Kingsport is a city in Sullivan and Hawkins counties in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

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 ...

. As of the 2020 census, its population was 55,442. Lying along the

Holston River The Holston River is a river that flows from Kingsport, Tennessee, to Knoxville, Tennessee. Along with its three major forks (North Fork, Middle Fork and South Fork), it comprises a major river system that drains much of northeastern Tennessee, ...

, Kingsport is commonly included in what is known as the Mountain Empire, which spans a portion of

southwest Virginia Southwest Virginia, often abbreviated as SWVA, is a mountainous region of Virginia in the westernmost part of the commonwealth. Located within the broader region of western Virginia, Southwest Virginia has been defined alternatively as all Virg ...

and the mountainous counties in northeastern Tennessee. It is the largest city in the Kingsport–Bristol metropolitan area, which had a population of 307,614 in 2020. The metro area is a component of the larger Tri-Cities region of Tennessee and Virginia, with a population of 508,260 in 2020. The name "Kingsport" is a simplification of "King's Port", originally referring to the area on the Holston River known as King's Boat Yard, the head of navigation for the

Tennessee Valley The Tennessee Valley is the drainage basin of the Tennessee River and is largely within the U.S. state of Tennessee. It stretches from southwest Kentucky to north Alabama and from northeast Mississippi to the mountains of Virginia and North Car ...

History

Kingsport was developed after the Revolutionary War, at the confluence of the North and South Forks of the Holston River. In 1787 it was known as "Salt Lick" for an ancient mineral lick. It was first settled along the banks of the South Fork, about a mile from the confluence. The Long Island of the Holston River is near the confluence, which is mostly within the present-day corporate boundaries of Kingsport. The island was an important site for the

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

, colonial pioneers and early settlers, and specifically mentioned in the 1770

Treaty of Lochaber The Treaty of Lochaber was signed in South Carolina on 18 October 1770 by British representative John Stuart and the Cherokee people, fixing the boundary for the western limit of the colonial frontier settlements of Virginia and North Carolina. ...

. Early settlements at the site were used as a staging ground for other pioneers who were traveling overland on the Wilderness Road leading to

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

through the

Cumberland Gap The Cumberland Gap is a pass through the long ridge of the Cumberland Mountains, within the Appalachian Mountains, near the junction of the U.S. states of Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee. It is famous in American colonial history for its r ...

. First chartered in 1822, Kingsport became an important shipping port on the Holston River. Goods originating for many miles around from the surrounding countryside were loaded onto barges for the journey downriver to the

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other name ...

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' ...

. In the Battle of Kingsport (December 13, 1864) during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, a force of 300 Confederates under Colonel Richard Morgan stopped a larger

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

force for nearly two days. An army of over 5,500 troops under command of Major General

George Stoneman George Stoneman Jr. (August 8, 1822 – September 5, 1894) was a United States Army cavalry officer and politician who served as the fifteenth Governor of California from 1883 to 1887. He was trained at West Point, where his roommate was Stonewall ...

had left Knoxville to raid Confederate targets in Virginia: the salt works at

Saltville Saltville is a town in Smyth and Washington counties in the U.S. state of Virginia. The population was 2,077 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Kingsport– Bristol (TN)– Bristol (VA) Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a compon ...

, the lead works at Wytheville, and the iron works in

Marion Marion may refer to: People *Marion (given name) *Marion (surname) *Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion" *Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992) Places Antarctica * Mario ...

