Ten thousand years ago Tennessee was inhabited by prehistoric Indian peoples. The first white man known to have come to Tennessee was the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto in 1540. At that time the dominant tribes were the Cherokee, Shawnee, and the Chickasaw. The first permanent white settler was William Bean, who in 1769 built a cabin on the Watauga River in northeast Tennessee. In 1779 Jonesborough became the first chartered town in what is now Tennessee.

Tennessee settlers played a vital part in winning the American Revolutionary War. The "Overmountain Men" helped to defeat the British at the Battle of King's Mountain, a victory which proved to be a major turning point in the war.

Tennessee was at first part of North Carolina, and then was known briefly as the State of Franklin. It later became part of the "U.S. Territory South of the River Ohio," and finally was admitted to the Union as the State of Tennessee--the 16th state--on June 1, 1796.

Source: State of Tennessee.