such cooperative to receive the honor.
Fact 3: Products made by the Eastman Chemical Company, whose international headquarters is located in Kingsport, find their way into everything from toothpaste to credit cards. When George Eastman started the company after World War I, its primary business was methanol manufacturing. The plant is the area's largest employer, providing jobs for 4% of the Tri-City area's labor force of 226,000, or roughly 8300 people.
Fact 4: In 1909, the railroad arrived and made Kingsport an important stopping point between the Great Lakes and the cities on the Atlantic seaboard. Just a few years later, in 1917, a modern industrial city would be incorporated beside what is now called Old Kingsport.
Fact 5: Kingsport is located in the heart of what Americans once thought of as the Western Frontier, and the area is the former stomping ground of legendary American frontiersmen Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone. In fact, Daniel Boone's famous Wilderness Trail ran near Kingsport.
Fact 6: Kingsport's Netherland Inn, located in what is now Boat Yard Park, was a popular 19th century stagecoach stop. Among the inn's most famous guests were former presidents Andrew Jackson, Andrew Johnson and James K. Polk.
Fact 7: The Kingsport Mets is a minor league affiliate of the New York Mets. Among the stars who "bore leather and pine" here were 1985 National League Cy Young Award winner Dwight Gooden and 2000 National League Most Valuable Player Jeff Kent.
Fact 8: Kingsport's Exchange Place – Gaines – Preston Farm is on the National Register of Historic Places. The farm is located off Old Stage Coach Road and was a self-supporting plantation community in the 19th century. Today, it's still a great place to find local artwork and crafts.
Fact 9: That unique traffic circle in the heart of downtown Kingsport is called Church Circle. The circle, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, was designed to represent both the center of the business district and the community's strong sense of spirituality.
Fact 10: Ask the locals, and you'll find that two of the most popular restaurants in town are Skoby's and Pal's Sudden Service. The latter of which is renowned far and wide as THE place for its greasy-spoon fare: hotdogs, sauce burgers and "frenchie fries."
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