. While Col. Morgan's small band held off a main Union force under Major General Cullem Gillem on the opposite side the Holston River, Union Col. Samuel Patton took a force of cavalry to a ford in the river north and came down behind the Confederates. Out-numbered, out-flanked, and demoralised by the bitter winter weather, Col. Morgan surrendered. The Confederates suffered 18 dead, and 84 prisoners of war were sent to a Union prison in Knoxville. The city lost its charter after a downturn in its fortunes precipitated by the Civil War. On September 12, 1916, Kingsport residents demanded the death of circus elephant

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

(an

Asian elephant The Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus''), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living species of the genus ''Elephas'' and is distributed throughout the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India in the west, Nepal in the no ...

that performed in the Sparks World-famous Shows Circus). She had killed city hotel worker Walter Eldridge, who was hired by the circus the day before as an assistant elephant trainer. Eldridge was attacked and killed by the elephant while he was leading her to a pond. The elephant was impounded by the local sheriff. Leaders of several nearby towns threatened to prevent the circus from performing if it included the elephant. The circus owner, Charlie Sparks, reluctantly decided that the only way to quickly resolve the situation was to hold a public execution. On the following day, she was transported by rail to

Erwin, Tennessee Erwin is a town in and the county seat of Unicoi County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 6,097 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Johnson City Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Johnson City– Kingspo ...

, where a crowd of over 2,500 people assembled in the

Clinchfield Railroad The Clinchfield Railroad was an operating and holding company for the Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio Railway . The line ran from the coalfields of Virginia and Elkhorn City, Kentucky, to the textile mills of South Carolina. The 35-mile segmen ...

yard to watch her hang from a railroad crane.Schroeder, Joan V
"The Day They Hanged an Elephant in East Tennessee"
''Blue Ridge Country'' Re-chartered in 1917, Kingsport was an early example of a "garden city". Part of it was designed by city planner and landscape architect

John Nolen John Nolen (June 14, 1869 – February 18, 1937) was an American landscape architect, planning consultant, founding member of the American City Planning Institute and a writer. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Nolen was orphaned as a child a ...

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston ...

. It was nicknamed as the "Model City" from this plan, which organized the town into areas for commerce, churches, housing and industry. Most of the land on the river was devoted to industry. Most of the Long Island is now occupied by

Eastman Chemical Company Eastman Chemical Company is an American company primarily involved in the chemical industry. Once a subsidiary of Kodak, today it is an independent global specialty materials company that produces a broad range of advanced materials, chemicals and ...

, which is headquartered in Kingsport. As part of this plan, Kingsport built some of the earliest

traffic circle A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford Eng ...

s (roundabouts) in the United States. Into the 1950s, two important

public works Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, sc ...

projects were constructed: the

Boone Dam Boone Dam is a hydroelectric and flood control dam on the South Fork Holston River on the border between Sullivan County and Washington County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is one of three dams on the South Fork Holston owned and operated ...

and the

Fort Patrick Henry Dam Fort Patrick Henry Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the South Fork Holston River within the city of Kingsport, in Sullivan County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the lowermost of three dams on the South Fork Holston owned and operated by the ...

hydroelectric dams Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...

built along the

South Fork Holston River The Holston River is a river that flows from Kingsport, Tennessee, to Knoxville, Tennessee. Along with its three major forks (North Fork, Middle Fork and South Fork), it comprises a major river system that drains much of northeastern Tennessee ...

. Kingsport was among the first municipalities to adopt a city manager form of government, to professionalize operations of city departments. It developed its school system based on a model promoted by

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. Pal's Sudden Service, a regional fast-food restaurant chain, opened its first location in 1956 and is headquartered in Kingsport. In 2001, Pal's Sudden Service, won the

Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recognizes U.S. organizations in the business, health care, education, and nonprofit sectors for performance excellence. The Baldrige Award is the highest formal recognition of the performance excellen ...

, becoming the first restaurant company to receive the award.

Geography

Long Island, Kingsport, TN (11523602094)

Kingsport is located in western Sullivan County at (36.5369, −82.5421), at the intersection of U.S. Routes 11W and 23. Kingsport is the northwest terminus of

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 K ...

. US 11W leads east to

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 ...

and southwest to Rogersville, while US 23 leads north to

Big Stone Gap, Virginia Big Stone Gap is a town in Wise County, Virginia, United States. The town was economically centered around the coal industry for much of its early development. The population was 5,643 at the 2010 census. History The community was formerly kno ...

