Carter County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

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 so ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 56,356. Its county seat is Elizabethton. The county is named in honor of Landon Carter (1760–1800), an early settler active in the "Lost State of Franklin" 1784-1788

secession Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a Polity, political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal i ...

from the State of North Carolina. Carter County is part of the Johnson City, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Johnson City– Kingsport–

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, TN- VA Combined Statistical Area, located in northeastern Tennessee.

History

The area was originally claimed by Britain as part of the Clarendon settlements of the

Province of Carolina The Province of Carolina was a colony of the Kingdom of England (1663–1707) and later the Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1712) that existed in North America and the Caribbean from 1663 until the Carolinas were partitioned into North and Sou ...

, although actually populated at the time by the

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

. The area was part of (though seldom actually administered by) the following jurisdictions in its early history: * New Hanover Precinct (1729–1734) * Bladen County (1734–1749) * Anson County (1749–1753) * Rowan County (1753–1775)

Watauga Association

The county is named for

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Landon Carter, the son of John Carter of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, who was "chairman of the court" of the first majority-rule system of American democracy, known as the Watauga Association of 1772. The association was the first permanent settlement established outside the original thirteen American colonies and included the area that is today's Carter County. In 1775, the Association was absorbed into

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

by petition, becoming known thereafter as the Washington District.

As Wayne County in the State of Franklin

J. G. M. Ramsey records within his 1853 ''Annals of Tennessee'' that the State of Franklin established Wayne County from sections of both Washington County and a part of Wilkes County "lying west of the extreme heights of the or Mountains, into a separate and distinct county by the name of Wayne... This new county covered the same territory now embraced in the limits of Carter and Johnson counties." The county seat, Elizabethton, is named for Carter's wife, Elizabeth MacLin Carter.

Civil War

Like most East Tennessee counties, Carter Countians opposed secession on the eve of the Civil War. In Tennessee's Ordinance of Secession referendum on June 8, 1861, Carter Countians rejected secession by a vote of 1,343 to 86. A railroad bridge at Carter's Depot (modern Watauga) was among those targeted by the East Tennessee bridge-burning conspiracy in November 1861.

Early railroad

Carter County was served by the

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...

East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad The East Tennessee & Western North Carolina Railroad , affectionately called the "Tweetsie" as a verbal acronym of its initials (ET&WNC) but also in reference to the sound of its steam whistles, was a primarily narrow gauge railroad established ...

(The ''ET&WNC'', nicknamed "Tweetsie") until the line ceased operations in 1950.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, 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 U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.8%) is water. Carter County is situated entirely within the

Blue Ridge Mountains The Blue Ridge Mountains are a Physiographic regions of the United States, physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Highlands range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States and extends 550 miles southwest from southern ...

, specifically the

Unaka Range The Unaka Range is a mountain range on the border of Tennessee and North Carolina, in the southeastern United States. It is a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains and is part of the Blue Ridge Mountains physiographic province. The Unakas stre ...

and the

Iron Mountains The Iron Mountains are a subrange of the Blue Ridge Mountains. These mountains are located around the common meeting point of Tennessee, Virginia, and North Carolina. A portion of the Appalachian Trail runs the crest of the Iron Mountains ab ...

. Roan Mountain, which at is the highest point in Tennessee outside the

Great Smoky Mountains The Great Smoky Mountains (, ''Equa Dutsusdu Dodalv'') are a mountain range rising along the Tennessee–North Carolina border in the southeastern United States. They are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains and form part of the Blue Ridg ...

, straddles the county's eastern border with North Carolina. The county's boundary with Sullivan County is defined as the ridgeline of

Holston Mountain Holston Mountain is a mountain ridge in Upper East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia, southwest Virginia, in the United States. It is in the Blue Ridge Mountains part of the Appalachian Mountains. Holston Mountain is a very prominent ridge-type mo ...

Lakes

* Watauga Lake *Wilbur Reservoir (immediately below the TVA Watauga Dam Lat: 36.3408 Lon: -82.1203] *Ripshin Lake (6 km southwest of Roan Mountain Lat: 36.1838646 Lon: -82.1356583)

Rivers

Watauga River The Watauga River () is a large stream of western North Carolina and East Tennessee. It is long with its headwaters in Linville Gap to the South Fork Holston River at Boone Lake. Course The Watauga River rises from a spring located south to ...

Doe River The Doe River is a tributary of the Watauga River in northeast Tennessee in the United States. The river forms in Carter County near the North Carolina line, just south of Roan Mountain State Park, and flows to Elizabethton. Hydrography Th ...

