There’s a spot in Tennessee known as Iron Metropolis.
On the one event I handed by way of, I used to be stunned to see a street signal for “Iron Metropolis” in the course of nowhere. The sight was made even stranger by the church, home, and fuel station that comprised the “metropolis.”
I solely acquired a second to absorb the surroundings earlier than I had pushed the whole size of Iron Metropolis. In 2023, it boasted a inhabitants of 226 individuals.
Iron Metropolis shouldn’t be the one unusual place title within the state. There are those that recurrently make the record, like Finger and Anonymous.
Nevertheless, once you actually give it some thought, we’ve acquired some unusual naming conventions.
Have you ever ever seen that Tennessee has cities which are like siblings?
Now we have Rideside and Ridgetop; Rockford and Rockvale; and Chapel Hill and Church Hill. We also have a set of twins in Kingston and Kingston Springs and Henderson and Hendersonville.
Not all siblings agree with one another, although. Oakdale and Oakland are clearly attempting to distance themselves from Oak Hill and Oak Ridge. Don’t even get began with Lafayette, LaFollette, La Grange and La Vergne.
We even have cities and counties which are like household so distant they’re simply strangers with the identical final title. Whiteville shouldn’t be in White County. Smithville shouldn’t be in Smith County. Shelbyville shouldn’t be in Shelby County. McMinnville shouldn’t be in McMinn County. As somebody who has lived most of her life in Rutherford County, I used to be shocked to search out out a few city named Rutherford.
And whereas we’re on the subject of being new to the realm, I’ve a number of questions.
Why is Cumberland Metropolis not in Cumberland County? Why is it Clarkrange and never Clark Vary? What’s Cookeville cooking? The place are the crabs in Crab Orchard?
I don’t know who made this mess, however they have been clearly impressed by the Historic Greeks. Tennessee has Athens, Sparta, Smyrna and even Troy. Now we have a lukewarm Moscow and our personal Eiffel Tower in Paris. Round 650 Tennesseans dwell in Philadelphia — simply not the one you normally consider.
Each time I chat with my out-of-state family and friends, they get a kick out of Iron Metropolis. However our bizarre little cities, from Ducktown to Friendship, add to our state’s fantastic appeal.
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Serena Vasudeva is a employees author with the Crossville Chronicle. She might be reached at svasudeva@crossville-chronicle.com or 931-484-5145.
