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Tullahoma Information
Tullahoma is a city in
Coffee County and
Franklin County, Tennessee, in
the south-central part of the state. The population was 17,994 at
the 2000 census. The 2004 census estimate is 18,677. It is
recognized as one of the country's micropolitan areas, smaller
towns which nevertheless function as significant economic hubs.
History
Tullahoma was founded in 1852 as a work camp along the new
Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad. Its name is generally thought
to be taken from a local Native American language, and might mean
something like "red dirt." An alternative explanation (see Sam
Davis Elliott's Soldier of Tennessee and sources cited
therein) of the name is that Peter Decherd, who donated the land
for the railroad right-of-way (and was therefore given the right
to name two stations along the line), named one station Decherd,
and the other Tulkahoma (later corrupted to Tullahoma). Tulkahoma
was the name of Decherd's favorite horse, which was itself named
for an Indian chief his grandfather had captured. Whatever the
origin, Tullahoma is certainly one of the few towns in the world
which shares its name with no other place.
The town became highly significant during the Civil
War, and served as the headquarters for the Confederate Army of
Tennessee in 1863. The campaign of that year, which ultimately
delivered control of Middle Tennessee to the Union and opened the
door to Atlanta, is known as the Tullahoma Campaign.
It was then still little more than a rough outpost,
with no paved streets. 1863 was a wet year, and the place became
known to the bedraggled troops of both sides as a place of endless
mud. One witty officer on Union General William Hardee's staff is
said to have written his own account of the origin of the name:
"It is from two Greek words - 'Tulla' meaning mud, and 'Homa,'
meaning more mud." The selection and use of Tullahoma as a
headquarters by Confederate General Braxton Bragg has since been
much criticized by military historians. Although the location was
strategic with regard to the road and rail network, it had no
strong natural defenses and little was done to fortify it during
Bragg's occupation. Eventually the town was evacuated without a
battle.
After the war, Tullahoma recovered slowly, but
began to prosper from its vital railroad link. During this period,
Tullahoma became renowned for its educational facilities, a rarity
in the area at the time. At the turn of the 20th century,
Tullahoma became a popular health destination, with many spas
across town. Manufacturing grew up in the area, notably of shoes,
clothing, and sporting goods. In 1924, the General Shoe
Corporation was established there, which would eventually grow
into Genesco, a diversified apparel firm which is Tennessee's
oldest listed firm on the New York Stock Exchange. In 1939, U.S.
Highway 41A was built through town, giving it access to Nashville
and Chattanooga.
In the early to mid-20th century, the area
benefited from considerable federal investment and development,
from the Tennessee Valley Authority to the establishment of Camp
Forrest, an infantry training center and later POW camp, and
Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC), where the Air Force
and NASA did early wind tunnel testing. Later the state located
two significant institutions of higher learning there, Motlow
State Community College, and the University of Tennessee's Space
Institute.
Today manufacturing is a smaller part of the
Tullahoma economy, but the town's growth has been steady, although
slow, based on a mixture of education, services, tourism, and
retail. The presence of AEDC and the Space Institute, combined
with a convenient proximity to the aerospace center of Huntsville,
Alabama, has bred a small but thriving aeronautical industry as
well.
Tullahoma is located at
35°22′7″N,
86°12′48″W
(35.368511, -86.213258). It sits on the edge of the Highland Rim,
where the topography is somewhat flatter than in the surrounding
area. The region was known as the Pine Barrens to the first
settlers.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the
city has a total area of 57.8 km˛ (22.3 mi˛). 57.6 km˛ (22.2 mi˛)
of it is land and 0.3 km˛ (0.1 mi˛) of it (0.45%) is water. |
