Marion 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 ...

located 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 East Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,837. 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 ...

Jasper Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases,Kostov, R. I. 2010. Review on the mineralogical systematics of jasper and related rocks. – Archaeometry Workshop, 7, 3, 209-213PDF/ref> ...

. Marion County is part of the Chattanooga, AL– TN– GA

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 ...

. Marion County is in the

Central time zone The North American Central Time Zone (CT) is a time zone in parts of Canada, the United States, Mexico, Central America, some Caribbean Islands, and part of the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Central Standard Time (CST) is six hours behind Coordina ...

, while Chattanooga proper is in the

Eastern time zone The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small p ...

History

Marion County was established in 1817. In 1779 Cherokee chief

Dragging Canoe Dragging Canoe (ᏥᏳ ᎦᏅᏏᏂ, pronounced ''Tsiyu Gansini'', "he is dragging his canoe") (c. 1738 – February 29, 1792) was a Cherokee war chief who led a band of Cherokee warriors who resisted colonists and United States settlers in the ...

moved down 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 ...

from

Chickamauga Creek Chickamauga Creek refers to two short tributaries of the Tennessee River, which join the river near Chattanooga, Tennessee. The two streams are North Chickamauga Creek and South Chickamauga Creek, joining the Tennessee from the north and south s ...

Running Water Tap water (also known as faucet water, running water, or municipal water) is water supplied through a tap, a water dispenser valve. In many countries, tap water usually has the quality of drinking water. Tap water is commonly used for drinkin ...

creek, and he helped establish the town of

Nickajack The area known as "Nickajack" generally refers to the rugged Appalachian foothills in eastern Tennessee and northeastern Alabama. "Nickajack" is a corruption of the Cherokee word (Ani-Kusati-yi) which translates to Coosa Town, but more likely r ...

at the entrance of Nickajack Cave. In 1794, the town was attacked and burned by militiamen commanded by Colonel James Orr of

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

. The town was rebuilt and the Chickamauga Indians continued to live here until 1838, when all of the remaining Indians were removed from Tennessee,

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

, and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

by the

Trail of Tears The Trail of Tears was an ethnic cleansing and forced displacement of approximately 60,000 people of the " Five Civilized Tribes" between 1830 and 1850 by the United States government. As part of the Indian removal, members of the Cherokee, ...

During the spring of 1861, early in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

, Robert Cravens of Chattanooga began mining

saltpeter Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . This alkali metal nitrate Salt (chemistry), salt is also known as Indian saltpetre (large deposits of which were historically mined in India). It is an ionic salt of potassium ...

, the main ingredient of

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). Th ...

, at Nickajack Cave. The operation was soon taken over by the Confederate Niter Bureau. At one point, Nickajack Cave was one of the main sources of saltpeter for the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...

. However, its operation was halted in late 1862. Nickajack Cave was visited by thousands of soldiers of both side troops, who travelled up and down the

on steamboats. Another important mine during the Civil War was Monteagle Saltpeter Cave, located in Cave Cove, about southeast of Monteagle. During the war, it was officially referred to as Battle Creek Cave. A 1917 visitor reported that about 25 or 30 old hoppers still remained in the cave. By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, coal and iron mining industries had come to dominate Marion County's economy. Mines operated in Whitwell and Inman, while iron smelters were at South Pittsburg.

Hales Bar Dam Hales Bar Dam was a hydroelectric dam once located on the Tennessee River in Marion County, Tennessee, United States. The Chattanooga and Tennessee River Power Company began building the dam on October 17, 1905, and completed it on November 11t ...

, built on the Tennessee River in Marion County between 1905 and 1913, was one of the first major dams constructed in the United States across a navigable stream. in the 1960s, 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 ...

replaced Hales Bar with Nickajack Dam, further downstream in the 1960s, though the Hales Bar powerhouse still stands as a boathouse.

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 (2.8%) is water. Marion is one of three Tennessee counties, along with Bledsoe and Sequatchie, located in the

Sequatchie Valley Sequatchie Valley is a relatively long and narrow valley in the U.S. state of Tennessee and, in some definitions, Alabama. It is generally considered to be part of the Cumberland Plateau region of the Appalachian Mountains; it was probably formed ...

