Anderson County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

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 ...

. It is located in the northern part of the state in East Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, its population was 77,123. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

is Clinton. Anderson County is included in the

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' ...

, TN

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 as a city or tow ...

History

Before the formation of Anderson County, Tennessee, that territory was initially land of what is today called the

Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), (Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩᏱ ᏕᏣᏓᏂᎸᎩ, ''Tsalagiyi Detsadanilvgi'') is a federally recognized Indian Tribe based in Western North Carolina in the United States. They are descended from the smal ...

, which had been settled by several pioneer families including the Wallace, Gibbs, Freels, Frost and Tunnell families. Although the

Treaty of Holston The Treaty of Holston (or Treaty of the Holston) was a treaty between the United States government and the Cherokee signed on July 2, 1791, and proclaimed on February 7, 1792. It was negotiated and signed by William Blount, governor of the South ...

, signed in 1791, was intended as a negotiation with the Cherokee to prohibit settlement of the area including what is today Anderson County, the treaty became ineffective as more settlers moved through the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

from Virginia and North Carolina into Tennessee. The flooding of white settlers into the Indian domain was cause for several skirmishes, which eased after the Treaty of Tellico in 1798 (with an origination point for relinquished land from the Cherokee being the

Tellico Blockhouse The Tellico Blockhouse was an early American outpost located along the Little Tennessee River in what developed as Vonore, Monroe County, Tennessee. Completed in 1794, the blockhouse was a US military outpost that operated until 1807; the garrison ...

) allowed for greater ease in settling the area. Anderson County was partitioned from a portion of

Grainger County, Tennessee Grainger County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 23,527. Its county seat is Rutledge. Grainger County is a part of both the Knoxville Metropolitan Statistical Area and Morristown ...

as well as a portion of Knox County, Tennessee, in 1801; neighboring

Roane County, Tennessee Roane County is a county of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 53,404. Its county seat is Kingston. Roane County is included in the Knoxville, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Roane County was fo ...

, was also formed from a portion of Knox County, Tennessee, in 1801, making Anderson and Roane counties effectively called 'sister counties'. Anderson County was named in honor of

Joseph Anderson Joseph Inslee Anderson (November 5, 1757 – April 17, 1837) was an American soldier, judge, and politician, who served as a United States Senator from Tennessee from 1797 to 1815, and later as the First Comptroller of the United States Treasur ...

(1757-1847), who was at that time U.S. senator from Tennessee, and whose career also included judge of the Superior Court of the Territory South of the River Ohio and Comptroller of the

U.S. Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and t ...

. Like many East Tennessee counties, the residents of Anderson County were largely opposed to secession on the eve of the Civil War. On June 8, 1861, Anderson Countians voted against Tennessee's Ordinance of Secession, 1,278 to 97.Oliver Perry Temple,
East Tennessee and the Civil War
' (R. Clarke Company, 1899), p. 199. The construction of

Norris Dam Norris Dam is a hydroelectric and flood control structure located on the Clinch River in Anderson County and Campbell County, Tennessee, United States. The dam was the first major project for the Tennessee Valley Authority, which had been create ...

, the first dam built by the

Tennessee Valley Authority The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a federally owned electric utility corporation in the United States. TVA's service area covers all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, and small areas of Georgia, North Carolin ...

, brought major changes to the county in the 1930s. Approximately 2900 families were relocated from reservoir lands in Anderson and nearby counties during the construction, which began in 1933 and was completed in 1936. The town of Norris was initially built as a

planned community A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...

to house the workers involved in the construction of this dam. As a result of the dam completion and operation, the temperature of the downstream

Clinch River The Clinch River is a river that flows southwest for more than through the Great Appalachian Valley in the U.S. states of Virginia and Tennessee, gathering various tributaries, including the Powell River, before joining the Tennessee River in Ki ...

bed changed, so that a former pearl industry which had been successful for many years evaporated as the

mussels Mussel () is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other edible clams, which ...

