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| Paris dates from 1823 and
was named after France's capital as a tribute to the
Marquis de Lafayette, the young French aristocrat who
fought with the Colonists against the British during the
American Revolutionary War and who visited Tennessee in
the early 1800s (the town also boasts a 65 foot tall
replica of the Eiffel Tower). During the
Civil War, Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest
began an offensive against Union forces at nearby Paris
Landing, which today is known as Paris Landing State
Park, now another large recreation area. In 1944,
Lake Kentucky was created and is the largest man-made
lake in the United States. It continues to
be a popular draw for vacationers and retirees alike. |
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The Henry County Medical Center in Paris is comprised
of a 142-bed acute care hospital, the 174-bed Henry County
Nursing Home, the Henry County Home Health and Hospice and
the county Emergency Medical Service, giving Paris retirees
access to excellent health care, particularly for a city of
its size. A wide range of specialties, including
internal medicine, general surgery, orthopedics, ophthalmology,
psychiatry, gastroenterology, cardiology, pulmonology,
oncology and emergency services, are provided. The
Medical Center is accredited by the Joint Commission on
Accreditation for Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) and is a
recipient of the Tennessee Quality Award. |
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Active downtown Paris centers on the faithfully
refurbished, historic Henry County Courthouse, the second oldest
working courthouse in the country. Around the downtown
square are restored, small department stores, restaurants, banks
and antique shops that successfully compete with the large chain
stores in town, including Wal-Mart, thanks to the local Downtown
Merchants' Association. This group wields quite a bit of
clout and urges storeowners to return their storefronts to their
original, late nineteenth-century appearance, creating an inviting
downtown where people gather, shop, dine and enjoy the small-town
ambiance. For anyone seeking more shopping
opportunities or theater or blues clubs or country music venues,
Memphis is 130 miles to the southwest and Nashville is 110 miles
to the east.
The Charles R. Conger Senior Citizens Center
(731-644-3193) is located on Jones Bend Road and offers social and
recreation classes for those 55 and above. Paris is home to
one Catholic church and more than 100 Protestant churches, but it
does not have a synagogue. The churches provide an
opportunity for volunteering, but Paris' seniors also volunteer
through civic clubs, garden clubs and the Arts Council. No
public transportation is available, so seniors will need private
transportation to get around town.
One of Paris' claims to fame, since much of life
here revolves around water, is its hosting of the annual, weeklong
festival known as the "World's Largest Fish Fry," in
which 100,000 people from all over the region come to consume
large quantities of bass and crappie, watch parades and attend car
shows while vendors sell all kinds of wares.
This region of the country has four distinct
seasons. January temperatures average in the 30s and low
40s, and July temperatures average in the 80s, with humidity
averaging in the 70% range. Paris receives roughly 50-55
inches of rain per year and about 10 inches of snow. The sun
shines 60% of the time. The area is also prone to
tornadoes.
This is a small town in a rural state, which may
be a drawback for some people. It is not an affluent
destination and has a below-average per capita income rating, but
Paris does not suffer from the blight that affects many small
towns. Single, senior women should note, too, that
roughly 45% of the population is male, and 55% is female, which
could lead to dating challenges. Single, senior men may like
the odds. The crime rate in Paris is also slightly higher
than the national average; most of this is attributable to thefts
and burglaries.
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