Grainger County
County
Grainger County Courthouse in Rutledge
Grainger County Courthouse in Rutledge
Official seal of Grainger County
Seal
Official logo of Grainger County
Logo
Motto(s): 
Commerce, Agriculture, Recreation
Map of Tennessee highlighting Grainger County
Location within the U.S. state of Tennessee
Map of the United States highlighting Tennessee
Tennessee's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 36°17′N 83°31′W / 36.28°N 83.51°W / 36.28; -83.51
Country United States
State Tennessee
Founded1796
Named forMary Grainger Blount
SeatRutledge
Largest townBean Station
Government
 • MayorMike Byrd (R)[1][2]
Area
 • Total302 sq mi (780 km2)
 • Land281 sq mi (730 km2)
 • Water22 sq mi (60 km2)  7.2%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total23,527 Increase
 • Density81/sq mi (31/km2)
DemonymGrainger Countian
Time zoneUTC−5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP Codes
37708, 37709, 37848, 37861, 37881, 37888
Area code865
Congressional district2nd
Websitewww.graingercountytn.com

Grainger County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 23,527.[3] Its county seat is Rutledge.[4] Grainger County is a part of both the Knoxville Metropolitan Statistical Area and Morristown Metropolitan Statistical Area.[5]

History

View of Cherokee Lake from Bean's Gap atop Clinch Mountain, the site of which longhunters would cross along the Wilderness Road into present-day Grainger County.[6]

Early years

In 1775, pioneers Daniel Boone and William Bean had first observed the Holston River valley in Grainger County after crossing the gap at Clinch Mountain during a long hunting excursion.[6] After fighting in the American Revolutionary War one year later, Bean was awarded 3,000 acres (12 km2) in the area he previously surveyed for settlement during his excursion with Boone.[6] Bean would later construct a four-room cabin at this site, which served as his family's home, and as an inn for prospective settlers, fur traders, and longhunters.[7]

Grainger County would be established into a county from Knox and Hawkins counties by the North Carolina state legislature on April 22, 1796,[8] the year Tennessee became the sixteenth state of the United States.[9] It is named for Mary Grainger Blount,[10] the wife of William Blount, making it the only county in Tennessee named for a woman.[10] In 1801, Rutledge was selected as the county seat.[8] Anderson, Claiborne, Campbell, Hamblen, Hancock, Scott and Union counties were formed from portions of the original Grainger County following its reduction in land size between 1801 and 1870.[11]

Civil War

Like its surrounding East Tennessee counties, Grainger County was generally opposed to secession from the Union. In Tennessee's Ordinance of Secession referendum on June 8, 1861, sparsely populated Grainger County voters rejected secession by 1,756 to 495.[12]

During the American Civil War, a state of near-guerrilla warfare brought economic, political, and social chaos to Grainger County, notably during the Knoxville campaign. Two arguments occurred within the county during the Civil War, with the first as a skirmish in Blaine around Christmas of 1862. In the year ahead, the Battle of Bean's Station pitted the forces of Confederate General James Longstreet against a Union forces under General James Shackelford in a planned surprise attack that failed for Confederate forces through the critically poor decision-making of Longstreet's staff.[13] While the Battle of Bean's Station proved victorious for Longstreet in the end, he later failed to capture Knoxville westward through Blaine, and went into hiding in Russellville in nearby Hamblen County.[14]

1900s to present day

In the post-Civil War era, a businessman named Samuel Tate constructed a large Victorian-style luxury hotel just west of Bean Station that became the main focus of a resort known as Tate Springs. Around the late 1870s, the hotel was purchased by Captain Thomas Tomlinson, who would transform the property into a vast resort that advertised the supposed healing powers of its mineral spring’s water.[15] During its heyday, the resort complex included over three-dozen buildings, a 100-acre (40 ha) park, and an 18-hole golf course.[16] The resort had attracted some of the wealthiest people in America during this time. The resort declined during the Great Depression, and the hotel and most of its outbuildings have since been demolished after a major fire damaged the main hotel structure. The Tate Springs Springhouse still stands just off U.S. Route 11W near Bean Station Elementary School.

