Blount County, TN
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Blount County is a county located in the
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 count ...
Grand Division of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, its population was 135,280. The county seat is Maryville, which is also the county's largest city. Blount County is included in the Knoxville, Tennessee metropolitan statistical area.


History

What is today Blount County was for many thousands of years Indian territory, passed down to the Cherokee tribe that claimed the land upon the arrival of White settlers in the late 18th century. Shortly thereafter, on July 11, 1795, Blount County became the 10th county established in Tennessee, when the Territorial Legislature voted to split adjacent Knox and
Jefferson Jefferson may refer to: Names * Jefferson (surname) * Jefferson (given name) People * Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), third president of the United States * Jefferson (footballer, born 1970), full name Jefferson Tomaz de Souza, Brazilian foo ...
Counties. The new county was named for the governor of the Southwest Territory, William Blount, and its county seat, Maryville, was named for his wife Mary Grainger Blount. This establishment, however, did little to settle the differences between White immigrants and Cherokee natives, which was, for the most part, not accomplished until an 1819 treaty.About Blount County
Blount County official website
Like a majority of East Tennessee counties, Blount County was opposed to secession on the eve of the Civil War. In Tennessee's Ordinance of Secession referendum on June 8, 1861, Blount Countians voted against secession by a margin of 1,766 to 414. Residents of pro-Union Cades Cove and pro-Confederate Hazel Creek (on the other side of the mountains in North Carolina) regularly launched raids against one another during the war. Throughout its history, the boundaries of Blount County have been altered numerous times, most notably in 1870, when a large swath of western Blount was split into Loudon and portions of other counties. Also, the establishment of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 1936, while not affecting the legal boundaries of Blount County, has significantly impacted the use of southeastern Blount County. Blount County has been served by ''The Daily Times'', currently published in Maryville, since 1883. On July 2, 2015, a freight train carrying hazardous materials derailed. About 5,000 residents were displaced from their homes within a two-mile (three-kilometer) radius.


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 (1.4%) are covered by water. The southern part of Blount County is part of the Great Smoky Mountains, and is protected by the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The crest of the range forms the county's border with Swain County, North Carolina, and includes Blount's highest point,
Thunderhead Mountain Thunderhead Mountain is a mountain in the west-central part of the Great Smoky Mountains, located in the Southeastern United States. Rising along the border between Tennessee and North Carolina, the mountain dominates the Western Smokies. The A ...
, and the
Gregory Bald Gregory Bald is a mountain in the Great Smoky Mountains. It has an elevation of 4,949 feet (1,508 meters) above sea level. The mountain's majestic summit makes it a popular hiking destination. Another feature that attracts many visitors are the ...
, a prominent
grassy bald In the Appalachian Mountains of the eastern United States, balds are mountain summits or crests covered primarily by thick vegetation of native grasses or shrubs occurring in areas where heavy forest growth would be expected. Balds are found prim ...
. The northern part of the county is part of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians. The geologic boundary between the Blue Ridge (which includes the Smokies) and Ridge-and-Valley provinces runs along Chilhowee Mountain, a long and narrow ridge that stretches across the central part of the county. Much of Blount's topography is characterized by elongate ridges and rolling hills— known locally as "The Foothills"— which emanate outward from the Smokies range. The mountainous southern portion of Blount County is dotted by relatively isolated valleys known as Appalachian coves. The best known of these valleys, Cades Cove, is one of the most visited sections of the national park, and is noted for the remnants of the
Appalachia Appalachia () is a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Newfoundland and Labrador, Ca ...
n community that occupied the cove prior to the park's formation, as well as an abundance of wildlife, especially white-tailed deer. Tuckaleechee Cove is occupied by the city of Townsend, and Millers Cove is occupied by the community of Walland. This part of the county is also home to two large caves: Tuckaleechee Caverns, a popular show cave, and Bull Cave, which at , is the deepest in Tennessee. The Tennessee River forms part of Blount's border with Knox County to the northwest. This section of the Tennessee is part of
Fort Loudoun Lake Fort Loudoun Lake is a reservoir in east Tennessee on the upper Tennessee River, extending about along the river upstream from Fort Loudoun Dam, at Lenoir City, to Knoxville. Fort Loudoun Reservoir takes its name from the 18th-century British ...
, an artificial lake created by the Tennessee Valley Authority. The Little Tennessee River, a tributary of the Tennessee, forms part of Blount's southern border with
Monroe County Monroe County may refer to seventeen counties in the United States, all named for James Monroe: * Monroe County, Alabama *Monroe County, Arkansas * Monroe County, Florida * Monroe County, Georgia *Monroe County, Illinois *Monroe County, Indian ...
, and includes three artificial lakes: Tellico, Chilhowee, and Calderwood (two others, Cheoah and
Fontana Fontana may refer to: Places Italy *Fontana Liri, comune in the Province of Frosinone *Fontanafredda, comune in the Province of Pordenone *Fontanarosa, comune in the Province of Avellino *Francavilla Fontana, comune in the Province of Brindisi * ...
, are located just upstream in North Carolina). Little River, another tributary of the Tennessee, flows northward from deep within the Smokies and traverses the central part of the county. The river's confluence with its Middle Prong forms a popular swimming area known as the "Townsend Wye", which is located just inside the park south of Townsend.


