1. On December 11, 1816, Tennessee became the 16th state to join the United States.
2. In 1843, the Tennessee state Capitol building in Nashville was destroyed in a fire on December 11, but rebuilt within three years.
3. On December 11, 1862, Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest and his cavalry attacked and destroyed a Union supply train near Brentwood, Tennessee during the American Civil War.
4. The nation's first nuclear power plant to generate electricity for a public power system began operating in Tennessee on December 11, 1960. The plant was located in Brown's Ferry and provided power to the Tennessee Valley Authority.
5. The Rock City Gardens attraction in Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, opened to the public on December 11, 1932. The attraction features a network of rock formations with gardens and dramatic views of the surrounding landscape.