Fast Facts
General Facts:
Bristol is legally two cities but they share the same main street. One side in Virginia and one side in Tennessee, each with its own government and city services.
Bristol, TN was incorporated in 1856.
Bristol, VA was originally incorporated as Goodson,VA. Due to confusion the name created, it was changed to Bristol, VA in 1890.
In 1881, both sides of Bristol designated the center of the city's main thoroughfare, Main Street, as the Tennessee/Virginia state line. Both cities renamed Main Street to State Street in 1901.
The Bristol Sign was erected in 1910 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The original slogan “Push That’s Bristol” was changed to “A Good Place to Live” in 1921/22.
Presently, along State Street, metal plates following the center line mark the exact boundary between these two famous cities that straddle the border.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Paramount Center for the Arts is an excellent example of art deco motion picture palaces built in the late 1920’s and early 1930’s.
Bristol is home to the South Holston Lake, a 10,053 acres man-made lake created by the Tennessee Valley Authority.
Operating since 1949, the Twin Cities Drive-In is listed on the Historic Landmark Registry.
The original Bristol Train Station/Depot was burned down during Stoneman’s raid on December 14, 1864. The current train station, built in 1902, is Bristol’s fourth. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
East Hill Cemetery: Founded in 1856, final resting place of Civil War soldiers and Revolutionary War hero General Evan Shelby.
Stone Castle: A local stadium constructed of limestone that was procured by another Works Progress Administration project and completed in 1936. National Register of Historic Places. Currently is home of Tennessee High School Athletics.
Bristol’s Musical Heritage:
The historic recording sessions of 1927, also known as the “Bristol Sessions”, launched the careers of the Carter Family, and Jimmie Rodgers.
The U.S. Congress officially declared Bristol TN/VA the Birthplace of Country Music in 1998.
Bristol was the home to Country Music Hall of Fame inductee and nationally renowned entertainer Tennessee Ernie Ford.
Bristol Motor Speedway & Dragway:
An estimate of nearly 100,000 race fans camp in and around Bristol for each race.
The Food City 500 and Irwin Tools 500 are races consisting of 500 laps, equal to 266.5 miles.
Both the Food City 500 (Spring race) and Irwin Tools 500 (August Night race) include 26-30 variable degrees of banking in corners, 5-9 variable degrees of banking on straights, and 650 feet in length of straights.
Johnny Allen crossed the finish line first in the inaugural BMS race, but he was driving in relief of Jack Smith, who gets credit for Bristol's first victory.
A total of 42 cars started the first race at BMS but only 19 finished.
Because the dragstrip sat between two mountains the acoustics were such that the strip earned the name "Thunder Valley" because of the thundering noise cars made when they traveled down the strip.
A top fuel car competing in the NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals can accelerate from 0-100 in .8 sec. and complete 1,000-ft at more than 320 mph.
Speedway In Lights features more than 1.5 million lights in over 100 displays on a 4 mile tour through both the speedway and dragway.
Since its inception, Speedway In Lights has helped to raise millions of dollars for children’s charities based in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia.
