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Tennessee's "Believe It or Not" Attractions

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World’s Largest Guitar – Bristol – Joe Morrell built this three-story, 70-foot-long Martin guitar in 1983 to advertise the Grand Guitar Museum which is now closed. The giant guitar can be seen from I-81 and remains a landmark honoring Bristol as the official Birthplace of Country Music. The first recording of country music took place in Bristol in August, 1929 by The Carter Family. This event is showcased by the Birthplace of Country Music Alliance Museum, currently located in Suite 140 of the Bristol Mall at 500 Gate City Highway. The museum will be located eventually on the Virginia side of Bristol in the 1924 Goodpasture Motors Building on Cumberland Street. Bristol’s historic downtown is divided between Tennessee and Virginia, and the boundary is marked down the center of State Street. (423) 989-4850; www.bristolchamber.org

Largest Recorded North American Earthquake – Tiptonville – The largest earthquake in North America’s recent history was along the New Madrid Fault in the winter of 1811-12. The movement of the earth’s plates in northwest Tennessee was so extreme, the aftershocks rang bells in church towers as far away as Boston, threw the waters of the Cumberland River at Nashville high into the air and caused the Mississippi River to run backwards until it filled cypress lowlands, creating Reelfoot Lake in Obion and Lake Counties. Reelfoot is the only naturally created Lake in Tennessee; all others were created by TVA or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 888-313-8366; www.relfoottourism.com

Most Authentic Haunting – Adams – The only documented, authentic “haunting” in the United States was by an entity known as the Bell Witch that tormented the John Bell family on the Tennessee frontier between 1817 and 1821 in the community of Adams. Numerous eye witnesses, including Andrew Jackson, experienced the witch first-hand and documented what they saw, felt and heard. Historians and psychologists continue to study the phenomena and members of the Bell family have penned books about the haunting.  Unexplained activity is still part of the Adams experience, especially at the Bell Witch Cave once owned by John Bell. Native American burials and a portion of the Trail of Tears also are nearby. The cave is located at 430 Keysburg Road and is open for tours by appointment during summer and for special Halloween dates in October. Cameras are permitted and visitors can rent canoes by reservation to navigate the Red River. (615) 696-3055; www.bellwitchcave.com

Most Liquor Production – Lynchburg – Tennessee’s cold, crystal clear spring water is a prime ingredient in liquor production. Before the Civil War, Tennessee had thousands of small cave and stream-fed distilleries and sour mash operations until Union troops destroyed equipment and burn corn crops essential for alcohol production. Walden’s Ridge in East Tennessee, according to federal revenue officers, was once the most active area in America in the production of moonshine in the 1900s until Prohibition.

Prohibition also ended wine production in Tennessee in 1919, and the industry did not recover until 1973 when the Tennessee Viticulture and Oenological Society formed to encourage wine operation as an agri-business. Today, award winning table wines from 24 Tennessee wineries are served worldwide and promoted by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture. (615) 837-5160; www.picktnproducts.org

Tennessee’s newest liquor is rum, produced by Pritchard’s Distillery in Kelso in Lincoln County. The distillery uses spring water and fancy, grade-A Louisiana molasses. There are no plant tours yet, and the product can be obtained through liquor distributors. 800-414-2352; www.prichardsdistillery.com

Today, the oldest registered distillery in Tennessee is in Lynchburg, licensed as No. 1 since 1886. The Jack Daniel Distillery on Hwy. 55 is one of Tennessee’s top fifty attractions with 200,000 visitors in 2003. Jack Daniel’s brand is so famous, the black labeled bottles appears in Hollywood movies as often as references to Elvis Presley. Down the road at Tullahoma in Cascade Hollow, the George Dickel Distillery, begun originally in 1870, was not rebuilt and licensed as No. 8 and No. 12 until 1958. The facilities houses a plant, gift shop and U.S. post office-the only one located at a distillery in the United States. Visitors may tour both distilleries. Daniel: (931) 759-6180; www.jackdaniels.com; Dickel: (931) 857-3124; www.dickel.com

Only Pearl Farm in North America – Camden – About 95 percent of the world’s cultured pearls begin with a bead carved from the shell of an American mussel. In Tennessee the freshwater pearl is the state’s official gem, and unlike cultured pearls, no two freshwater pearls are alike. The only place in North America where the fresh pearls are cultured and harvested is in Camden at the Tennessee River Freshwater Pearl Farm. Divers harvest Tennessee River mussels and care for them in controlled river beds for 3-5 years while the pearls mature. Upon harvest and grading, jewelers create one-of-a-kind pieces of exquisite jewelry. A museum, mini-theater and jewelry showcase and gift shop are also on site at the Pearl Farm beside the Birdsong Resort and Marina. Pontoon boat tours of the farm and accommodations are available by reservation. 800-225-7469; www.tennesseeriverpearls.com