In 1901, in the northern area of the county near Thorn Hill, a four-year conflict between two families, known locally as "The Battle of Thorn Hill," began following the murder of a prominent resident.[17] The feud fueled acts of violence such as assassinations of prominent citizens and racially-motivated murders against African Americans in public places and businesses.[17]

During the early and mid 20th century, moonshining became popular and spread throughout many communities in the county.[18]

After the creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority in the 1930s, many Grainger County residents had to be relocated for the construction of both Cherokee and Norris Dam in the southern and northern parts of the county. Bean Station experienced most of this loss, as the original site the town now resides in the Cherokee Lake basin.[13] Of the 875 families relocated for the Cherokee Project, 434 or 49.6% were from Grainger County.[19]

General store in Thorn Hill circa 1940s

In 1946, Grainger County suffered the loss of its third courthouse in Rutledge to a massive fire. However, most records, including those dating back to the county's establishment in 1796 were safe inside steel fireproof safes.[20]

In the 1970s through the 1980s, plans for a 75-mile-long hiking trail system known as the Trail of the Lonesome Pine were proposed to run along the ridgeline of Clinch Mountain from the Tennessee-Virginia state line in Hancock County to its terminus in the city of Blaine in Grainger County. The plans were met with extreme opposition from unwilling property owners, particularly those from Grainger County, as the project would be nearly complete in the Hawkins and Hancock portions of the trail system. With the unwillingness from Grainger County property owners, the trail system would be abandoned all-together in 1981 despite the completion of construction outside of Grainger County.[21]

On May 13, 1972, 14 people were killed in a head-on collision between a Greyhound double-decker bus and a tractor-trailer hauling carpet on U.S. Route 11W in the Bean Station area of the county, making it the deadliest automobile accident of its time in Tennessee. This infamous crash, along with several other fatal crashes along the narrow two-lane stretch of U.S. Route 11W in Grainger County, gave it the nickname "Bloody Highway 11W."[22]

On July 4, 2012, Grainger County received national attention when 10-year-old Noah Winstead and his friend, 11-year old Nate Lynam, were electrocuted due to frayed wiring being in contact with the water the boys were swimming near a Cherokee Lake marina in the German Creek area of the county.[23][24] In the aftermath of the tragedy, Tennessee legislators passed the Noah and Nate Act, which required marinas to be routinely inspected safety hazards such as faulty wiring and dangerous equipment operations.[25]

On April 5, 2018, Southeastern Provisions, a cattle slaughterhouse in the county,[26][27] was raided by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); 11 workers were arrested and 86 more were detained, all of whom were suspected of residing in the United States unlawfully.[26] At the time, the raid was reportedly the largest workplace raid in United States history.[27] In September 2018, the owner of the meatpacking facility was found guilty of multiple state and federal crimes, including tax evasion, wire fraud, contamination of local water supply, employing undocumented immigrants not authorized to work in the US, and other numerous workplace violations.[28][29]

Geography

US-11W near Blaine, with the Clinch Mountain range rising in the distance

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 302 square miles (780 km2), of which 281 square miles (730 km2) is land and 22 square miles (57 km2) (7.2%) is water.[30] Grainger County is bounded on the northwest by the Clinch River (impounded by Norris Dam to form Norris Lake) and on the southeast by the Holston River and Cherokee Lake.

U.S. Route 25E descending the south slope of Clinch Mountain towards Bean Station

Clinch Mountain is a major geographic feature that effectively separates the county into a southern section (including Bean Station, Blaine, Joppa, and Rutledge) and a northern section (including the communities of Washburn, Powder Springs, and Thorn Hill).

Indian Cave

Indian Cave is a historic site located on the Holston River near present-day Blaine. The cave was used for centuries before Europeans entered the area, as indigenous peoples settled in the area about 1000 CE.[31] Remains of cane torches and other artifacts located in the cave indicate use by prehistoric indigenous peoples.[32] The Iroquoian-speaking Cherokee migrated into the area from the northeast, making the eastern Ohio River valley and Appalachians down into South Carolina their historic territory.[31]

In the 1700s, a Cherokee village was located just west of the main cave entrance, before the people were pushed out by encroaching Anglo-American settlers.[33] The Donelson Party passed the Indian Cave entrance on their way down the Holston River in 1779 to settle present-day Nashville, Tennessee.[33] In the years after the American Revolutionary War, the number of settlers continued to increase. Under the Indian Removal Act of 1830, Congress authorized the president to remove the Indians from the Southeast to territory west of the Mississippi River.[31]

Robert Hoke, a former Confederate general from North Carolina, purchased the cave on July 21, 1869, as one of his business enterprises after the American Civil War. He had it mined for bat guano, a valuable natural fertilizer.[33]

Area businessmen formed the Indian Cave Park Association on January 4, 1916, to develop the cave as a commercial attraction, as was being done for other caves throughout the Great Smoky Mountains. The Association did not open the cave officially to the public until May 30, 1924.

