Sweet Lips (or "Sweetlips") 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 ...
in
Chester County Chester County may refer to:
* Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States
* Chester County, South Carolina, United States
* Chester County, Tennessee, United States
* Cheshire or the County Palatine of Chester, a ceremonial county in the North Wes ...
,
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.
[Boothby, Karen J. (February 18, 2009)]
Sweet Lips with a sense of humor
'' The Jackson Sun'' (article on this "Chester County community" notes that "when your community's named Sweet Lips, you learn to have a sense of humor.")
History
The first settlers arrived in the 1820s.
Residents have claimed that the name comes from "settlers (or wandering hobos or thirsty Civil War soldiers, depending on whom you ask) who declared water from a creek to be 'sweet to the lips.'"
[(July 14, 1991)]
Toad Suck, 10 miles, Stop laughing - that's the town's name
''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...
'' ("The village, settled about 170 years ago, once bustled. Now the community's lone business is Sweet Lips Store.")[ Boyd, L.M. (July 20, 1995)]
Greater Singers
'' Daily Record (Washington)'' Alternatively, It may be named after Sweet Lips, the gun that a Tennessean soldier used to kill
Patrick Ferguson who was leading an army of
Loyalists to invade Tennessee on October 7, 1780. It may also be named after George Washington's dog with the same name. Sweet Lips has frequently been noted on lists of
unusual place names.
[Rose, Allen (June 12, 1993)]
LIZARD LICK IS ODD NAME FOR TOWN, BUT MAP IS FULL OF OFF-BEAT NAMES
''Orlando Sentinel
The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company.
The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by parent company, '' Tribune P ...
''[(August 28, 1886)]
A Nation of Humorists
''The Atlanta Constitution
''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...
'' (1886 article notes name -- "In Tennessee we find Sweet Lips, Defeated, Regret, Peanut, Quiz and Tut.")
A 1986 profile on the community reported a population of 85, no stop signs or street lights, no post office, and that the former two-room school house was now the "Sweet Lips Grocery" store.
[(June 25, 1986)]
A Sweet Lips, Tennessee Homecoming
'' Tri-City Herald'' (reprint from the ''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' The school closed in 1960.
[Chester Co. Historical Society]
Chester Co, TN - Vol II - Pictorial
p. 135 (2001)
Some scenes from the 1973 movie ''
Walking Tall'' were filmed in Sweet Lips.
[Pusser, Dwana]
Walking on: A Daughter's Journey With Legendary Sheriff Buford Pusser
p. 159 (2009)
References
External links
*
{{authority control
Unincorporated communities in Chester County, Tennessee
Unincorporated communities in Tennessee