Geographical features

* Great Smoky Mountains * Chilhowee Mountain *
Thunderhead Mountain Thunderhead Mountain is a mountain in the west-central part of the Great Smoky Mountains, located in the Southeastern United States. Rising along the border between Tennessee and North Carolina, the mountain dominates the Western Smokies. The A ...
*
Gregory Bald Gregory Bald is a mountain in the Great Smoky Mountains. It has an elevation of 4,949 feet (1,508 meters) above sea level. The mountain's majestic summit makes it a popular hiking destination. Another feature that attracts many visitors are the ...
* Lake in the Sky *
Look Rock To look is to use sight to perceive an object. Look or The Look may refer to: Businesses and products * Look (modeling agency), an Israeli modeling agency * ''Look'' (American magazine), a defunct general-interest magazine * ''Look'' (UK m ...
*
Fort Loudoun Lake Fort Loudoun Lake is a reservoir in east Tennessee on the upper Tennessee River, extending about along the river upstream from Fort Loudoun Dam, at Lenoir City, to Knoxville. Fort Loudoun Reservoir takes its name from the 18th-century British ...
*
Chilhowee Lake Chilhowee Dam is a hydroelectric dam located in Blount and Monroe counties, Tennessee, United States, between river mile 33 and 34 on the Little Tennessee River. Construction began in 1955 and was completed in 1957. The dam's reservoir covers ...
* Little River * Little Tennessee River


Adjacent counties

*
Knox County, Tennessee Knox County is located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 478,971, making it the third-most populous county in Tennessee. Its county seat is Knoxville, which is the third-most populous city in Tennessee. K ...
- north * Sevier County, Tennessee - east * Swain County, North Carolina - southeast * Graham County, North Carolina - south * Monroe County, Tennessee - southwest * Loudon County, Tennessee - west


National protected areas

* Appalachian Trail (part) *
Foothills Parkway The Foothills Parkway is a national parkway which traverses the foothills of the northern Great Smoky Mountains in East Tennessee, located in the southeastern United States. The 72.1-mile (114 km) parkway will connect U.S. Route 129 (U.S. ...
(part) * Great Smoky Mountains National Park (part)


State protected areas

* Foothills Wildlife Management Area *
Sam Houston Schoolhouse Sam Houston Schoolhouse State Historic Site is a single-room log cabin-style schoolhouse in Maryville, Tennessee, built in 1794. Sam Houston taught at the school as a young man, before the War of 1812. Open to the public, the schoolhouse is a T ...
(state historic site) * Kyker Bottoms Refuge * Tellico Lake Wildlife Management Area (part) * Whites Mill Refuge


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 ...
, 135,280 people, 50,813 households, and 35,299 families were residing in the county.