On November 18, 2000, over 800 people from all over the United States attended an all-night dance party known as the "Rave in a Cave" in Indian Cave. The party lured many of its attendees via Internet advertisements. 22 arrests on drug charges were made and one party-goer died of a drug overdose. On the day of the party, nearby residents attempted to block access into the cave, leading to physical action by the attendees with baseball bats. Officials from the Grainger County sheriff's department had set up a road block to prevent further confrontations between county residents and the party attendees. Over 150 traffic citations were also filed as well.[34]

The cave is not open to visitors and is closed to the public as of 2005.[33]

Joppa Mountain

Summit of Joppa Mountain

Joppa Mountain is located along the Clinch Mountain ridge in central Grainger County in the unincorporated community of Joppa. Buzzard Rock is the summit of the mountain at an elevation of 2,530 feet (770 m) above sea level, making it one of the highest points in Grainger County. At this summit, the neighboring U.S. states of Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Virginia can be seen, along with the Cumberland Gap and the Great Smoky Mountains range, on a clear day.

Hang gliding from Joppa Mountain was a pastime of many hang gliding enthusiasts around the United States and the world. Hang gliding on Joppa Mountain gained momentum in the mid-1970s and enjoyed considerable popularity until the late 1980s.[35]

As of the present day, Buzzard Rock is inaccessible to hang gliders and hikers alike due to the property being closed to the public since the 1990s.

Waterways

Marina adjacent to German Creek Bridge on Cherokee Lake

The main source of water in Grainger County is man-made Cherokee Lake.[8] Cherokee Lake was created during the 1940s as part of the Tennessee Valley Authority’s hydroelectric revitalization project. The lake is fed by multiple sources, including a series of natural creeks and runoff waters. The lake begins with its first source at Poor Valley Creek in Hawkins County, extends through Grainger County and neighboring Hamblen and Jefferson counties. Cherokee Lake ends at Cherokee Dam where the water is drained into the Holston River along the Grainger/Jefferson border. In total, Cherokee Lake has 28,780 acres of surface area and extends for 400 miles of shoreline.[36]

The Holston River below Cherokee Dam continues southwestward along the Grainger/Jefferson border passing the communities of New Corinth, Richland, and Blaine, then crossing into Knox County, with the confluence with the French Broad River in Knoxville, forming the Tennessee River.[37]

In the northern part of the county, the Clinch River passes through Thorn Hill near the tri-border of Claiborne, Hancock and Grainger counties. The river then traverses northwestward along the Grainger/Claiborne border, flowing into the basin of Norris Lake north of Washburn and Liberty Hill.[38] In total, Norris Lake has 33,840 acres of surface area and extends for 809 miles of shoreline that Grainger shares with Union, Claiborne, Campbell, and Anderson counties.[39]

Adjacent counties

State protected areas

  • Buffalo Springs Wildlife Management Area
  • Johnson Ridge Small Wildlife Area
  • TVA Noeton Resource Management Area

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
18007,367—
18106,397−13.2%
18207,65119.6%
183010,06631.6%
184010,5725.0%
185012,37017.0%
186010,962−11.4%
187012,42113.3%
188012,384−0.3%
189013,1966.6%
190015,51217.6%
191013,888−10.5%
192013,369−3.7%
193012,737−4.7%
194014,35612.7%
195013,086−8.8%
196012,506−4.4%
197013,94811.5%
198016,75120.1%
199017,0952.1%
200020,65920.8%
201022,6579.7%
202023,5273.8%
U.S. Decennial Census[40]
1790-1960[41] 1900-1990[42]
1990-2000[43] 2010-2014[3]
Age pyramid Grainger County[44]

2020 census

Grainger County racial composition[45]
Race Number Percentage
White (non-Hispanic) 21,748 92.44%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 118 0.5%
Native American 42 0.18%
Asian 53 0.23%
Pacific Islander 2 0.01%
Other/Mixed 791 3.36%
Hispanic or Latino 773 3.29%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 23,527 people, 8,959 households, and 6,510 families residing in the county.

2000 census

As of the census[46] of 2000, there were 20,659 people, 8,270 households, and 6,161 families residing in the county. The population density was 74 people per square mile (29 people/km2). There were 9,732 housing units at an average density of 35 per square mile (14/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 98.41% White, 0.32% Black or African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.09% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.40% from other races, and 0.61% from two or more races. 1.09% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 8,270 households, out of which 31.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.90% were married couples living together, 8.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.50% were non-families. 22.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.89.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 22.90% under the age of 18, 8.20% from 18 to 24, 30.50% from 25 to 44, 25.80% from 45 to 64, and 12.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.50 males.

