Madisonville is the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
of
Monroe County, Tennessee
Monroe County is a County (United States), county located on the eastern border of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 46,250. Its county seat is Madisonville, Tennessee, Madisonville, ...
, United States.
It is located in
East Tennessee
East Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee defined in state law. Geographically and socioculturally distinct, it comprises approximately the eastern third of the U.S. state of Tennessee. East Tennessee consists of 33 coun ...
on the eastern border of the state. As of the
2020 census, the city's population was 5,132.
Geography
Madisonville is situated along
U.S. Route 411 just east of its junction with State Route 68, near the center of Monroe County. The
Unicoi Mountains
The Unicoi Mountains are a mountain range rising along the border between Tennessee and North Carolina in the southeastern United States. They are part of the Blue Ridge Mountain Province of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. The Unicois are ...
rise prominently to the southeast.
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, Madisonville has a total area of , all land.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the
2020 United States census, there were 5,132 people, 1,969 households, and 1,131 families residing in the city.
2000 census
As of the
census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2000, there were 3,939 people, 1,671 households, and 1,066 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 1,806 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 93.42%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 3.96%
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.25%
Native American, 0.33%
Asian, 0.13%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 0.79% from
other races, and 1.12% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or
Latino of any race were 2.01% of the population.
There were 1,671 households, out of which 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.4% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 13.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.2% were non-families. 32.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.86.
In the town the population was spread out, with 23.0% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 17.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.6 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $29,250, and the median income for a family was $31,918. Males had a median income of $31,504 versus $23,828 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year.
In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the town was $16,468. About 13.3% of families and 18.8% 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 26.8% of those under age 18 and 14.0% of those age 65 or over.
History
The City of Madisonville originally began as the town of Tellico, and prior to that a
Cherokee
The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...
village of the same name. The Calhoun Treaty and resulting Hiwassee Purchase of 1819 opened the area for white settlement. Madisonville was founded in the early 1820s as a county seat for
Monroe County, which had been formed in 1819. The town was initially known as "Tellico," but its name was changed to "Madisonville" in 1830 in honor of U.S. President
James Madison
James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...
in accordance with a petition from the residents presented by state representative James Madison Greenway. Madisonville was incorporated on May 16, 1850.
Airport
The
Monroe County Airport is a county-owned, public-use airport located two nautical miles (3.7 km) northwest of the
central business district
A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...
of Madisonville.
Education
Hiwassee College, now closed, is located just north of the Madisonville city limits. Madisonville is also home to a satellite campus of
Cleveland State Community College
Cleveland State Community College is a public community college in Cleveland, Tennessee. It is operated by the Tennessee Board of Regents. Like most community colleges, it emphasizes associate degree-level classes but it also offers some third ...
.
The Monroe County Schools System serves Madisonville. The schools include:
*Madisonville Primary School
*Madisonville Intermediate School
*Madisonville Middle School
*
Sequoyah High School
Sequoyah was formed by the consolidation of Vonore High School and Madisonville High School in 1995.
Notable people
*
Isaac Cline -
meteorologist
A meteorologist is a scientist who studies and works in the field of meteorology aiming to understand or predict Earth's atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric phenomena including the weather. Those who study meteorological phenomena are meteorologists ...
, born nearby
*
Sue K. Hicks -
Scopes Trial attorney and influence for the ballad, "
A Boy Named Sue"
*
Estes Kefauver
Carey Estes Kefauver ( ;
July 26, 1903 – August 10, 1963) was an American politician from Tennessee. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1939 to 1949 and in the U.S. Senate from 1949 until h ...
-
U.S. Congressman and
Senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...
who ran for
Vice President
A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...
as
Adlai Stevenson Adlai Stevenson may refer to:
* Adlai Stevenson I
Adlai Ewing Stevenson (October 23, 1835 – June 14, 1914) was an American politician and diplomat who served as the 23rd vice president of the United States from 1893 to 1897 under President Gr ...
's running mate in 1956
*
Sharon Gail Lee -
Tennessee Supreme Court
The Tennessee Supreme Court is the highest court in the state of Tennessee. The Supreme Court's three buildings are seated in Nashville, Knoxville, and Jackson, Tennessee. The Court is composed of five members: a chief justice, and four justice ...
Justice
*
Tod Sloan -
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
outfielder
*
EmiSunshine - singer/songwriter
References
External links
Official website
{{authority control
Cities in Monroe County, Tennessee
Cities in Tennessee
County seats in Tennessee
Populated places established in 1822
1822 establishments in Tennessee