2000 census

As of the census of 2000, 105,823 people, 42,667 households, and 30,634 families were residing in the county. The population density was 190 people per square mile (73/km2). The 47,059 housing units had an average density of 84 per square mile (33/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 94.73% White, 2.91% Black, 0.29% Native American, 0.72% Asian, 0.37% from other races, and 0.99% from two or more races. About 1.06% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race. Of the 42,667 households, 30.5% had children under 18 living with them, 58.4% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 28.2% were not families, and 1,384 were unmarried partner households: 1,147 heterosexual, 107 same-sex male, 130 same-sex female. About 24.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.5% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.43, and the average family size was 2.88. In the county, the age distribution was 22.8% under 18, 8.30% from 18 to 24, 29.40% from 25 to 44, 25.40% from 45 to 64, and 14.10% who were 65 or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.80 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 90.80 males. As verified by 2000 U.S. Census, for every 100 females under 65, there were 98.7 males, for every 100 females under 55 there were 99.5 males, and for every 100 females under 20 there were 105 males. The median income for a household in the county was $37,862, and for a family was $45,038. Males had a median income of $31,877 versus $23,007 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,416. About 7.3% of families and 9.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.3% of those under age 18 and 9.1% of those 65 or over.


Government

Like most of East Tennessee, Blount County has been a Republican bastion for decades. The last non-Republican to carry the county was Theodore Roosevelt, during his third-party run in 1912. As a measure of how Republican Blount County is, Franklin D. Roosevelt lost the county by large margins in all four of his successful campaigns, and
Barry Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and United States Air Force officer who was a five-term U.S. Senator from Arizona (1953–1965, 1969–1987) and the Republican Party nominee for presiden ...
carried it in 1964 by one of his largest margins in the state. Democrats have only come close to winning here twice in recent memory. In 1976, Jimmy Carter took 46% of the vote. In 1992,
George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...
was held to 48.9% of the vote—the only time in over a century that a Republican has failed to win a majority in Blount County. The current elected members of the Blount County government are: *Commissioners:


Economy

Most of the early European-American settlers were of little means; they were subsistence farmers throughout the early years of the county's establishment. The first industry to make its mark on Blount County, as in other neighboring counties, was that of lumber. It was the massive development of this industry in the mountains of east Blount that, in part, led to the creation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It includes the southeastern portion of the county. Today, manufacturing has replaced lumber in importance, with over 100 manufacturing plants located in the county. Denso Manufacturing Tennessee Inc., a division of Denso Global, is the county's largest employer, with about 3,000 employees.


Education

Public schools in Blount County are part of the
Blount County Schools Blount County Schools (BCS) is a school district in Blount County, Tennessee, United States. The district has 18 schools with 750 teachers/administrators serving approximately 11,000 students. The district includes all unincorporated areas and a ...
system, with the exception of schools in the cities of Maryville and
Alcoa Alcoa Corporation (an acronym for Aluminum Company of America) is a Pittsburgh-based industrial corporation. It is the world's eighth-largest producer of aluminum. Alcoa conducts operations in 10 countries. Alcoa is a major producer of primary ...
, both of which operate separate, independent school systems. Private schools located in the county include Maryville Christian School and Clayton-Bradley STEM school. Blount County is home to two postsecondary educational institutions: Maryville College, a Presbyterian-related, liberal-arts college, founded in 1819 in downtown Maryville, and a satellite campus of Knoxville-based Pellissippi State Community College, referred to as Pellissippi State Community College, or PSCC, Blount County Campus.


Transportation


Paratransit

Blount County is served by the East Tennessee Human Resource Agency's Public Transit system. ETHRA operates in about 16 counties in eastern Tennessee, and is headquartered in the nearby city of Loudon. The service offers residents of any of the counties covered by ETHRA door-to-door pickup transportation across its service area by request only. ETHRA provides a large variety of services in Blount County and other parts of East Tennessee.