The median age of a resident in Grainger County is 44.2.[47]

The median income for a household in the county was $27,997, and the median income for a family was $33,347. Males had a median income of $25,781 versus $19,410 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,505. About 15.10% of families and 18.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.40% of those under age 18 and 26.00% of those age 65 or over.

Law and government

Executive Branch

  • County Mayor - Mike Byrd[48]
  • Sheriff - James Harville[49]
  • Register of Deeds - Rick Diamond[50]
  • Circuit Court Clerk - Sherry Clifton[51]
  • Trustee - Rena Greer[52]
  • Assessor of Property - Johnny Morgan[53]
  • Road Superintendent - Charlie McAnally[54]
  • County Clerk - Angie Lamb[55]
  • General Sessions and Juvenile Court Judge - Lane Wolfenbarger[56]

Legislative Branch

County commission

Grainger County has 15 county commissioners, with voters electing three individuals to serve from each of its five electoral districts.[57][58]

Current members as of 2020

Source:[58]

  • District 1: Avondale & Rutledge
    • Wendy Noe (Rutledge)
    • Darell Stratton (Rutledge)
    • Scott Wynn (Rutledge)
  • District 2: Bean Station & Rutledge
    • Johnny Baker (Rutledge)
    • Rodney Overbay (Bean Station)
    • Luke Stratton (Rutledge)
  • District 3: Blaine, Joppa and Rutledge
    • Andy Cameron (Rutledge)
    • Leon Spoone (Rutledge)
    • Darrell Williams (Blaine)
  • District 4: Powder Springs, Thorn Hill, & Washburn
    • James Acuff (Washburn)
    • Justin Epperson (Washburn)
    • Gary Dalton (Thorn Hill)
  • District 5: Bean Station & Mary Chapel
    • Becky Johnson (Bean Station)
    • Larry Johnson (Bean Station)
    • Mike Holt (Bean Station)

School Board

The county has ten school board members, with voters electing two individuals to serve from each of its five electoral districts.[58][59]

Appointed officials

  • Director of Schools - James Atkins[60]
  • Administrator of Elections - Gina Hispher[61]
  • Soil Conservation Director - Joan Coffey[62]
  • Solid Waste Director - Ed McBee[63]
  • Historical Archives Director - Stevvi Cook[64]
  • Clerk and Master - Vicki Greenlee[65]
  • Office on Aging Director - Rita Jarnigan[66]

Economy

Top employers

According to a data profile produced by the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development in 2018,[67] the top employers in the county are:

# Employer # of Employees
1 Grainger County School District 500
2 Clayton Homes (Bean Station) 350
3 Grainger County 200
4 Clayton Homes (Rutledge) 200
5 Sexton Furniture Manufacturing LLC 150

Agriculture

Grainger County is acknowledged as a predominately rural and exurban county of the Greater Knoxville region.[68][69] Agriculture has accounted for a large portion of the county economy throughout history due to the county's soil containing a mass amount of rich nutrients beneficial to select crops of choice.[70] The tomato has been the major crop, though cattle raising continues to important gains. Grainger County tomatoes have in recent decades become nationally and internationally renowned.[13][71]

In 2018, Grainger County was reported to have over 650 greenhouses, 923 farms producing 500 acres of field vegetables, and nearly 90,000 acres of farmland.[72]

The county celebrates the tomato in an annual festival since 1992. Around thirty-thousand festival-goers across the state of Tennessee and the United States gather to witness events about the county's heritage and its significant agricultural impact across the state of Tennessee, enjoy live music performances, purchase local produce and handmade gifts, and take part in arts and crafts events. The Grainger County Tomato Festival takes place during the final weekend in July.[73]

Real estate

Residential construction has been increasing in the county, with most occurring near the Cherokee Lake shoreline, the Bean Station area and the Blaine area.[13][74] With a cost of living around $2,600, and an average housing cost of $420 monthly, it is one of the least expensive counties in Tennessee.[75] In 2017, the median value of property in the county was $110,600, compared to $229,700 nationally.[76]

Tourism and leisure

Cherokee Lake near Bean Station

By the late 19th century, a tourism industry had flourished around the mineral springs flowing from the Clinch Mountain range. The Tate Springs Resort complex located in the Bean Station region of the county, provided accommodations for tourists and business travelers alike until the Great Depression. It included mineral baths and waters, an enormous resort hotel, a swimming pool and bathhouse, a springhouse constructed as a gazebo, private cabins, and a golf course. After the Great Depression, the resort had closed and the property was given to local authorities. A children's home and school occupied the space of the hotel and cabins, until a major fire destroyed the entire hotel in the 1960s. Today, the Tate Springs Springhouse, the bathhouse, and several cabins are what remains of the complex.[13]