. I-26 and US 23 lead south to

Interstate 81 Interstate 81 (I-81) is a north–south (physically northeast–southwest) Interstate Highway in the eastern part of the United States. Its southern terminus is at I-40 in Dandridge, Tennessee; its northern terminus is on Wellesley Isla ...

and to Asheville, North Carolina. The city is bordered to the west by the town of Mount Carmel, to the southeast by unincorporated Colonial Heights, and to the northeast by unincorporated Bloomingdale. The Kingsport city limits extend west into Hawkins County and north to the

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

border. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, the city has a total area of , of which are land and , or 1.86%, are water. Most of the water area is in the

Climate

Neighborhoods

There are several neighborhoods located within or just outside of Kingsport, offering different lifestyles: * Allandale * Amersham * Bloomingdale * Borden Village * Carter's Valley * Cliffside * Colonial Heights * Cooks Valley * Downtown * Edinburgh * Fairacres * Fort Robinson * Gibson Town * Green Acres * Highland Park * Hillcrest * Huntington Hills * Indian Springs (Fall Creek &

Airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

) * Litz Manor * Lynn Garden * Malabar Heights * Meadowview * Midtown * Morrison City * Orebank * Preston Forest * Preston Hills * Ridgefields * Riverfront * Riverview * Rock Springs * Sevier Terrace * Sullivan Gardens * Tellico Hills * White City

Demographics

2020 census

As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...

, there were 55,442 people, 23,640 households, and 14,273 families residing in the city.

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 44,905 people, 19,662 households and 12,642 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,018.9 per square mile (393.4/km²). There were 21,796 housing units at an average density of 494.6 per square mile (191.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.32%

White White is the 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 reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 4.07%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.79%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.24% American Indian/Alaska Native, 0.02% Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, 0.34% some other race, and 1.06%

two or more races 2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many cultur ...

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 forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 1.05% of the population. There were 19,662 households, of which 26.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.5% were married couples living together, 12.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.7% were non-families. 32.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22, and the average family size was 2.80. In the city, the population was spread out, with 21.7% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 25.3% from 45 to 64, and 20.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 84.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.4 males. The median income for a household in the city was $30,524, and the median income for a family was $40,183. Males had a median income of $33,075 versus $23,217 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,549. About 14.2% of families and 17.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.9% of those under age 18 and 13.0% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Municipal

Kingsport uses the council-manager system, which was established in 1917 when the city was re-chartered. Kingsport is governed locally by a seven-member Board of Mayor and Aldermen. The citizens elect the mayor to a two-year term and the six aldermen to four-year terms. The elections take place in odd-numbered years, with the mayor and three aldermen elected every two years. New terms begin on July 1. The board elects a vice mayor from among the six aldermen. The council or board then hires a professional city manager. In late 2021, or early 2022, the board decided to move the election to coincide with the primary elections in Tennessee in August of every even-numbered year. This changes the Mayoral and Alderman election from May 2023 to August of 2024.

Current composition of BMA

Past municipal election results

In May of 2021, incumbent Mayor Patrick Shull fought off three challengers, but won with 63.8% of the vote. Aldermen Collette George (who also serves as a county commissioner for Sullivan County) and Betsy M Cooper ran for re-election to another 4 year term and won. Alderman Jennifer Adler decided not to run for re-election. Political new-comer Paul Montgomery won the most votes in race beating out Bob Harshbarger (son of Congresswoman

Diana Harshbarger Diana Lynn Harshbarger ( ; born January 1, 1960) is an American pharmacist, businesswoman, and politician serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for . The district is based in the Tri-Cities, Tennessee, Tri-Cit ...

), Joe Carr (who ran for Mayor in 2019, and was later elected to the Sullivan County Commission), Sara Buchanan, Wesley Combs,

Gerald Sensabaugh Gerald Lind Sensabaugh Jr. (born June 13, 1983) is a former American football safety. He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fifth round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He also played for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Nort ...

(the former Safety for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...

), and J.S. Moore.