Waterfalls

Adjacent counties

* Sullivan County (north) * Johnson County (northeast) *

Avery County, North Carolina Avery County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 17,806. The county seat is Newland, North Carolina, Newland. The county seat was ...

(southeast) * Mitchell County, North Carolina (south) * Unicoi County (southwest) * Washington County (west)

National protected areas

Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail, also called the A.T., is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian Tra ...

(part) *

Cherokee National Forest The Cherokee National Forest is a United States National Forest located in the U.S. states of Tennessee and North Carolina that was created on June 14, 1920. The forest is maintained and managed by the United States Forest Service. It encompas ...

(part)

State protected areas

* Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area *

Roan Mountain State Park Roan Mountain State Park is a Tennessee state park in Carter County, in Northeast Tennessee. It is close to the Tennessee-North Carolina border and near the community of Roan Mountain, Tennessee. Situated in the Blue Ridge of the Appalachia ...

* Sabine Hill State Historic Site *Hampton Creek Cove State Natural Area *Watauga River Bluffs State Natural Area

Major highways

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Law enforcement

Carter County is served by the Carter County Sheriff's Office, located in Elizabethton. During the Local General Election on August 4, 2022, Mike Fraley overcame the Independent candidate to become Sheriff of Carter County. Sheriff Fraley took over Official Duties as Sheriff on September 1. Sheriff Fraley's term will run September 1, 2022, to August 31, 2026. Its duties include patrol of the county and all jail and prisoner matters. The Elizabethton Police Department services the City of Elizabethton inside Carter County. As of 2018, the Chief of Police is Jason Shaw.

Climate

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 56,356 people, 23,784 households, and 15,256 families residing in the county.

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 56,742 people, 23,486 households, and 16,346 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

was . There were 25,920 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 97.49%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.00%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.20% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 0.01%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.27% from other races, and 0.78% from two or more races. 0.89% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. There were 23,486 households, out of which 28.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.90% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 11.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.40% were non-families. 26.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.83. In the county, the population was spread out, with 21.40% under the age of 18, 9.20% from 18 to 24, 29.00% from 25 to 44, 25.40% from 45 to 64, and 15.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.60 males. The median income for a household in the county was $27,371, and the median income for a family was $33,825. Males had a median income of $26,394 versus $19,687 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $14,678. About 12.80% of families and 16.90% 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 23.00% of those under age 18 and 16.00% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Most of the county is in the Carter County School District, while portions in the Elizabethton city limits are in the Elizabethton City School District. Schools include:

Colleges

* Northeast State Community College and the Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology have satellite campuses in Elizabethton. * Milligan College's main campus and Emmanuel Christian Seminary are located in the community of Milligan College, part of Elizabethton.

Communities

Cities

* Elizabethton (county seat) * Johnson City (mostly in Washington County and a small portion in Sullivan County) * Watauga (small part in Washington County)

Census-designated places

* Biltmore * Central * Hampton *

Hunter Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, ...

* Pine Crest * Roan Mountain *

Valley Forge Valley Forge was the winter encampment of the Continental Army, under the command of George Washington, during the American Revolutionary War. The Valley Forge encampment lasted six months, from December 19, 1777, to June 19, 1778. It was the t ...

Other unincorporated communities

* Big Spring * Bitter End *

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments, with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries, pantr ...

Carter Carter(s), or Carter's, Tha Carter, or The Carter(s), may refer to: Geography United States * Carter, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Carter, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Carter, Montana, a census-designated place * Carter ...

* Fish Springs * Laurel Fork * Milligan College * Stoney Creek * Tiger Valley * Winner

Politics

Carter County is a Republican stronghold, and, like most of East Tennessee, has voted consistently Republican since the Civil War. Carter County is even more heavily Republican than many other counties in East Tennessee and has not been won by a Democratic presidential candidate since before the Civil War. Since then, only one Democrat, southerner

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

(who also won several traditionally Republican counties in East Tennessee), has received over 40% of the popular vote. Most recent Carter County Mayor Rusty Barnett died on September 21, 2020.

References

External links

Official site

Elizabethton-Carter County Chamber of Commerce

Carter County History.com

Carter County, TNGenWeb
- free genealogy resources for the county * Carter Count
Landforms

Carter County Sheriff's Department
{{Coord, 36, 18, N, 82, 7, W, type:adm2nd_region:US-TN, display=title 1796 establishments in Tennessee Populated places established in 1796 Johnson City metropolitan area, Tennessee Second Amendment sanctuaries in Tennessee East Tennessee