Most Visited National Park – East Tennessee – The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited park in the U.S. federal park system with 9,366,845 visitors in 2003. The park is located within a day’s drive of 75 percent of the U.S. population. It is designated as an International Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Site with more flora and fauna than any other park in North America. The nearby resort towns of Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Sevierville and Townsend, make the park a central vacation spot for travelers of all ages and interests. The Smokies is the only park in the national system created by the people for the people in 1934-1940 when people living within its boundaries agreed to sell their homesteads to the federal government for creation of the park. The Walker Sisters were the last residents of the park. The last sister died in 1964, and their homestead still stands in Little Greenbrier near Townsend. A remnant village within the park is Cades Cove where log cabins and churches still attract visitors and tell the story of Appalachian pioneers. (865) 436-1200; www.great.smoky.mountains.national-park.com

Longest Continuously Running, Live Radio Program – Nashville – The Grand Ole Opry has been on the air since 1925 with Friday and Saturday night broadcasts of country and bluegrass music. The program celebrates its 80th year with a Birthday Bash on October 14-15, 2005. The Grand Ole Opry was launched as the WSM Barn Dance at a radio station owned by the National Life and Accident Insurance Company in Nashville. It moved the Ryman Auditorium on Fifth Avenue in 1943, and relocated to the Grand Ole Opry House beside the Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Resort in 1974.  (615) 846-3878; www.opry.com

Largest Underground Lake – Sweetwater – The Guinness Book of World Records recognizes the Lost Sea in Craighead Caverns at Sweetwater as the world’s largest underground lake at 4.5 acres and 140 feet below surface. The full extent of the lake is unknown with only 13 acres mapped. Divers have been unable to reach the end of the lake or the bottom even with sonar equipment. Guided tours through cave rooms showcase some of the widest, highest and largest rooms of any cavern in the southeast and rare anthrodite crystals. A tour of the lake is given in a glass bottom boat so visitors can observe the largest rainbow trout in the U.S. The caverns and the lake have been used by Native Americans, pioneers, and Confederate soldiers. The Lost Sea is a registered natural landmark. (423) 337-6616; www.thelostsea.com

Largest Collection of Teapots – Trenton – Trenton’s City Hall at 309 S. College Street, holds the largest collection of teapots at 526 items. The beautiful and rare porcelain veilleuse theieres, or night-light teapots, were created to comfort the sick with light and medicinal tea in Asia, Europe and Africa (c.1750-1860). The collection was donated to the city by Dr. Frederick C. Freed and is estimated to be worth more than $3 million. (731) 855-2013; www.gibsoncountynet.com

World’s Only Public Electro Chalybeate Well – Jackson – In the late 1800's workers accidentally dug into a vast underground river of mineral water while constructing Jackson's first modern waterworks. Stopping the skyward plum of water meant plugging the opening and creating a well. Those who drank from the well noticed a slight electric charge in the waters is believed this contributed miracle curative powers. Lancaster Park opened around the well in 1905 with a lake, Japanese pavilion, concessions and entertainments. The park quickly became a regional landmark, drawing northern visitors by train to vacation in Jackson and “take the waters.” The park also became a local gathering place for many years.

In 1980, the City of Jackson restored the ever-flowing fountain of mineral water by building an 1800's-style gazebo and park for residents and visitors to enjoy. People continue to visit the well daily to drink the electro chalybeate water. 800-498-4748; www.jacksoncvb.com

World’s Largest Alligator Snapping Turtle – Chattanooga – This turtle is on display at the Tennessee Aquarium at One Broad Street in Chattanooga. As the world’s largest alligator snapping turtle, he tips the scales at 249 pounds. His species is unique to America. The turtle is highly secretive in its natural habitat, walking along stream bottoms, hiding during daylight hours and becoming active at night. Unlike other aquatic turtles, alligator snappers cannot remain submerged for long periods of time, and are considered an ambush predator, entices fish within striking distance by a pseudo-annelid lure located on the floor of its mouth. Snappers are considered dangerous when provoked and do not let go once they have closed their beak. Alligator snapping turtles have been around since dinosaurs ruled the earth, are declining in this century and may one day be extinct. 800-262-0695; www.tnawua.org

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