State

The Sullivan County portion of Kingsport is represented in the Tennessee House of Representatives by the 1st and 2nd State Representative districts and the Hawkins County portion by the 6th district. Currently serving in these positions are Representatives John Crawford, Bud Hulsey, and

Scotty Campbell Scotty Campbell is the Republican member of the Tennessee House of Representatives for the 3rd district, encompassing Mountain City, Johnson County, and parts of Sullivan County. Campbell first served from January 2011 until November 2012 ...

respectively. In the

Tennessee State Senate The Tennessee Senate is the upper house of the U.S. state of Tennessee's state legislature, which is known formally as the Tennessee General Assembly. The Tennessee Senate has the power to pass resolutions concerning essentially any issue rega ...

, the Sullivan County portion of Kingsport is represented by the 4th Senatorial District and the Hawkins County portion by the 8th district. State Senator

Jon Lundberg Jon Lundberg (born June 26, 1961 in Royal Oak, Michigan) is an American politician and a Republican member of the Tennessee State Senate for the 4th district. He was first elected to the 105th Tennessee General Assembly (2007–2008). He serves a ...

and State Senator Frank Niceley currently serve in these positions. All of these elected officials are members of the Republican Party.

Federal

Kingsport is represented in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

by Republican

of the 1st congressional district.

Economy

has its world headquarters in Kingsport.

Domtar Domtar Corporation is an American company that manufactures and markets wood fiber-based paper and pulp product. The company operates pulp and paper mills in Windsor, Quebec, Dryden, Ontario, Kamloops, British Columbia, Ashdown, Arkansas, Hawesv ...

operates a paper mill in Kingsport.

has temporarily shut this plant down from uncoated freesheet paper manufacturing and plans to convert the plant by 2023 to be able to create containerboard.

Holston Army Ammunition Plant Holston Army Ammunition Plant (HSAAP) manufactures Research Department Explosive ( RDX) and High Melting Explosive (HMX) for ammunition production and development. It is government-owned and contractor-operated (GOCO) facility that is part of th ...

operated by BAE Systems' Ordnance Systems, Inc. manufactures a wide range of secondary detonating explosives for the

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...

. In 2019, Kingsport's

gross metropolitan product Gross metropolitan product (GMP) is a monetary measure of the value of all final goods and services produced within a metropolitan statistical area during a specified period (''e.g.'', a quarter, a year). GMP estimates are commonly used to compare ...

was reported to be .

Education

Colleges and universities

While no college or university has its main campus within the city, these institutions have branch campuses in Kingsport: *

East Tennessee State University East Tennessee State University (ETSU) is a public research university in Johnson City, Tennessee. Although it is part of the State University and Community College System of Tennessee, the university is governed by an institutional Board of Tr ...

King University King University is a private Presbyterian-affiliated university in Bristol, Tennessee. Founded in 1867, King is independently governed with covenant affiliations to the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC). H ...

Lincoln Memorial University Lincoln Memorial University (LMU) is a private university in Harrogate, Tennessee. LMU's campus borders on Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. As of fall 2019, it had 1,975 undergraduate and 2,892 graduate and professional students. LMU ...

* Milligan University *

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 Kingspo ...

King, Lincoln Memorial, Milligan and Northeast State are all located in the Kingsport Academic Village complex in downtown Kingsport. East Tennessee State offers general education courses in the Hawkins County (westernmost) portion of the city, with more advanced courses at the Academic Village.

Primary and secondary

Residents of Kingsport are served by the

Kingsport City Schools Kingsport City Schools is a public school district that serves the residents of the city of Kingsport, Tennessee Kingsport is a city in Sullivan County, Tennessee, Sullivan and Hawkins County, Tennessee, Hawkins counties in the U.S. state of ...

public school system. It operates eight elementary schools, two middle schools, and one high school. In addition, Kingsport has eight private academies, most with religious affiliation. ;List of Kingsport city schools * John Adams Elementary School * Andrew Jackson Elementary School * Andrew Johnson Elementary School * John F. Kennedy Elementary School * Abraham Lincoln Elementary School * Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School * Thomas Jefferson Elementary School * George Washington Elementary School * Ross N. Robinson Middle School * John Sevier Middle School *

Dobyns-Bennett High School Dobyns-Bennett High School is a high school ( grades 9–12) in Kingsport, Tennessee, United States. It typically educates around 1,800 students, although enrollment for the 2014–15 academic year exceeded 2,100 students. As a part of Kingsport ...

