Carter County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2010 census, the population was 57,424. Its county seat is

Elizabethton Elizabethton is a city in, and the county seat of Carter County, Tennessee, United States. Elizabethton is the historical site of the first independent American government (known as the Watauga Association, created in 1772) located west of both th ...

. The county is named in honor of Landon Carter (1760-1800), an early settler active in the "Lost State of Franklin" 1784-1788 secession from the State of North Carolina. Carter County is part of the Johnson City, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Johnson City–

Kingsport Kingsport is a city in Sullivan and Hawkins counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, its population was 55,442. Lying along the Holston River, Kingsport is commonly included in what is known as the Mountain Empire ...

– Bristol, TN- VA Combined Statistical Area, located in northeastern Tennessee.

History

The area was originally claimed by Britain as part of the Clarendon settlements of the

Province of Carolina Province of Carolina was a province of England (1663–1707) and Great Britain (1707–1712) that existed in North America and the Caribbean from 1663 until partitioned into North and South on January 24, 1712. It is part of present-day Alaba ...

, although actually populated at the time by the Cherokee. The area was part of (though seldom actually administered by) the following jurisdictions in its early history: * New Hanover Precinct (1729-1734) * Bladen County (1734-1749) * Anson County (1749-1753) * Rowan County (1753-1775)

Watauga Association

The county is named for General Landon Carter, the son of John Carter of Virginia, who was "chairman of the court" of the first majority-rule system of American democracy, known as the Watauga Association of 1772. The association was the first permanent settlement established outside the original thirteen American colonies and included the area that is today's Carter County. In 1775, the Association was absorbed into North Carolina by petition, becoming known thereafter as the Washington District.

As Wayne County in the State of Franklin

J. G. M. Ramsey James Gettys McGready Ramsey (March 25, 1797 – April 11, 1884) was an American historian, physician, planter, slave owner, and businessman, active primarily in East Tennessee during the nineteenth century. Ramsey is perhaps best known for h ...

records within his 1853 ''Annals of Tennessee'' that the State of Franklin established Wayne County from sections of both Washington County and a part of Wilkes County "lying west of the extreme heights of the or Mountains, into a separate and distinct county by the name of Wayne... This new county covered the same territory now embraced in the limits of Carter and Johnson counties." The county seat, Elizabethton, is named for Carter's wife, Elizabeth MacLin Carter.

Civil War

Like most East Tennessee counties, Carter Countians opposed secession on the eve of the Civil War. In Tennessee's Ordinance of Secession referendum on June 8, 1861, Carter Countians rejected secession by a vote of 1,343 to 86. A railroad bridge at Carter's Depot (modern Watauga) was among those targeted by the East Tennessee bridge-burning conspiracy in November 1861.

Early railroad

Carter County was served by the narrow gauge

East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad The East Tennessee & Western North Carolina Railroad , affectionately called the "Tweetsie" as a verbal acronym of its initials (ET&WNC) but also in reference to the sound of its steam whistles, was a primarily narrow gauge railroad established ...

(The ''ET&WNC'', nicknamed "Tweetsie") until the line ceased operations in 1950.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.8%) is water. Carter County is situated entirely within the Blue Ridge Mountains, specifically the Unaka Range and the

Iron Mountains The Iron Mountains are a mountain range, subrange of the Blue Ridge Mountains. These mountains are located around the common meeting point of Tennessee, Virginia, and North Carolina. A portion of the Appalachian Trail runs the crest of the Iron ...

. Roan Mountain, which at is the highest point in Tennessee outside the Great Smoky Mountains, straddles the county's eastern border with North Carolina. The county's boundary with Sullivan County is defined as the ridgeline of Holston Mountain.

Lakes

* Watauga Lake *Wilbur Reservoir (immediately below the TVA

Watauga Dam Watauga Dam is a hydroelectric and flood control dam on the Watauga River in Carter County, in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the 1940s as part of efforts to con ...

Lat: 36.3408 Lon: -82.1203] *Ripshin Lake (6 km southwest of Roan Mountain Lat: 36.1838646 Lon: -82.1356583)

Rivers

* Watauga River *

Doe River The Doe River is a tributary of the Watauga River in northeast Tennessee in the United States. The river forms in Carter County near the North Carolina line, just south of Roan Mountain State Park, and flows to Elizabethton. Hydrography The ...

Waterfalls

Adjacent counties

* Sullivan County (north) * Johnson County (northeast) *

Avery County, North Carolina Avery County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,806. The county seat is Newland. The county seat was initially established in Elk Park when the county was first formed, but wa ...

(southeast) *

Mitchell County, North Carolina Mitchell County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,903. Its county seat is Bakersville, population 439 (2022), elevation 2470 ft. The county is home to the "Mineral City ...