Since the 1940s, the county's tourism and recreational industry nonetheless sparked once again after the Tennessee Valley Authority's creation of Cherokee and Norris Lake in the southern and northern parts of the county respectively. Fishing, hiking, hunting, camping, golf, boating, water sports, and development of lakefront property seek to continue contributing to the county's economy.[13]

Industry and commerce

Grainger County Industrial Park, located between Rutledge and Bean Station

In the county's early years, small businesses represented the secondary source of economic development. Gristmills, hatters, saddle makers, tailors, lawyers, and dry goods merchants supplied the many necessities for the county's isolated and spread-out agricultural communities.[13]

The Shields family operated Holston Paper Mill, one of the earliest industries in the county. The Knoxville and Bristol Railroad, also known as the Peavine Railroad, ran through the Richland Creek Valley from Bean Station to Blaine. The tracks would later succumb to flooding after the damming of the Richland Valley by the TVA in the 1940s.[77]

Clinchdale Lumber Company, a locally owned business, logged a significant portion of the county's timber in the early part of the 20th century. Afterwards, this timbering movement gave way to knitting mills and zinc mining in the Clinch River Valley in the northern part of the county.[78] Around the late 20th century, Tennessee marble was quarried in the Thorn Hill region of Grainger County.[79]

Economic hardship

Unlike neighboring counties such as Jefferson, Hamblen, and Knox, Grainger County does not have county-wide zoning ordinances,[80] which has led to the uncontrolled and controversial development of RV campgrounds in predominately residential areas.[80][81]

In 2010, it was reported that nearly two-thirds of Grainger County residents commute to cities in surrounding counties such as Morristown and Knoxville for work.[82] With this, Grainger County was reported as one of five counties in the East Tennessee Development District region experiencing significant out-migration of young college-educated adults leaving Grainger County for urban economic hubs such as Knoxville and Morristown,[83] due to the lack of employment opportunities in the county.[84]

In the fiscal year 2020, Grainger County was recognized as one of twenty-four counties in the state of Tennessee at risk of becoming economically distressed.[85]

Communities

Map of Grainger County with municipal and county subdivision labels

Cities

Town

Unincorporated communities

Education

The Grainger County School district has one high school, one middle school, four elementary/intermediate schools, one primary school, one K-12 school, and one alternative-placement school. The Grainger County School district has 3,637 students enrolled.[86]

Primary school

  • Rutledge Primary School

Elementary schools

  • Bean Station Elementary School
  • Joppa Elementary School
  • Rutledge Elementary School
  • Washburn School

Middle school

  • Rutledge Middle School

High schools

Alternative school

  • Grainger Academy

Infrastructure

A report conducted by the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations in 2018 found the top three infrastructure needs in Grainger County, with transportation at US$108 million, water and wastewater at US$11.4 million, and recreation US$1.7 million.[87]

Transportation

U.S. Route 25E in northern Grainger County near Thorn Hill

U.S. Routes 11W and 25E are the major arterial roadways in the county. US 25E, established as the East Tennessee Crossing Byway and Appalachian Development Corridor S, provides four-lane expressway north-south access to Hamblen and Claiborne counties. US 11W, established as Rutledge Pike and Memphis-to-Bristol Highway, provides four-lane expressway access in the municipalities of Bean Station and Blaine. The highway outside of these areas is two-lane.[88]

State Routes 92, 131, 375 are the secondary roadways in the county. SR 92 provides two-lane access from Rutledge to the Jefferson County line near Cherokee Dam. SR 131 provides two-lane access to Union and Hancock counties, and the unincorporated communities of Washburn and Thorn Hill. SR 375, established as Lakeshore Drive, provides two-lane access along the northern shore of Cherokee Lake to SR 92 and US 25E.[88]

Utilities

Cherokee Dam, a hydroelectric dam constructed by the Tennessee Valley Authority in the early 1940s, is located at the Grainger-Jefferson county line and provides electricity for the surrounding region. The billing and operation of the electrical system is provided by Appalachian Electric Cooperative (AEC), a municipal power company that serves southern Grainger County excluding Blaine.[89] AEC also provides the option for fiber broadband access for the service area.[89]

Bean Station Utility District, (BSUD), provides municipal water access for southeastern Grainger County including the municipalities of Rutledge and Bean Station.[90]

