Tri-State Corner facts for kids

Tri-State Corner is a special place where three U.S. states meet: Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama. It's like a corner shared by all three! This spot is at the bottom of a mountain, about 200 yards (183 meters) south of Nickajack Lake. Nickajack Lake is a lake created by a dam on the Tennessee River. You can reach this interesting corner by walking a short path from a nearby cemetery.

Where is the Tri-State Corner?

This unique corner isn't just where three states meet. It's also the most northwestern point in Georgia and the most northeastern point in Alabama. The part of the corner in Tennessee is on land owned by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). The parts in Georgia and Alabama are on private land.

The Tri-State Corner is located in Marion County, Tennessee, Dade County, Georgia, and Jackson County, Alabama. It's about 15 miles (24 km) west of downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee. Another cool fact is that the Tennessee and Alabama parts of the corner are in the Central Time Zone. But the Georgia part is in the Eastern Time Zone! This corner is the western end of a short section where the border between the Central and Eastern Time Zones follows the Tennessee-Georgia state line.

How the Tri-State Corner Was Created

The Tri-State Corner you see today is there because of a mistake made in a survey back in 1818.

The First Survey Mistake

In 1818, the state of Georgia asked a math expert and professor named James Camak to find the exact border between Georgia and Tennessee. This was important because the Alabama Territory had just been created the year before. When Tennessee became a state on June 1, 1796, its southern border was supposed to be on the 35th parallel north. This is an imaginary line around the Earth, like a line of latitude. That line is actually about 1 mile (1.6 km) north of where the Tri-State Corner is now. If the border had been placed correctly, a small part of the Tennessee River would have been in Georgia. Because of this mistake, Georgia still disagrees about where the border with Tennessee should be.

James Camak did a second survey in 1826. This survey found almost the same location as his first one. During this second survey, Camak placed a stone at the Tri-State Corner. People called this stone the "Camak Stone." Sadly, this stone disappeared in the fall of 2009. Many people believe it was stolen.

The New Marker

A new marker was placed at the Tri-State Corner on March 1, 2011. This new marker is a short concrete post. On top of the post is a round brass plate. This plate clearly shows where the three states meet and marks their boundaries.