Airports

TYS - McGhee Tyson Airport


Highways

*
Interstate highways The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. Th ...
** Interstate 140 ( Pellissippi Parkway) *
U.S. highways The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these h ...
** US Route 129 (Airport Hwy, Alcoa Hwy, Hwy 411 South and Calderwood Hwy) **
US Route 321 U.S. Route 321 (US 321) is a spur of U.S. Route 21. It runs for from Hardeeville, South Carolina to Lenoir City, Tennessee; with both serving as southern termini. It reaches its northernmost point at Elizabethton, Tennessee. Because o ...
(Lamar Alexander Pkwy and Wears Valley Road) ** US Route 411 (Broadway Ave and Sevierville Road) **
US Route 441 U.S. Route 441 (US 441) is a auxiliary route of U.S. Route 41. It extends from US 41 in Miami, Florida to US 25W in Rocky Top, Tennessee. Between its termini, US 441 travels through the states of Florida, Georgia, North ...
(Chapman Highway) *State highways **
Tennessee State Route 33 State Route 33 (SR 33) is a primary and secondary route in East Tennessee. It runs 176 miles, from the Georgia state line in Polk County, northeast to the Virginia state line north of Kyles Ford in Hancock County. South of Maryville, SR 33 is a ...
(Old Knoxville Hwy, Broadway Ave and Hwy 411 South) **
Tennessee State Route 35 State Route 35 (SR 35) is a north–south state highway in East Tennessee. The long state highway traverses Blount, Sevier, a small portion of Jefferson, Cocke, and Greene Counties. Most of the route is a secret, or hidden designation, as it ...
(Sevierville Road, Washington Street and North Hall Road) **
Tennessee State Route 72 State Route 72 (SR 72) is a state highway in the eastern portion of U.S. state of Tennessee. It travels through the towns of Vonore and Loudon. Route description Roane County SR 72 begins in Roane County at an intersection with SR 58 jus ...
**
Tennessee State Route 73 State Route 73 (SR 73) is west-north state highway in East Tennessee. For most of its length, it is an unsigned companion route to U.S. Route 321 (US 321). Route description SR 73 begins at an Interchange (road), interchange with Interstate 40 ...
(Lamar Alexander Pkwy & Wears Valley Road) **
Tennessee State Route 115 115 may refer to: * 115 (number), the number * AD 115, a year in the 2nd century AD * 115 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC * 115 (Hampshire Fortress) Corps Engineer Regiment, Royal Engineers, a unit in the UK Territorial Army * 115 (Leicestershire) ...
(Airport Hwy, Alcoa Hwy, Hwy 411 South and Calderwood Hwy) **
Tennessee State Route 162 Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 36th-largest by ...
( Pellissippi Parkway) *Secondary Routes **
Tennessee State Route 71 State Route 71 (SR 71) is a north–south state highway in Tennessee. For most of the length it is a "hidden route, hidden" route, as it coincides with U.S. Route 441 in Tennessee, US 441 in all but a short section in Knoxville, Tennessee, Kno ...
(Chapman Highway) **
Tennessee State Route 73 Scenic State Route 73 (SR 73) is west-north state highway in East Tennessee. For most of its length, it is an unsigned companion route to U.S. Route 321 (US 321). Route description SR 73 begins at an Interchange (road), interchange with Interstate 40 ...
(Lamar Alexander Pkwy and Little River Road) ** Tennessee State Route 333 (Topside Road, Louisville Road, Quarry Rd and Miser Station Road) ** Tennessee State Route 334 (Louisville Road) **
Tennessee State Route 335 State Route 335 (SR 335) is an 11 mile long north-south state highway in Blount County, Tennessee. It forms a semicircle around the western half of the Maryville- Alcoa metro area. Along its length, SR 335 is known by several street names: Willi ...
(William Blount Drive, Hunt Road and Old Glory Road) **
Tennessee State Route 336 State Route 336 (SR 336) is a 19.6 mile long north-south state highway in central Blount County, Tennessee. Route description SR 336 begins at an intersection with US 411 ( SR 33) just east of Greenback. It travels south through farmland as Br ...
(Montvale Road, Six Mile Road and Brick Mill Road) **
Tennessee State Route 429 Former State Route 429 (SR 429), also known as Airbase Road, was a south-to-north secondary highway in Blount County, Tennessee, that was 1.85 miles (3.0 km) long. Its southern terminus was at the Tennessee Air National Guard gate and the no ...
(Airbase Road) **
Tennessee State Route 446 The following is a list of state highways in Tennessee shorter than one mile (1.6 km) in length. Most of these highways act as service roads, old alignments of more prominent highways, or connectors between one or more highways. Several of the ...
(Foothills Mall Drive) ** Tennessee State Route 447 *US Park Service Roads **
Foothills Parkway The Foothills Parkway is a national parkway which traverses the foothills of the northern Great Smoky Mountains in East Tennessee, located in the southeastern United States. The 72.1-mile (114 km) parkway will connect U.S. Route 129 (U.S. ...
**
Little River Road State Route 73 (SR 73) is west-north state highway in East Tennessee. For most of its length, it is an unsigned companion route to U.S. Route 321 (US 321). Route description SR 73 begins at an interchange with Interstate 40 (I-40) conc ...
**Laurel Creek Road **Cades Cove Loop Road


