Smyrna

This small town traces its name to a little square log Presbyterian church, built on the Stones River and named for a Bible passage in the Book of Revelation. From 1941 until the early "™70s, Smyrna was home to Sewart Air Force base, housing over 10,000 military personnel and their families. When it closed, structures were converted into industrial space and an airport. The impound- ment of Percy Priest Lake in the 1960s created a popular outdoor destination and in the 1980s, Nissan North America put Smyrna on the map with the first Japanese auto plant in the U.S.