Knoxville Utilities Board provides electricity to southwestern Grainger County including the city of Blaine and the community of Powder Springs.[91] Luttrell-Blaine-Corryton Utility District (LBCUD) provides municipal water services to this same region.[92] The municipalities of Rutledge, Blaine, and the county's industrial park have access to municipal sewage treatment systems.[93] The eastern portion of the county, which is the most populated region, does not have access to a sewage treatment system.[94]

Politics

United States presidential election results for Grainger County, Tennessee[95]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No. %No. %No. %
2020 8,565 84.52% 1,467 14.48% 102 1.01%
2016 6,626 82.74% 1,154 14.41% 228 2.85%
2012 5,470 75.43% 1,668 23.00% 114 1.57%
2008 5,297 70.60% 2,066 27.54% 140 1.87%
2004 4,907 65.19% 2,569 34.13% 51 0.68%
2000 3,746 60.48% 2,361 38.12% 87 1.40%
1996 2,875 52.72% 2,162 39.65% 416 7.63%
1992 2,772 49.92% 2,242 40.37% 539 9.71%
1988 2,734 65.50% 1,423 34.09% 17 0.41%
1984 3,212 66.72% 1,565 32.51% 37 0.77%
1980 3,254 67.12% 1,495 30.84% 99 2.04%
1976 2,805 57.68% 2,018 41.50% 40 0.82%
1972 2,842 76.54% 828 22.30% 43 1.16%
1968 2,788 67.26% 761 18.36% 596 14.38%
1964 2,634 66.80% 1,309 33.20% 0 0.00%
1960 3,017 75.86% 939 23.61% 21 0.53%
1956 2,497 72.40% 913 26.47% 39 1.13%
1952 3,030 76.28% 937 23.59% 5 0.13%
1948 1,824 71.75% 644 25.33% 74 2.91%
1944 1,938 76.00% 605 23.73% 7 0.27%
1940 1,688 66.01% 842 32.93% 27 1.06%
1936 1,754 60.15% 1,153 39.54% 9 0.31%
1932 1,325 56.31% 995 42.29% 33 1.40%
1928 1,457 75.30% 466 24.08% 12 0.62%
1924 1,464 68.80% 651 30.59% 13 0.61%
1920 2,158 70.66% 895 29.31% 1 0.03%
1916 1,529 64.38% 843 35.49% 3 0.13%
1912 741 29.85% 841 33.88% 900 36.26%

Like all of East Tennessee, Grainger County has long been overwhelmingly Republican, due to its powerful Unionist sentiment during the Civil War.[96] The last Democratic presidential candidate to ever carry Grainger County was Andrew Jackson in 1832. The Whig Party carried the county consistently between 1836 and 1852, and since the Republican Party first contested Tennessee in 1868, it has won Grainger County in every election except in 1912 when the GOP was mortally divided and Progressive Theodore Roosevelt carried the county over conservative incumbent William Howard Taft.

The American Communities Project (ACP) characterized Grainger County as a 'evangelical hub,' due to the high number of religious residents tied to evangelical churches, particularly the Southern Baptist Convention, and the county is in one of the most politically conservative types of the ACP's characteristic placements.[97]

