Corryton, also known as Corryton Village, is an

unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to: * Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality * Unincorporated entity, a type of organization * Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...

bedroom community A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

in northeastern

Knox County, Tennessee Knox County is located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 478,971, making it the third-most populous county in Tennessee. Its county seat is Knoxville, which is the third-most populous city in Tennessee. K ...

, United States, about 15 miles northeast of

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state's ...

. The United States Geographic Names System classifies Corryton as a

populated place Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

. It is included in Knoxville Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

Corryton is situated near two mountains, House Mountain (the highest point in Knox County) and

Clinch Mountain Clinch Mountain is a mountain ridge in the U.S. states of Tennessee and Virginia, lying in the ridge-and-valley section of the Appalachian Mountains. From its southern terminus at Kitts Point, which lies at the intersection of Knox, Union and Gr ...

. It includes a grade school, a public library, community center, and several churches including Little Flat Creek Baptist Church (founded in 1797, making it the first Baptist church organized in Knox County), Corryton Church (formerly Corryton Baptist) and Rutherford Memorial United Methodist.

History

John Sawyers, a Revolutionary War veteran, settled in the vicinity of what is now Corryton in 1785. He subsequently built a small fort along the Emory Road. The community remained primarily agricultural until the construction of the Knoxville, Cumberland Gap and Louisville Railroad through the area in the late 1880s. The rail station that served the community was initially known as "Floyd." In 1887, a developer named Corryton Woodbury purchased property surrounding the rail depot to grow the community into a suburban town. The lots failed to sell, and the venture was unsuccessful, with the community remaining a predominantly rural hamlet. On April 25, 1983,

Thomas Knauff Thomas L. Knauff (born 1938) is an American writer, glider pilot, flight instructor, former Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Designated Pilot Examiner, and a member of the U.S. Soaring Hall of Fame. He was an early pioneer of ridge soarin ...

set an FAI

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

flying a

glider Glider may refer to: Aircraft and transport Aircraft * Glider (aircraft), heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for unpowered flight ** Glider (sailplane), a rigid-winged glider aircraft with an undercarriage, used in the sport of glidin ...

on an out-and-return course of , releasing from tow over

Williamsport Regional Airport Williamsport Regional Airport serves Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and the surrounding area with a population of about 200,000. The airport serves about 40,000 passengers annually. The airport is five miles east of Williamsport, in Lycoming Coun ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, flying south along the

Ridge-and-valley Appalachians The Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, also called the Ridge and Valley Province or the Valley and Ridge Appalachians, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division and are also a belt within the Appalachian Mountains extending ...

to take a turn-point photograph of the Little Flat Creek Church in Corryton, then returning for a landing after a 10-hour flight. The photographs were published in ''

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

'' magazine. This world record stood until 2003 when it was broken in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, but still stands as a U.S. national record.Gliding World Records ID 5427
, Fédération Aéronautique Internationale

Notable people

Kenny Chesney Kenneth Arnold Chesney (born March 26, 1968) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He has recorded more than 20 albums and has produced more than 40 Top 10 singles on the US ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' Hot Coun ...

– country music singer-songwriter, Gibbs High School alumni *

Phil Leadbetter Phil Leadbetter (March 31, 1962 – October 14, 2021) was an American resonator guitar player. Life Born in Knoxville, Tennessee, Leadbetter began playing the resonator guitar at age 12. He was a 1980 graduate of Gibbs High School in Corryton, ...

– bluegrass musician, Gibbs High School alumni *

Ashley Monroe Ashley Lauren Monroe (born September 10, 1986) is an American country music singer-songwriter. Monroe has released two solo singles, "Satisfied" and "I Don't Want To" (which featured Brooks & Dunn singer Ronnie Dunn), that reached the U.S. '' ...

– singer-songwriter, Gibbs High School alumni *

Morgan Wallen Morgan Cole Wallen (born May 13, 1993) is an American country singer and songwriter. He competed in the sixth season of ''The Voice'', originally as a member of Usher's team, but later as a member of Adam Levine's team. After being eliminated ...

–

country pop Country pop (also known as pop country or urban cowboy) is a fusion genre of country music and pop music that was developed by members of the country genre out of a desire to reach a larger, mainstream audience. Country pop music blends genres ...

singer-songwriter, Gibbs High School alumni

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Tennessee Unincorporated communities in Knox County, Tennessee Knoxville metropolitan area