* Cora Cox Academy (formerly New Horizons Alternative School) * Dobyns-Bennett Excel

Former school for African Americans

Douglass High School in Kingsport was one of the largest

high schools in the region when it closed for

desegregation Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups, usually referring to races. Desegregation is typically measured by the index of dissimilarity, allowing researchers to determine whether desegregation efforts are having impact o ...

in 1966. The school's former building on East Walnut Avenue (now East Sevier Avenue) was a historic

Rosenwald School The Rosenwald School project built more than 5,000 schools, shops, and teacher homes in the United States primarily for the education of African-American children in the South during the early 20th century. The project was the product of the part ...

, built in 1929–30 with a combination of funds from the city, private citizens and the

Rosenwald Fund The Rosenwald Fund (also known as the Rosenwald Foundation, the Julius Rosenwald Fund, and the Julius Rosenwald Foundation) was established in 1917 by Julius Rosenwald and his family for "the well-being of mankind." Rosenwald became part-owner of S ...

. Although during the years of segregation the Douglass Tigers football team was not allowed to play white teams, the Tigers won a Tennessee state football championship a state basketball championship in 1946, and a state basketball championship in 1948. The present building, built in 1951 at 301 Louis Street, is now the V.O. Dobbins Sr. Complex, named for Douglass' former principal.

Human resources

Medical

Kingsport is the location of two hospitals, both operated by Ballad Health: *Holston Valley Medical Center *Indian Path Community Hospital

Military

* The vessel SS ''Kingsport Victory'', which later became USNS Kingsport (T-AG 164), USNS ''Kingsport'', was named in honor of the city.

Police

Kingsport Police Department is the municipal law enforcement agency for the City of Kingsport. As of 2021, the KPD consisted of 120 sworn officer positions, plus about 40 full-time support staff, including records, jail, maintenance and dispatch. KPD has numerous specialized divisions to address the needs of the city, including Criminal Investigations, VICE and Narcotics, Traffic, Search and Rescue, Bomb Squad, and SWAT.

Media

Newspapers

* ''Kingsport Times-News'' * Daily News (Kingsport), ''Daily News''

Television

* WKPT-TV (Cozi TV, COZI TV 19) * WAPK-CD (MeTV 36) Kingsport shares a television market with Johnson City, Tennessee, Johnson City and Bristol, Virginia, Bristol, VA. WCYB-TV (NBC; The CW, THE CW on WCYB-DT2, DT2) in Bristol, WEMT, WEMT-TV (Fox Broadcasting Company, FOX) in Greeneville, Tennessee, Greeneville, East Tennessee PBS, WETP-TV (PBS) in Sneedville, Tennessee, Sneedville and WJHL-TV (CBS; American Broadcasting Company, ABC on WJHL-DT2, DT2 aka ABC Tri-Cities) in Johnson City.

