A Brief History of McKenzie

The town of McKenzie was organized in 1867 when the Nashville and Northwestern Railroad completed its track and intersected with the Memphis and Ohio Railroad. The name of the community derived from the family which previously owned the land where the railroads crossed. James Monroe McKenzie gave the property to the railroad company with the stipulation that his son George McKenzie would be given the position of station agent for the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railroad. It was first known as McKenzie Station was soon shortened to McKenzie. The town began to develop rapidly after the tracks were completed and was officially incorporated by the State of Tennessee owelcom to McKenzien January 22, 1869.

The lure of the railroad drew many residents from the nearby established communities of Caladonia and McLemoresville. By 1870, the population of McKenzie had grown to over 500 residents. In the 1880's the size of the town doubled and business thrived. On October 15, 1887 the President of the United States, Grover Cleveland, visited the bustling town and stayed the night at the McKenzie Hotel. By the turn of the century, a city park was created, public schools were built and roads paved with gravel. The town continued to expand at a steady rate until the Great Depression struck in October of 1929. Banks and businesses closed their doors and the community's labor base evaporated overnight. It would be not until 1936 that conditions began to show economic growth and improvement.  

Just prior to the Second World War, the Federal Government began construction on a munitions plant and arsenal east of Milan. During the war, the plant would hire thousands of laborers and increase the population of McKenzie more than any time in its history. Between 1940 and 1950, the population of the city increased by over 1,300 people and was second to only Oak Ridge in population growth statewide. Following the war the city has kept a steady rate of growth and continues to be a productive and prosperous community.

[ Credits ] © December 1997, Gordon Browning Museum.