Church Hill is a city in
Hawkins County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 6,998 at the 2020 census and 6,737 at the 2010 census.
It is part of the
Kingsport-Bristol-Bristol, TN-VA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the "
Tri-Cities" region. It is the largest municipality located entirely within Hawkins County.
History
The community was established as a trading post and stagecoach stop called Spencer's Mill and Patterson Mill in the late 18th century. The name "Church Hill" came later, following the establishment of a
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
church "on the hill" overlooking the
Holston River
The Holston River is a river that flows from Kingsport, Tennessee, to Knoxville, Tennessee. Along with its three major forks (North Fork, Middle Fork and South Fork), it comprises a major river system that drains much of northeastern Tennessee ...
valley.
The church still stands today on Grandview Street. The city of Church Hill was incorporated in 1958.
One of Church Hill's most notable landmarks is the New Canton Plantation and its antebellum mansion, Canton Hall, owned by the Hord family. Other landmarks include Smith Place, built in the early 20th century, and the former site of Carter's Store, a 1770s-era trading outpost established by Tennessee pioneer John Carter.
Geography
Church Hill is located in eastern Hawkins County at (36.520845, -82.725472).
The city is situated among rolling hills on the northern portion of Smith Bend, overlooking the
Holston River
The Holston River is a river that flows from Kingsport, Tennessee, to Knoxville, Tennessee. Along with its three major forks (North Fork, Middle Fork and South Fork), it comprises a major river system that drains much of northeastern Tennessee ...
. The city is bordered by
Mount Carmel
Mount Carmel (; ), also known in Arabic as Mount Mar Elias (; ), is a coastal mountain range in northern Israel stretching from the Mediterranean Sea towards the southeast. The range is a UNESCO biosphere reserve. A number of towns are situat ...
to the northeast, and the
Holston Army Ammunition Plant lies to the southeast, across the Holston River.
Bays Mountain, a prominent
Ridge-and-Valley formation, dominates the horizon to the south.
U.S. Route 11W connects Church Hill with
Rogersville to the southwest and the Tri-Cities area to the northeast.
State Route 346 intersects 11W near the center of the city.
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the city has a total area of , of which are land and , or 4.63%, are water.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the
2020 United States census, there were 6,998 people, 2,879 households, and 1,946 families residing in the city.
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 5,916 people, 2,482 households, and 1,772 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 2,709 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.95%
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 ...
, 1.30%
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 ...
, 0.12%
Native American, 0.22%
Asian, 0.07% from
other races, and 0.34% from two or more races.
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 were 0.41% of the population.
There were 2,482 households, out of which 29.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.5% 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, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.6% were non-families. 25.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.78.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 21.4% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 30.2% from 25 to 44, 26.9% from 45 to 64, and 15.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $36,563, and the median income for a family was $43,423. Males had a median income of $32,305 versus $25,010 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 city was $19,656. About 10.0% of families and 12.0% 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 16.2% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Church Hill has one library, Church Hill Public Library, which is part of the Eastern Branch of the
Hawkins County Library System. It was founded in 1952, and was moved into a new building in 2007. The library holds over 20,000 materials and serves over 6,000 patrons.
Education
Five schools are located within Church Hill's city limits: Carter's Valley Elementary, Church Hill Elementary, Church Hill Middle School, Church Hill Intermediate and Volunteer High School.
All fall under the
Hawkins County Schools system.
Parks and recreation
Church Hill has seven parks: Laurel Run Park, A.S. Derrick Park, Jaycees Park, J.W. Sally Park, S.L. Taylor Park, Bill Castle Park, and Church Hill's Public basketball court located at the site of the old skatepark. The city also has one
swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming and associated activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built abo ...
, Church Hill Municipal Pool.
The City of Church Hill, City of Mount Carmel, and Town of
Surgoinsville have joined together to form a joint Recreation Department. They offer indoor/outdoor soccer, baseball, football, and basketball.
Welcome! Play Ball!
City of Church Hill, Tennessee. Retrieved: July 24, 2015.
Government
The city is governed by a mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
and six aldermen
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking membe ...
.
The city has a police department that also provides animal control services and a fire department that handles public safety
Public security or public safety is the prevention of and protection from events that could endanger the safety and security of the public from significant danger, injury, or property damage. It is often conducted by a state government to ensu ...
, hazmat
Hazmat, HazMat or HAZMAT may refer to:
* Dangerous goods, hazardous materials and items
* Hazmat suit
* Hazmat diving
* Hazmat (comics) is a Marvel Comics character
* ''HazMat'' (film), a 2013 horror film
See also
* Hazmat Modine
Hazmat Mo ...
and fire emergencies.
Infrastructure
Church Hill provides the community with trash pickup, snow and ice removal, mowing and park maintenance services. Residents of the city obtain power services from Holston Electric Cooperative or Appalachian Power
American Electric Power Company, Inc. (AEP), (railcar reporting mark: AEPX) is an American domestic electric utility company in the United States. It is one of the largest electric utility companies in the country, with more than five mi ...
. Water services are provided by a private utility, First Utility District of Hawkins County. Hawkins County Gas Utility provides natural gas
Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...
services and internet and phone services are provided by Charter Communications
Charter Communications, Inc., is an American telecommunications and mass media company with services branded as Spectrum. The company is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut.
With over 32 million customers in 41 states as of 2022, it is the ...
or CenturyLink
Lumen Technologies, Inc. (formerly CenturyLink, Inc.) is an American telecommunications company headquartered in Monroe, Louisiana, which offers communications, network services, security, cloud solutions, voice and managed services through it ...
.
Notable people
* Lloyd Carr
Lloyd Henry Carr Jr. (born July 30, 1945) is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Michigan from 1995 through the 2007 season, replacing Gary Moeller. Under Carr, the Michigan Wolve ...
, former football head coach for the University of Michigan
The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
was born in Church Hill, and lived there as a child.
* Blake Leeper, 2012 U.S. Paralympian competing in track and field
* James Alan Shelton, bluegrass guitarist
See also
* WMCH
References
External links
City of Church Hill official website
MTAS entry for Church Hill
{{authority control
Cities in Tennessee
Cities in Hawkins County, Tennessee
Kingsport–Bristol metropolitan area