AM radio

* WKPT (AM), WKPT * WHGG

FM radio

* WTFM * WRZK * WCQR * WKOS * WCSK

Culture

Sports

The city is home to the Kingsport Axmen, a collegiate summer baseball team of the Appalachian League. The nickname is in reference to frontiersman Daniel Boone, who began the Wilderness Road in Kingsport. The Axmen play their home games at Hunter Wright Stadium, which is named after former mayor Hunter Wright. Professional baseball was first played in Kingsport, by the Kingsport Indians in the Appalachian League from 1921 to 1925. The team went dormant for 12 years before it returned to the circuit as the Kingsport Cherokees from 1938 to 1955—with the exception of the 1942 season as the Kingsport Dodgers and as members of the Mountain States League (1948–1954), Mountain States League in 1953 and 1954. The club was later known as the Kingsport Orioles (1957), Kingsport Pirates (1960–1963), Kingsport Royals (1969–1973), and Kingsport Braves (1974–1979). The Kingsport Mets were members of the Appy League from 1980 to 2020, except for the 1983 season when the New York Mets temporarily relocated the team to Sarasota, Florida, as the Gulf Coast League Mets, while their home ballpark was being renovated. In conjunction with a contraction of Minor League Baseball beginning with the 2021 season, the Appalachian League was reorganized as a collegiate summer baseball league, and the Mets were replaced by the Axmen, a new franchise in the revamped league designed for rising college freshman and sophomores.

Recreation

The Kingsport Parks and Recreation manages several parks within the city. * Bays Mountain Park * Borden Park * Dogwood Park * Edinburgh Park * Kingsport Greenbelt Walking/Cycling Trail * Riverview Splash Pad * Scott Adams Skate Park * Warrior's Path State Park

Notable people

*Lisa Alther, author, born and grew up in Kingsport * Edward L. Ayers, Bancroft Prize-winning historian and ninth president of the University of Richmond, raised in Kingsport * Barry Bales, Grammy Award-winning musician with Alison Krauss and Union Station * James Frazier Barker, James F. Barker, president of Clemson University (1999–2013) * Nick Castle, actor who played Michael Myers in the original Halloween, was born in Kingsport and makes appearances at the local haunted houses. * Jeff Chapman-Crane, Appalachian artist * Harry Coover, inventor of Super Glue * Denny Crawford, professional football player * Amy Dalley, country music artist * Bobby Dodd, College Football Hall of Fame inductee as both a football player (University of Tennessee) and coach (Georgia Institute of Technology) * Bobby Eaton, professional wrestler * Elle and Blair Fowler, online beauty retailers who spent part of their childhoods in Kingsport * Daniel Kilgore (American football), Daniel Kilgore, professional football player, Kansas City Chiefs * Cliff Kresge, Nationwide Tour golfer who splits his time between homes in Kingsport and Florida * Hal Lawton, President & CEO of Tractor Supply, graduate of Sullivan South High School * Blake Leeper, Paralympics, Paralympic silver medallist * Cripple Clarence Lofton, noted boogie-woogie pianist and singer, born in Kingsport * Matt Mahaffey, musician, frontman of pop/rock band Self (band), Self * Brownie McGhee, Brownie and Stick McGhee, brothers and blues musicians, grew up in Kingsport and other East Tennessee towns * Ken Mellons, country music artist * John Palmer (TV journalist), John Palmer, former NBC News correspondent, born in Kingsport and a graduate of

* Jimmy Quillen, member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee's 1st congressional district (1963–1997) * John Shelton Reed, sociologist and essayist, author or editor of eighteen books, most of them dealing with the contemporary American South * Selwa Roosevelt, Selwa Showker "Lucky" Roosevelt, Chief of Protocol of the United States from 1982-1989 and former journalist for the ''Washington Post'', married Archibald B. Roosevelt, grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt * Coty Sensabaugh, cornerback for the Pittsburgh Steelers *

, retired NFL cornerback, played for the Jacksonville Jaguars and the

* LeRoy Sprankle, high school multi-sport coach, author, and general manager of the Canton Independents * Adam Steffey, bluegrass artist * Bill Streever, biologist and author * Cyrus Thomas, entomologist and ethnologist * Steven Williams, actor who starred in ''21 Jump Street'' and ''The Blues Brothers (film), The Blues Brothers''

References

External links

City of Kingsport official website

Kingsport History
{{authority control Kingsport, Tennessee, Cities in Tennessee Cities in Sullivan County, Tennessee Cities in Hawkins County, Tennessee Cities in Washington County, Tennessee East Tennessee Kingsport–Bristol metropolitan area Populated places established in 1822 1822 establishments in Tennessee State of Franklin Planned cities in the United States Company towns in Tennessee