Altamont is a town in Grundy County,

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 ...

, United States. The population was 1,117 at the 2020 census. It is the

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 ...

of Grundy County.

History

Altamont was established in 1848 as a county seat for Grundy County, which had been created in 1844. Adrian Northcut, a prominent local farmer and military officer, was the prime advocate for the site's selection. The town's name comes from combining ''alto'' (meaning "altitude") and ''mont'' (meaning "mountain"). Although the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...

somewhat stunted the town's growth, by 1870 Altamont's population had grown to 217.

Altamont has one of the oldest

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into seve ...

congregations in the southeastern United States. The congregation was formed in the 1890s, and a Mormon chapel was built in Northcutt Cove just north of Altamont in 1909. Shortly thereafter, several members of the congregation migrated to Altamont. A Mormon chapel was completed along Main Street in 1947, and a newer chapel was completed just off Viola Road in 1981. In 1988, Altamont's school building was renovated and now houses the Altamont City Hall and the Altamont Library and Museum. The building was renamed the "Florence R. Scruggs Municipal Building" in 1996, after a long-time teacher at the school.Mary Tate Brooks,
Women of Grundy County: Florence Rolling Scruggs
." ''The Pathfinder'' vol. I, no. 3 (1996), 8. Warning: Large .pdf file.

Geography

Altamont is located in north-central Grundy County at (35.433954, -85.732428). It is situated atop the southern

Cumberland Plateau The Cumberland Plateau is the southern part of the Appalachian Plateau in the Appalachian Mountains of the United States. It includes much of eastern Kentucky and Tennessee, and portions of northern Alabama and northwest Georgia. The terms " All ...

between the plateau's

Highland Rim The Highland Rim is a geographic term for the area in Tennessee surrounding the Central Basin. Nashville is largely surrounded by higher terrain in all directions. Geologically, the Central Basin is a dome. The Highland Rim is a cuesta surround ...

escarpment to the west and Savage Gulf to the east. The latter is a gorge sliced by the upper watershed of the Collins River (Altamont is part of this watershed) as the river descends from the plateau to the Highland Rim en route to its mouth at the

Caney Fork The Caney Fork River is a river that flows through central Tennessee in the United States, draining a substantial portion of the southwestern Cumberland Plateau and southeastern Highland Rim regions. It is a major tributary of the Cumberland Rive ...

in adjacent Warren County. Altamont is surrounded by hills on all sides, and the central area of the town itself straddles a flattened-out hillslope. Several state highways intersect at the center of Altamont.

Tennessee State Route 56 State Route 56 (SR 56) is a state highway that runs south to north in Middle Tennessee, from the Alabama state line near Sherwood to the Kentucky state line near Red Boiling Springs. SR 56 is secondary south of Sewanee. It is primary (but uns ...

(Main Street) connects Altamont to Beersheba Springs and McMinnville to the north and Coalmont,

Tracy City Tracy City is a town in Grundy County, Tennessee, United States. Incorporated in 1915, the population was 1,481 at the 2010 census. Named after financier Samuel Franklin Tracy, the city developed out of railroad and mining interests after coal w ...

and Monteagle to the south.

Tennessee State Route 108 State Route 108 (SR 108) is a state highway in Southeastern and Eastern Middle Tennessee. It connects SR 28 in Whitwell to SR 55 Bus/ SR 56/ SR 380 in McMinnville. Route description Marion County SR 108 begins as a primary high ...

, connects the town to

Viola ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...

and McMinnville to the northwest and Whitwell to the southeast.

Tennessee State Route 50 State Route 50 (SR 50) is a west–to–east highway in Middle Tennessee. The road begins near Only and ends in Altamont. The current length is . Route description Hickman County SR 50 begins as a 2-lane secondary highway in Hic ...

connects Altamont to Pelham and

Interstate 24 Interstate 24 (I-24) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It runs diagonally from I-57, south of Marion, Illinois, to Chattanooga, Tennessee, at I-75. It travels through Illinois, Kentucky, Tennesse ...

to the southwest. According to the

United States 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 An economy is an area of th ...

, the town has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,117 people, 362 households, and 240 families residing in the town.

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 1,136 people, 400 households, and 309 families residing in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 51.5 people per square mile (19.9/km²). There were 438 housing units at an average density of 19.9 per square mile (7.7/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.89%

White White is the lightness, lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...

, 0.09%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

, 0.53% Native American, 0.09% Asian, 0.88% from other races, and 0.53% from two or more races.

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 for ...

or Latino of any race were 2.02% of the population. Altamont-city-hall-tn1

There were 400 households, out of which 38.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.3% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.8% were non-families. 20.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.76 and the average family size was 3.15. In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.3% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 30.1% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 11.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 108.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 113.4 males. The median income for a household in the town was $21,767, and the median income for a family was $25,000. Males had a median income of $26,944 versus $15,000 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 town was $10,074. About 28.9% of families and 32.1% 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 34.4% of those under age 18 and 32.4% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

Arlo Gilliam Arlo Gilliam (born June 24, 1977, in Altamont, Tennessee) is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. Arlo Gilliam is a professional singer-songwriter and musician from Whitwell, Tennessee. Since moving to Nashville in 2001, he has re ...

, singer-songwriter

References

External links

Grundy County, TennesseeTown charter
{{authority control Towns in Grundy County, Tennessee Towns in Tennessee County seats in Tennessee Populated places established in 1848