Parks

In addition to the federally operated Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which draws many visitors to the county each year, Blount County operates numerous smaller community parks and recreation centers, primarily in the cities of Alcoa and Maryville. Some of these facilities include: *Amerine Park (Maryville) *Bassell Courts (Alcoa) * Bicentennial Greenbelt Park (Maryville) *Eagleton Park (Maryville) *Everett Athletic Complex (Maryville) *Everett Park/Everett Senior Center (Maryville) *Howe Street Park (Alcoa) *Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center (Alcoa) *Louisville Point Park (Louisville) *Oldfield Mini Park (Alcoa) *
Pearson Springs Park Pearson Springs Park is a public park managed by Maryville/Alcoa/Blount County Parks and Recreation. Pearson Springs parallels Pistol Creek from Best Road on the northeast to the junction of the Maryville Alcoa Greenway and Montgomery Lane on the ...
(Maryville) *Pole Climbers Athletic Fields (Alcoa) *Rock Garden Park (Alcoa) *
Sandy Springs Park Sandy Springs Park is a public park located in Maryville, Tennessee. Location Sandy Springs Park is bound on the southwest by Best Street, on the northeast by Cedar Street, on northwest by Boyd Avenue and Willow Avenue, and on the southeast by K ...
(Maryville) *John Sevier Park/Pool (Maryville) *Springbrook Park/Pool (Alcoa) *Richard Williams Park (Alcoa) An integral part of keeping the parks and other parts of Blount County beautiful is the organization called Keep Blount Beautiful. This organization works in coordination with other companies including The City of Alcoa Residential Recycling Pick Up Service and Blount County HGS Trash and Recycling Same Day Residential Pick Up Service, as well as many other recycling resources in Blount County, to work towards the community goals of reducing air, water, and land pollution in order to reduce particulate matter and smog, and to improve the overall health of local parks and preserved ecosystems in Blount County, as well as surrounding areas, of East Tennessee. These organizations and companies are appreciated by thousands of East Tennesseans due to their honorable work in the Blount County community.


Communities


Cities

*
Alcoa Alcoa Corporation (an acronym for Aluminum Company of America) is a Pittsburgh-based industrial corporation. It is the world's eighth-largest producer of aluminum. Alcoa conducts operations in 10 countries. Alcoa is a major producer of primary ...
* Friendsville * Maryville (county seat) * Rockford * Townsend


Towns

* Louisville * Vonore (partial)


Census-designated places

* Eagleton Village *
Seymour Seymour may refer to: Places Australia *Seymour, Victoria, a township *Electoral district of Seymour, a former electoral district in Victoria *Rural City of Seymour, a former local government area in Victoria *Seymour, Tasmania, a locality ...
(partial) * Walland * Wildwood


Unincorporated communities

* Armona *
Disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...
* Fairfield * Happy Valley *
Old Glory Old Glory is a nickname for the flag of the United States. The original "Old Glory" was a flag owned by the 19th-century American sea captain William Driver (March 17, 1803 – March 3, 1886), who flew the flag during his career at sea an ...
* Tallassee * Top of the World


Former communities

* Cades Cove * Calderwood * Tremont


See also

*
Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center The Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center is a private non-profit museum located in Townsend, Tennessee, United States, near the city's entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Its mission is to preserve the heritage and culture of th ...
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Blount County, Tennessee *
Blount County Rescue Squad The Blount County Rescue Squad, located in Alcoa, Tennessee, is a private, not-for-profit organization tasked with responding to various emergencies in Blount County, Tennessee. Part of the Tennessee Association of Rescue Squads, the Blount Cou ...


References


Further reading

*Inez Burns (1995). ''History of Blount County, Tennessee''. Windmill Publications.


External links


Official siteBlount County Chamber of CommerceTNGenWebBlount County
o
FamilySearch Wiki
– genealogical resources
Tennessee Department of Transportation Map of Blount County
*
The Daily Times
'
Blount County Fire Department
*
Blount County Keep Blount Beautiful Organization
{{authority control 1795 establishments in the Southwest Territory Populated places established in 1795 Knoxville metropolitan area Counties of Appalachia Second Amendment sanctuaries in Tennessee East Tennessee