Did you know that at one time the twin cities of Bristol, Tennessee, and Bristol, Virginia, operated in two different time zones?
It was announced on June 27th, 1946, that Bristol, Tennessee would officially return to Eastern Standard Time, by way of a resolution adopted by the Board and Mayor and Commissioners. Prior to this Virginia had adopted Eastern Standard Time as the official time in Virginia while Bristol, Tennessee, maintained Daylight Savings Time, adopted as part of the war effort during World War II. This meant that every time you walked across State Street you’d have to set your watch back or ahead one hour, depending on which direction you were headed.
To make matters even more complicated, Johnson City stayed on Eastern Standard Time during the war while Kingsport had adopted Daylight Savings Time, although the Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted in June to return to Eastern Standard Time effective July 1, 1946.