(south) *

Unicoi County Unicoi County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2010 census, the population was 18,313. Its county seat is Erwin. ''Unicoi'' is a Cherokee word meaning "white," "hazy," "fog-like," or "fog draped," and refer ...

(southwest) * Washington County (west)

National protected areas

Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail (also called the A.T.), is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian ...

(part) *

Cherokee National Forest The Cherokee National Forest is a United States National Forest located in the U.S. states of Tennessee and North Carolina that was created on June 14, 1920. The forest is maintained and managed by the United States Forest Service. It encompasses ...

(part)

State protected areas

*Hampton Creek Cove State Natural Area * Roan Mountain State Park * Sabine Hill State Historic Site *

Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area is a state park located in Elizabethton, in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The park consists of situated along the Sycamore Shoals of the Watauga River, a National Historic Landmark where a series of events cr ...

*Watauga River Bluffs State Natural Area

Major highways

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Law enforcement

Carter County is served by the Carter County Sheriff's Office, located in Elizabethton. During the Local General Election on August 4, 2022, Mike Fraley overcame the Independent candidate to become Sheriff of Carter County. Sheriff Fraley took over Official Duties as Sheriff on September 1. Sheriff Fraley's term will run September 1, 2022 to August 31, 2026. Its duties include patrol of the county and all jail and prisoner matters. The Elizabethton Police Department services the City of Elizabethton inside Carter County. As of 2018, the Chief of Police is Jason Shaw.

Climate

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 56,356 people, 23,784 households, and 15,256 families residing in the county.

2000 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2000, there were 56,742 people, 23,486 households, and 16,346 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 166 people per square mile (64/km²). There were 25,920 housing units at an average density of 76 per square mile (29/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.49%

White White is the lightness, lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...

, 1.00%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

, 0.20% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 0.01%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of Ocea ...

, 0.27% from other races, and 0.78% from two or more races. 0.89% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race. There were 23,486 households, out of which 28.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.90% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 11.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.40% were non-families. 26.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.83. In the county, the population was spread out, with 21.40% under the age of 18, 9.20% from 18 to 24, 29.00% from 25 to 44, 25.40% from 45 to 64, and 15.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.60 males. The median income for a household in the county was $27,371, and the median income for a family was $33,825. Males had a median income of $26,394 versus $19,687 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $14,678. About 12.80% of families and 16.90% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 23.00% of those under age 18 and 16.00% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Colleges

Northeast State Community College Northeast State Community College is a public community college based in Blountville, Tennessee. It offers technical education and college transfer programs in Blountville and at teaching sites in Elizabethton, Gray, Johnson City, and Kingsp ...

and the Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology have satellite campuses in

. * Milligan College's main campus and

Emmanuel Christian Seminary Emmanuel Christian Seminary (formerly Emmanuel School of Religion) is the graduate theological seminary of Milligan University. The school is located near Johnson City, Tennessee, United States in Elizabethton, Tennessee city limits and in the co ...

are located in the community of Milligan College, part of Elizabethton.

Communities

Cities

(county seat) * Johnson City (mostly in Washington County and a small portion in Sullivan County) * Watauga (small part in Washington County)

Census-designated places

* Biltmore * Central * Hampton *

Hunter Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, et ...

* Pine Crest * Roan Mountain *

Valley Forge Valley Forge functioned as the third of eight winter encampments for the Continental Army's main body, commanded by General officer, General George Washington, during the American Revolutionary War. In September 1777, Congress fled Philadelphi ...

Other unincorporated communities

* Big Spring * Bitter End *

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some al ...

* Carter * Fish Springs * Laurel Fork * Milligan College * Stoney Creek * Tiger Valley * Winner

Politics

Carter County is a Republican stronghold, and, like most of East Tennessee, has voted consistently Republican since the Civil War. Carter County is even more heavily Republican than many other counties in East Tennessee and has not been won by a Democratic Presidential candidate since before the Civil War. Since then, only one Democrat, southerner

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 19 ...

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phil ...

(who also won several traditionally Republican counties in East Tennessee), has received over 40% of the popular vote. Most recent Carter County Mayor Rusty Barnett died on September 21, 2020.

References

External links

Official site

Elizabethton-Carter County Chamber of Commerce

Carter County Tomorrow

Carter County History.com

Carter County, TNGenWeb
- free genealogy resources for the county * Carter Count
Landforms

Carter County Sheriff's Department
* {{Coord, 36, 18, N, 82, 7, W, type:adm2nd_region:US-TN, display=title 1796 establishments in Tennessee Populated places established in 1796 Johnson City metropolitan area, Tennessee Counties of Appalachia Second Amendment sanctuaries in Tennessee East Tennessee