In recent elections, the county has shown little competitiveness for Democratic candidates in local, state, and federal elections.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Grainger". County Technical Assistance Service. University of Tennessee. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  2. ↑ "Results: County mayor races in 10 East Tenn. counties". WBIR-TV. May 1, 2018. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  3. 1 2 "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
  4. ↑ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  5. ↑ "Revised Delineations of Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Micropolitan Statistical Areas, and Combined Statistical Areas, and Guidance on Uses of the Delineations of These Areas" (PDF). Office of Management and Budget. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 Coffey, Ken (October 19, 2012). "The First Family of Tennessee". Grainger County Historic Society. Thomas Daugherty. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  7. ↑ Barksdale, Kevin (July 11, 2014). The Lost State of Franklin: America's First Secession (E-book). University Press of Kentucky. p. 19. ISBN 9780813150093. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  8. 1 2 3 "Soil Survey of Grainger County, Tennessee" (PDF). Natural Resources Conservation Service. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  9. ↑ Kevin Collins, "Grainger County," Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture. Retrieved: October 20, 2013
  10. 1 2 Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 141.
  11. ↑ "Grainger County Archives". www.graingerarchives.org. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  12. ↑ Oliver Perry Temple, East Tennessee and the Civil War (R. Clarke Company, 1899), p. 199.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Collins, Kevin (October 8, 2017). "Grainger County". TennesseeEncyclopedia.net. Tennessee Historical Society. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  14. ↑ Hartley, William (2002). "Knoxville Campaign". In Heidler, David; Heidler, Jeanne (eds.). Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military History. W. W. Norton. ISBN 9780393047585.
  15. ↑ Phillips, Bud (July 18, 2010). "Tate Springs was once a popular health resort". Bristol Herald Courier. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  16. ↑ "Spring Histories". Tennessee State Library and Archives. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  17. 1 2 ""The Battle of Thorn Hill"". Grainger County Genealogy & History. TNGenWeb Project. May 12, 2011. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  18. ↑ "History". Grainger County Chamber of Commerce. Archived from the original on February 4, 2006. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  19. ↑ Tennessee Valley Authority (1946). The Cherokee Project: A Comprehensive Report on the Planning, Design, Construction, and Initial Operations of the Cherokee Project. Washington D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. pp. 32, 249 – via Google Books.
  20. ↑ "Grainger Court House Burns, Old Records Believed Safe". Grainger County Genealogy & History. Knoxville News Sentinel. January 17, 1946. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  21. ↑ Brooks, David (September 30, 1984). "Opposition may doom Clinch Mountain trail". Kingsport Times-News. Retrieved May 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ↑ Lakin, Matt (August 26, 2012). "Blood on the asphalt: 11W wreck left 14 people dead". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  23. ↑ Lakin, Matt (July 5, 2012). "Frayed wiring scrutinized in fatal electrocution at Grainger County marina". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  24. ↑ Schriffen, John (July 5, 2012). "Fourth Child Dies After Missouri, Tennessee Lake Electrocutions". ABC News. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  25. ↑ Todd, Jen (March 9, 2015). "Noah Dean and Nate Act elevates marina safety". The Tennessean. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  26. 1 2 Dorman, Travis; Satterfield, Jamie (April 5, 2018). "ICE raids Grainger County meatpacking plant amid charges owners avoided $2.5M in payroll taxes". Knox News. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  27. 1 2 Burke, Sheila (April 6, 2018). "Immigration raid takes 97 into custody at Tennessee plant". ABC News. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  28. ↑ Lakin, Matt (September 12, 2018). "Bean Station ICE raid: Slaughterhouse owner pleads guilty to hiring undocumented workers". Knoxville News-Sentinel. Knoxville, Tennessee. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  29. ↑ "2018 Grainger County ICE raid subject of Netflix documentary". WATE 6 On Your Side. December 19, 2019. Retrieved December 22, 2019.
  30. ↑ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved April 5, 2015.
  31. 1 2 3 "History of Great Smoky Mountain Park" Archived 2012-10-04 at the Wayback Machine, Knoxville, Tennessee Information Gateway, accessed 26 May 2012
  32. ↑ Larry E. Matthews, Chapter 4: "Indian Cave", Caves of Knoxville and the Great Smoky Mountains, National Speleological Society, 2008, ISBN 978-1-879961-30-2, pp. 83-104
  33. 1 2 3 4 Matthews (2008), "Caves of Knoxville", pp. 83-104
  34. ↑ "22 drug arrests made in rave in cave party that lured 800". The Tennessean. Associated Press. November 22, 2000. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  35. ↑ East Tennessee Economic Development Agency. "Grainger County". ETEDA.org. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  36. ↑ "Cherokee Lake". CherokeeLake.org. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
  37. ↑ "Holston River Map" (PDF). Outside Knoxville. Tennessee Valley Authority. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  38. ↑ "TWRA Boating & Fishing Access Sites Map". Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  39. ↑ "About Norris Lake". norrislake.com. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  40. ↑ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 5, 2015.
  41. ↑ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved April 5, 2015.
  42. ↑ Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 5, 2015.
  43. ↑ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved April 5, 2015.
  44. ↑ Based on 2000 census data