, a long, narrow valley slicing through the southeastern Cumberland Plateau. The

Sequatchie River The Sequatchie River is a waterway that drains the Sequatchie Valley, a large valley in the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee. It empties into the Tennessee River downstream from Chattanooga near the Tennessee-Alabama state line. Hydrography The ...

, which drains the valley, empties into the

just south of Jasper. Nickajack Dam is located along the Tennessee River near Jasper, creating Nickajack Lake. The section of the river immediately downstream from the dam is part of

Guntersville Lake Guntersville Lake (generally referred to locally as Lake Guntersville) is in northern Alabama between Bridgeport and Guntersville. Location The lake stretches 75 miles (121 km) from Guntersville Dam to Nickajack Dam. It is Alabama's larges ...

. The

Raccoon Mountain Pumped-Storage Plant Raccoon Mountain Pumped-Storage Plant is a pumped-storage hydroelectric underground power station in Marion County, just west of Chattanooga in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The facility is owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority (T ...

is located in the extreme southeastern part of the county.

Adjacent counties

* Grundy County (north) * Sequatchie County (northeast) * Hamilton County (east/EST Border) *

Dade County, Georgia Dade County is a county in the U.S. state of Georgia. It occupies the northwest corner of Georgia, and the county's own northwest corner is the westernmost point in the state. As of the 2020 census, the population is 16,251. The county seat an ...

(southeast/EST Border) *

Jackson County, Alabama Jackson County is the northeasternmost county in the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census, the population was 52,579. The county seat is Scottsboro. The county was named for Andrew Jackson, general in the United States Army and afterw ...

(southwest) * Franklin County (west)

State protected areas

* Chimneys State Natural Area * Cummings Cove Wildlife Management Area * Franklin State Forest (part) * Hicks Gap State Natural Area * Prentice Cooper State Forest * Sequatchie Cave State Natural Area * South Cumberland State Park (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 28,837 people, 11,477 households, and 8,114 families residing in the county.

2010 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 2010, there were 28,237 people, 11,403 households, and 8,030 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 12,954 housing units at an average density of 26 per square mile (10/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 93.9% White(non-Hispanic), 3.6%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

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 ...

, 0.4% Native American, 0.21%

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 ...

, 0.01%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 0.27% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.2% from two or more races. 1.3% of the population were

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. In the county, the population was spread out, with 22.80% under the age of 18 and 8.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43.9 years. The female population was 50.9%. The median income for a household in the county was $31,419, and the median income for a family was $36,351. Males had a median income of $30,236 versus $21,778 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $16,419. About 10.80% of families and 14.10% 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 t ...

, including 20.00% of those under age 18 and 14.30% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The schools in Marion County are: * Jasper Elementary School * Jasper Middle School * Marion County High School * Monteagle Elementary School * South Pittsburg Elementary * South Pittsburg High School * Whitwell Elementary School * Whitwell Middle School * Whitwell High School * Richard Hardy Memorial School

Media

Marion County is served by numerous local, regional and national media outlets which reach approximately one million people in four states including:

and

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

Newspapers

* The Marion County News: Jasper Journal and South Pittsburg Hustler Combined has incorporated the Jasper Journal and the South Pittsburg Hustler into a single weekly publication. The periodical focuses its energy on highlighting events, sports and people in Marion County, TN.

Radio

Marion County is part of the Chattanooga Arbitron radio market. The following radio stations are licensed to cities within Marion County: ;AM *

WEPG WEPG (104.9 FM and 910 AM, "104.9 The River") is a radio station broadcasting a country music format. Licensed to South Pittsburg, Tennessee, United States. The station is owned by Spencer Travis Hickman and features local programming and syndi ...

910 AM – Country (Licensed to South Pittsburg) ;FM *

WUUQ WUUQ (97.3 FM) is a radio station serving the Chattanooga, Tennessee area, broadcasting on two different frequencies. The main frequency is 97.3 MHz FM which is licensed to South Pittsburg, Tennessee. 99.3 FM is a translator station licensed ...

