City Government

The management of the city's affairs are confided to a Mayor, elected every two years; a Board of Aldermen of ten members, one from each ward of the city, of like tenure of office with the Mayor, and a Board of Public Works, consisting of a chairman, elected every four years, and two associate members, whose duties are executive.  Other city officers are:  a Recorder, who holds the City Court; a Comptroller, a City Attorney, and police force of 33 members under the supervision of a Captain or Chief and two Lieutenants.

Fire Department

The city has three steam fire engines, a modern hook and ladder truck, and several thousand feet of hose.  There are 200 water plugs supplied from a reservoir of 3,200,000 gallon capacity.  The Fire Department is composed of 22 men.  The Gaynor Electric Fire Alarm System is used and is owned by the city.

Public Lights

The city is lighted by both gas and electricity.  There are at present 417 street gas lamps and 114 electric arc lights.  Besides these there are many others paid for by private subscription, the total number of arc lights being three hundred.  Coal gas is the product used entirely, and the works have a capacity of one-half million cubic feet daily.  The electric lights are furnished by the Thompson-Houston and the Schuyler systems.

Public Improvements

Knoxville possesses all the modern public improvements that are usually found in the larger cities of the country.  We have already mentioned many of these, as electric cars, electric lights, water works, paid fire departments, dummy lines and electric fire alarms.  The telegraph and telephone services of the city are first-class.  The city is now building an extensive system of sewers and several fine steel bridges, connecting the various sections of the city.  For these improvements and the paving of streets, she recently issued one half million dollars of bonds.

Public Buildings & Institutions

Knoxville has several handsome Public Buildings and Charitable Institutions, several of which appear in the illustrations.  Chief among these are the United States Custom House and Post Office, built entirely of marble and in which are located the U. S. Pension Office for ten Southern States, from which 46,362 pensioners are paid, the disbursements now amounting to nearly seven millions of dollars; the Post Office, Internal Revenue Office, United States Circuit and District Courtrooms, Signal Service Office and the offices of the various Government officials.  This building was erected by the Government at a Cost of $425,000.  Two other official buildings are the County Court House and City Hall, both handsome and costly structures.  Good illustrations of the three are found in this book.

The State of Tennessee has three other institutions here besides the State University.  Two of these institutions are for the Deaf and Dumb, one for white and the other for colored pupils; and the third is the East Tennessee Asylum for the Insane.

The city has a public library -- the Lawson McGhee Memorial Library -- containing several thousand standard volumes, and one of the finest theaters in the South --Staub's Theater -- elegantly furnished, with a seating capacity of one thousand.  Other institutions are two orphanages and a hospital.

Bonded Indebtedness

The present bonded indebtedness of the city is $1,049,700.  Five hundred thousand dollars of this sum is for the building of sewers, street paving and for bridges now under process of construction.  Two hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars is represented in stock subscribed for the construction of new railroads, while the remainder are funding bonds for improvements made a few years since.  These bonds are 4, 5 and 6 percent interest-bearing, and the majority are due 20 to 30 years hence.  There is no other city indebtedness.

Tax Rate

The city charter limits the rate of taxes for all purposes, ordinary and extraordinary, at one dollar and twenty-five cents upon each hundred dollars' worth of property.  The State and County taxes are the same, making the total tax rate two and one-half per cent.

Cost of Living

The cost of living in Knoxville compares favorably, for cheapness, with any other city in the United States.  As a rule, it is much less here than in most places.  Real estate is very reasonable; it costs less to build here than anywhere else, and taxes are not high.  Rents are kept at a figure that all can meet.  Good cottages are to be had at from $6 to $10 per month.  Six and eight room dwellings rent from $15 to $30 per month, according to location.  The best of modern style houses bring from $30 to $60 per month.

Two well-supplied public markets furnish all the delicacies of the season for the table at a surprisingly low price.  The average annual price of the leading food articles is as follows:  

All other food articles in proportion.

[Other costs:]

• Coal, 13c to 16c per bushel (80 lbs.)
• Illuminating Gas, $1.50 per 1,000 feet, with cash discount
• Servants' wages, $8 to $12 per month
• Good table board, $10 to $18 per month
• Furnished rooms, $6 to $12 per month
• Best hotel rates from $2 to $3.50 per day

The cost of clothing here is about the same as elsewhere, but lighter weight garments suitable to the climate make a difference in favor of Knoxville against Northern and Western cities.

The text and HTML code of this page is copyright ©2003 to Billie R. McNamara.  All rights reserved.  Please direct all questions and comments to Ms. McNamara.  Background graphic image was borrowed from Fred Smoot. Used by permission.

This page was last updated December 11, 2003.
Visitor