  45. ↑ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  46. ↑ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  47. ↑ "Grainger County, TN". DataUSA.io. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  48. ↑ "Mayor". Grainger County, Tennessee. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  49. ↑ "Sheriff's Department". Grainger County, Tennessee. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  50. ↑ "Register of Deeds". Grainger County, Tennessee. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  51. ↑ "Circuit Court Clerk". Grainger County, Tennessee. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  52. ↑ "Trustee". Grainger County, Tennessee. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  53. ↑ "Assessor of Property". Grainger County, Tennessee. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  54. ↑ "Highway Superintendent". Grainger County, Tennessee. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  55. ↑ "County Clerk". Grainger County, Tennessee. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  56. ↑ "Sessions Court Judge". Grainger County, Tennessee. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  57. ↑ "County Commission". Grainger County, Tennessee. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  58. 1 2 3 "FROM CAPITOL HILL TO OUR LOCAL COMMUNITY… GET TO KNOW YOUR GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS" (PDF). Grainger County Election Commission. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  59. ↑ "Board of Education". Grainger County Schools. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  60. ↑ "Director's Welcome". Grainger County Schools. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  61. ↑ "Welcome Page". Grainger County Election Commission. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  62. ↑ "Soil Conservation". Grainger County, Tennessee. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  63. ↑ "Solid Waste". Grainger County, Tennessee. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  64. ↑ "About". Grainger County Historical Archives. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  65. ↑ "Clerk & Master". Grainger County, Tennessee. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  66. ↑ "Office on Aging". Grainger County, Tennessee. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  67. ↑ "Grainger County: County Profile Tool". Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. State of Tennessee. 2018. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
  68. ↑ "Using the Social Ecological Model to examine how homelessness is defined and managed in rural East Tennessee" (PDF). National Health Care for the Homeless Council. April 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved November 29, 2020. Rural areas are usually characterized by higher levels of economic disadvantage in terms of median income, percentage of residents living below the poverty level, and percentage of residents with a low education level. They often have higher levels of home ownership as opposed to multiple rental units. Union, Grainger, and Claiborne County reflect these traditional, rural characteristics.
  69. ↑ "The United States: By Rural, Urban and Exurban Counties". The Daily Yonder. March 17, 2009. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  70. ↑ Bertone, Rachel (March 13, 2017). "Why Grainger County, Tennessee, Tomatoes Are So Tasty". Farm Flavor. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  71. ↑ DeVoe, Emily (August 6, 2020). "WHY THE TOMATOES GROWN IN THIS RURAL TENNESSEE COUNTY ATTRACT PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD". WBIR-TV. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  72. ↑ "Agriculture". Grainger County Extension Institute of Agriculture. University of Tennessee. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  73. ↑ "Grainger County Tomato Festival TN". Grainger County Tomato Festival TN. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
  74. ↑ "Grainger County Growth Plan" (PDF). Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations. July 10, 2000. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  75. ↑ Comen, Evan (July 24, 2020). "Least Expensive Place To Live In Every State". 24/7 Wall Street. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  76. ↑ "Grainger County, TN". Data USA. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  77. ↑ Carruthers, Amelia (1943). "Bean Station". National History Magazine. 77: 31–35.
  78. ↑ Coffey, Ken (June 10, 2020). "Polly Cole: The Thorn Hill Prospector". Grainger Today. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  79. ↑ University of Tennessee, Department of Geological Sciences (1985). "The geological history of the Thorn Hill Paleozoic section (Cambrian-Mississippian)". Se-Gsa 1985: 128.
  80. 1 2 Wolfe, Tracey (November 17, 2020). "Land use regulations must be considered". Grainger Today. Archived from the original on December 6, 2020. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  81. ↑ Wolfe, Tracey (November 25, 2020). "German Creek homeowners fighting commercial development". Grainger Today. Archived from the original on December 6, 2020. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  82. ↑ East Tennessee Development District (April 1, 2012). "Grainger County 2010 Census Report" (PDF). ETDD.org. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  83. ↑ "2019 Annual Report" (PDF). Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS). January 14, 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022 – via East Tennessee Development District.
  84. ↑ "2020 Annual Report: Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy" (PDF). East Tennessee Development District. December 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  85. ↑ State of Tennessee, Transparent Tennessee. "Distressed Counties". TN.gov. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  86. ↑ "Grainger County School District". Niche. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  87. ↑ "Estimated Cost of Needed Infrastructure for Grainger County Five-year period July 2018 through June 2023" (PDF). Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations. State of Tennessee. 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  88. 1 2 "East Tennessee Rural Regional Transportation Plan" (PDF). East Tennessee Development District. Tennessee Department of Transportation. October 28, 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
  89. 1 2 "Facts About Your Cooperative" (PDF). Appalachian Electric Cooperative. June 30, 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  90. ↑ "Business & Industry". Grainger County, Tennessee. Archived from the original on January 15, 2006. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  91. ↑ "Service Areas". Knoxville Utilities Board. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  92. ↑ "About". Luttrell-Blaine-Corryton Utility District. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  93. ↑ "Blaine Sewer Rates". Luttrell-Blaine-Corryton Utility District. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  94. ↑ Hipsher, Mark (August 18, 2011). "Grainger County, TN - 04-01-05953" (PDF). Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation.
  95. ↑ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  96. ↑ "Grainger County Election Commission". graingercoelectioncommission.com. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
  97. ↑ "Evangelical Hubs". American Communities Project. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Grainger County, Tennessee.

36°17′N 83°31′W / 36.28°N 83.51°W / 36.28; -83.51

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.