Bristol

City located in Virginia and Tennessee (the state border runs through the middle of State Street in the centre of the city), USA, 130 km/81 mi northeast of Knoxville; population (2000) 24,800 (Tennessee), 17,400 (Virginia). This dual city is divided politically, but is one unit economically. Bristol is a centre for the surrounding tobacco- and grain-farming region. Industries include lumber, steel, office machines, pharmaceuticals, missile parts, and textiles. The nearby Tennessee Valley Authority dams and lakes are a source of power, jobs, recreation, and tourist trade.

Both Virginia and Tennessee claimed Bristol until 1881, when a compromise was agreed and the city divided between the two; both sections of the city were incorporated in 1890. King College (1867) and Bristol University (1895) are in the Tennessee portion of the city.