west to east

Friday, April 8, 2011

Maryland Fun Facts

* Maryland's nickname is "The Old Line State"
* The first umbrella factory was in Baltimore
* The United States Naval Academy was founded on October 10,1845 at Annapolis
* In 1830 the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company built the first railroad station in Baltimore
* King Williams School opened in 1696. It was the first school in the U.S.
* Babe Ruth was born in Baltimore
* America's national anthem was written by Francis Scott Key a Maryland lawyer
* Annapolis is known as the sailing capitol of the world.
*Maryland gave up some of its land to form Washington D.C.
* Maryland is a prominent producer and processor of seafood and a national leader in the production of blue crabs and soft clams

West Virginia Fun Facts

* West Virginia is nicknamed "The Mountain State"
* Most of the country's glass marbles are made around Parkersburg, W.V.
* Mother's Day was first observed on May 10,1908 in W.V.
* The first state sales tax in the United States went into effect in West Virginia on July 1, 1921
* The New River Gorge Bridge near Fayetteville is the second highest steel arch bridge in the U.S.
* Nearly 75% of West Virginia is covered with forests
* 15% of the nation's total coal production comes from West Virginia
* Organ Cave is the third largest cave in the United States
* The first brick street in the world was laid in Charleston, W.V.

Virginia Fun Facts

* Virginia's nickname is "The Old Dominion". It orginated in Colonial days.

* The major cash crop of Virginia is tobacco

* Jamestown was the first English settlement in the U.S.

* Virginia is known as "the birthplace of the nation"

* Eight presidents were born in Virginia: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, William Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, and Woodrow Wilson.

* The first peanuts grown in the United States were grown in Virginia

* The Blue Ridge Mountains are located in Virginia

* The first Thanksgiving in North America was held in Virginia in 1619

* The Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel is the world's largest bridge-tunnel complex

*Wild ponies have roamed freely on Assateague Island for centuries.

Tennessee Fun Facts

* Tennessee's nickname is "The Volunteer State" because during the War of 1812 thousands of Tennesseans enlisted in response to Governor Blount's call for volunteers.

* There are more horses per capita in Shelby County than any other county in the U.S.

* Davy Crockett was not born on a mountaintop in Tennessee, as the song says. He was born on the banks of Limestone Creek near Greenville, where a replica of the Crockett's log cabin stands today.

* Nashville's Grand Ole Opry is the longest continuously running live radio program in the world. It has broadcast every Friday and Saturday night since 1925.

* Tennessee has more thanb 3,800 documented caves

* The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited national park in the United States. The park was named for the smoke-like bluish haze that often envelops these fabled mountains.

* Elvis Presley's home called Graceland is located in Memphis.

* Coca-Cola was first bottled in 1899 at a plant on Patten Parkway in downtown Chattanooga.

Arkansas Fun Facts

*Arkansas had the only active diamond mine in the U.S. located outside Murfreesboro at Crater of Diamonds State Park.

* Arkansas' nickname is "The Natural State" because of the unsurpassed scenery, clear lakes, free-flowing streams, magnificent rivers, bayous, delta bottomlands, forested mountains, and abundant fish and wildlife.

* The road to the White House for President Bill Clinton began in Hope, Arkansas.

* Sam Walton founded his Wal-Mart stores in Bentonville, Arkansas

* 47 hot springs flow from the southwestern slope of Hot Springs Mountain, at an average temperature of 143 degrees F.