, once prevalent in the river, were not able to sustain life in the changed climate. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the federal government's

Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development undertaking during World War II that produced the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States with the support of the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the project w ...

brought more change to the county, including the displacement of more families and the founding of Oak Ridge. The

Museum of Appalachia The Museum of Appalachia, located in Norris, Tennessee, north of Knoxville, is a living history museum that interprets the pioneer and early 20th-century period of the Southern Appalachian region of the United States. Recently named an Affili ...

in Norris commemorates pioneer and rural life of past decades in Anderson County and the surrounding region. It is also an antique shop that sells artifacts from the times of the first settlers to the times of the

Coal Creek War The Coal Creek War was an early 1890s armed labor uprising in the southeastern United States that took place primarily in Anderson County, Tennessee. This labor conflict ignited during 1891 when coal mine owners in the Coal Creek watershed beg ...

Geography

According to the

U.S. 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 the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.2%) is water.

Adjacent counties

* Campbell County (north) * Union County (northeast) * Knox County (southeast) * Roane County (southwest) * Morgan County (west) * Scott County (northwest)

National protected area

Manhattan Project National Historical Park Manhattan Project National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park commemorating the Manhattan Project that is run jointly by the National Park Service and Department of Energy. The park consists of three units: one in Oak Ri ...

(part)

State protected areas

Norris Dam State Park Norris Dam State Park is a state park in Anderson County and Campbell County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The park is situated along the shores of Norris Lake, an impoundment of the Clinch River created by the completion of Norr ...

(part) *North Cumberland Wildlife Management Area (part)

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 77,123 people, 30,175 households, and 19,074 families residing in the county.

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 71,330 people, 29,780 households, and 20,518 families residing in the county. The population density was 211 people per square mile (82/km²). There were 32,451 housing units at an average density of 96 per square mile (37/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 93.36% Race (United States Census), White, 3.88% Race (United States Census), Black or Race (United States Census), African American, 0.32% Race (United States Census), Native American, 0.83% Race (United States Census), Asian, 0.01% Race (United States Census), Pacific Islander, 0.38% from Race (United States Census), other races, and 1.22% from two or more races. 1.10% of the population were Race (United States Census), Hispanic or Race (United States Census), Latino of any race. According to the census, 2000 Census the largest ancestry groups in Anderson County were English American, English (37%), Irish American, Irish (14.7%), German American, German (13.5%), Scots-Irish American, Scots-Irish (4.5%) and Scottish American, Scottish (3.1%). There were 29,780 households, out of which 29.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.80% were Marriage, married couples living together, 11.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.10% were non-families. 27.70% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.88. In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.20% under the age of 18, 7.50% from 18 to 24, 27.30% from 25 to 44, 25.50% from 45 to 64, and 16.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.40 males. The median income for a household in the county was $35,483, and the median income for a family was $42,584. Males had a median income of $33,710 versus $23,467 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,009. About 10.20% of families and 13.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.40% of those under age 18 and 8.80% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Anderson County has a thriving tourism industry, thanks to major attractions such as Tennessee Valley Authority, Norris Lake, the

, and American Museum of Science and Energy, and the county is considered a part of the Norris Highlands.

Communities

Cities

* Clinton (county seat) * Norris * Oak Ridge (partial) *Rocky Top, Tennessee, Rocky Top (partial)

Town

*Oliver Springs, Tennessee, Oliver Springs (partial)

Census-designated place

*Andersonville, Tennessee, Andersonville

Unincorporated communities

*Beech Grove, Anderson County, Tennessee, Beech Grove *Belmont, Anderson County, Tennessee, Belmont *Bethel, Tennessee, Bethel *Braytown, Tennessee, Braytown *Briceville, Tennessee, Briceville *Buffalo, Anderson County, Tennessee, Buffalo *Claxton, Anderson County, Tennessee, Claxton *Devonia, Tennessee, Devonia *Fork Mountain, Tennessee, Fork Mountain *Fraterville, Tennessee, Fraterville *Heiskell, Tennessee, Heiskell (partial) *King Arthur Court, Tennessee, King Arthur Court *Marlow, Tennessee, Marlow *Medford, Tennessee, Medford *Stainville, Tennessee, Stainville

Politics

Anderson County is a Republican stronghold. The last Democrat to carry this county was Bill Clinton in 1996.

References

External links

Official site

Anderson County Chamber of Commerce
*
Anderson County, TNGenWeb
- free genealogy resources for the county * Anderson count
landforms
{{authority control Anderson County, Tennessee, 1801 establishments in Tennessee Knoxville metropolitan area Populated places established in 1801 East Tennessee Counties of Appalachia