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 o
n
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.
