Hampton is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

and

Census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

in Carter County,

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, United States. Located a few miles southeast of

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 ...

and northwest of Roan Mountain, Hampton is surrounded on all sides by the

Unaka Mountains The Unaka Range is a mountain range on the border of Tennessee and North Carolina, in the southeastern United States. It is a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains and is part of the Blue Ridge Mountains physiographic province. The Unakas stret ...

. It is part of the Johnson City

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...

, which is a component of the Johnson City– Kingsport–

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, TN- VA

Combined Statistical Area Combined statistical area (CSA) is a United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan (MSA) and micropolitan statistical areas (µSA) across the 50 US states and the territory of Puerto Ric ...

– commonly known as the " Tri-Cities" region. The population of the CDP in 2020 was 2,030.

History

Hampton was established in the late 1860s by Elijah Simerly, a state legislator and president of the

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 ...

. He named the community for his wife, Mary Hampton. Simerly built an elaborate,

Italianate-style The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian ...

house which still stands at the corner of Main Street and 1st Avenue, and is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. The house is now known as the "Butler Mansion" after a later owner, Ralph Butler.Margaret Jane Butler Umholtz and Claudette Stager, ", June 1996. Section 8, pp. 8-9. The

Laurel Fork Railway The Laurel Fork Railway was a small, standard-gauge logging railroad that operated entirely in Carter County, Tennessee from 1912 to 1927. Built by the Pittsburgh Lumber Company to serve a double-band sawmill at Braemar, in present-day Hampton, Ten ...

served a mill in Hampton.

Geography

Hampton lies in a broad valley concentrated around the

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 D ...

and its junction with two of its tributaries, namely the

Little Doe River The Little Doe River is a river located in Carter County, Tennessee. It forms from the confluence of Simerly Creek and Tiger Creek near the community of Tiger Valley, and runs in a northerly direction alongside U.S. Route 19E until its termination ...

, which enters the area from the southwest, and Laurel Fork, which enters the area from the east. This valley is surrounded by Jenkins Mountain on the west, 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 ...

on the north, Pond Mountain to the east, and Cedar Mountain to the south. Just southeast of Hampton, the Doe River emerges from the Doe River Gorge, a narrow valley between Cedar Mountain and Fork Mountain.

Watauga Lake Watauga Lake, located east of Elizabethton, Tennessee, is the local name of the Watauga Reservoir created by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) with the 1948 completion of the TVA Watauga Dam. The Cherokee National Forest surrounds both the Ten ...

is located northeast of Hampton. Dennis Cove, an Appalachian cove, lies to the southeast. The

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 Tr ...

passes through the eastern outskirts of Hampton. The trail traverses Dennis Cove and follows the upper Laurel Fork Valley before ascending to the crest of Pond Mountain. It descends again to U.S. Route 321, and continues northward along the shores of Watauga Lake. Hampton is located along U.S. Routes 321 and 19E south of

Elizabethton, Tennessee 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 ...

Demographics

Historic district

Hampton's historic district has many historic homes, including the Butler Mansion.

Economy

Hampton's economy is mainly based on tourism from the

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 ...

(In which it is located) and the

. There are several restaurants and stores in Hampton. On the southern outskirts of town, one will fin
Doe River Gorge
a Christian retreat and Summer camp featuring its own

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

Doe River Gorge - Fairmount Motor Car
/ref> railroad laid on a segment of former

roadbed.

Education

Schools in Hampton are operated by Carter County Schools: * Hampton Elementary School - Grades PK-8 * Hampton High School - Grades 9-12

Hampton-Valley Forge Volunteer Fire Department

Hampton-Valley Forge Volunteer Fire Department serves Hampton,

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

and surrounding areas.

Connection with U.S. Interstate Highway System

Interstate 26 Interstate 26 (I-26) is a main route of the Interstate Highway System in the Southeastern United States. Nominally east–west, as indicated by its even number, I-26 runs from the junction of U.S. Route 11W (US 11W) and US 23 in ...

Exit 24 then east

Tennessee State Route 67 State Route 67 (SR 67) is a state-maintained highway in northeastern Tennessee, including a four-lane divided highway segments in both Washington County and Carter County, and part of a significant two-lane segment passing over the Butler Brid ...

, then right on

to Hampton.

Climate

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Carter County, Tennessee Unincorporated communities in Tennessee Johnson City metropolitan area, Tennessee