97.3 – Classic Country Q-97.3/99.3 (Licensed to South Pittsburg) * W285FW 104.9 - 104.9 The River WEPG (FM translator for WEPG-AM Licensed to South Pittsburg) * WJCR-LP-94.7 - Jasper Christ-Centered Radio (Licensed to Jasper)

Television

Marion County is part of the Chattanooga DMA. Cable TV companies in Marion County include

Charter Communications Charter Communications, Inc., is an American telecommunications and mass media company with services branded as Spectrum. With over 32 million customers in 41 states, it is the second-largest cable operator in the United States by subscribe ...

and Trinity Cable

Transportation

Airport

Marion County Airport, also known as Brown Field, is a county-owned, public-use

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 ...

located four nautical miles (7 km) southeast of the central business district of

.. Federal Aviation Administration. Effective 11 February 2010.

Roads

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Orme Mountain Road

Parks and natural features

Nickajack Cave in Marion County, located 0.6 miles south of Shellmound Station on the west side of the Tennessee River, is one of the most historical caves in Tennessee. It is currently part of a park run by the city of New Hope. A paved hiking trail leads to an observation deck at the entrance to the cave where visitors can watch the bats leave the cave at dusk. The cave was used by tourists and as a show cave, but in 1968 the cave was flooded when

constructed Nickajack Dam downstream to replace the aging

Communities

Cities

* Chattanooga (mostly in Hamilton) * New Hope * South Pittsburg * Whitwell

Towns

(county seat) * Kimball * Monteagle (also in

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...

and Grundy Counties) * Orme * Powells Crossroads

Unincorporated communities

Aetna Aetna Inc. () is an American managed health care company that sells traditional and consumer directed health care insurance and related services, such as medical, pharmaceutical, dental, behavioral health, long-term care, and disability plans, ...

* Griffith Creek * Haletown * Jasper HIghlands *

Mineral Springs Mineral springs are naturally occurring springs that produces hard water, water that contains dissolved minerals. Salts, sulfur compounds, and gases are among the substances that can be dissolved in the spring water during its passage under ...

* Sequatchie * Suck Creek *

Whiteside Whiteside may refer to: Places ;Australia * Whiteside, Queensland, suburb in the Moreton Bay Region, Queensland ;Canada * Whiteside, Nova Scotia ;United Kingdom * Whiteside (Lake District), a fell in the west of the English Lake District * White ...

(formerly Running Water)

Politics

Prior to 2004, Marion County was a Democratic-leaning swing county in presidential elections, backing the national winner in all but five elections from 1912 to 2004. Since then, it has become increasingly Republican similar to the rest of rural Tennessee, with Republican presidential candidates winning by increasing margins in each election from 2004 on.

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

won the county in 2020 by a margin of nearly 51 points, the widest in the county's electoral history from 1912 on for a candidate of any party.

Notable people

* Eddie Brown, NFL player * Jon Coffelt (b. May 16, 1963) Artist who was born in

Dunlap, Tennessee Dunlap is a city in and the county seat of Sequatchie County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 5,357 at the 2020 census and 4,815 at the 2010 census. Dunlap is part of the Chattanooga, TN– GA Metropolitan Statistical Area. Hi ...

, raised in Griffith Creek. * Leslie Rogers Darr, United States District Judge, Eastern District of Tennessee *

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 ...

leader, lived in the town of Running Water at the mouth of Running Water creek on the

. * Travis Randall McDonough, United States District Judge, Eastern District of Tennessee *

John T. Raulston John Tate Raulston (September 22, 1868 – July 11, 1956) was an American state judge in Rhea County, Tennessee, who received national publicity for presiding over the 1925 Scopes Trial, a famous creationism–evolution debate. Early life and e ...

, Judge who presided over the Scopes Trial in 1925. * Sequoyah, Cherokee scholar, lived in the Marion County area. *

Peter Turney Peter Turney (September 22, 1827October 19, 1903) was an American politician, soldier, and jurist, who served as the 26th governor of Tennessee from 1893 to 1897. He was also a justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court from 1870 to 1893, and served ...

, Governor of Tennessee and Chief Justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court, was born in Jasper. * Eric Westmoreland, NFL player

References

External links

Marion County Chamber of Commerce

Marion County Schools

Marion County, TNGenWeb
- free genealogy resources for the county * {{authority control Chattanooga metropolitan area counties Counties of Appalachia 1817 establishments in Tennessee Populated places established in 1817 East Tennessee