Elizabethton, Tennessee
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Elizabethton () is a city in, and the
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
of Carter County, Tennessee, United States. Elizabethton is the historical site of the first independent American government (known as the Watauga Association, created in 1772) located west of both the
Eastern Continental Divide The Eastern Continental Divide, Eastern Divide or Appalachian Divide is a drainage divide, hydrological divide in eastern North America that separates the easterly Atlantic Seaboard drainage basin, watershed from the westerly Gulf of Mexico wat ...
and the original
Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies were the British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America which broke away from the British Crown in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and joined to form the United States of America. The Thirteen C ...
. The city is also the historical site of the Transylvania Purchase (1775), a major muster site during the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
for both the Battle of Musgrove Mill (1780) and the Battle of Kings Mountain (1780). It was within the
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 ...
ist
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 ...
"
State of Franklin The State of Franklin (also the Free Republic of Franklin, Lost State of Franklin, or the State of Frankland) was an unrecognized proposed U.S. state, state located in present-day East Tennessee, in the United States. Franklin was created in ...
" territory (1784–1788). The population of Elizabethton was enumerated at 14,176 during the 2010 census.


History


Native American inhabitants

The area that is now Tennessee was first settled by
Paleo-Indians Paleo-Indians were the first peoples who entered and subsequently inhabited the Americas towards the end of the Late Pleistocene period. The prefix ''paleo-'' comes from . The term ''Paleo-Indians'' applies specifically to the lithic period in ...
nearly 11,000 years ago. The names of the cultural groups that inhabited the area between first settlement and the time of European contact are unknown, but several distinct cultural phases have been named by archaeologists, including Archaic,
Woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunli ...
, and Mississippian. Chiefdoms of the Mississippian culture preceded the historic
Muscogee The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek or just Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language; English: ), are a group of related Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands Here they waged war again ...
(also known as Creek) people who inhabited the Tennessee River Valley. They were pushed out of eastern Tennessee by
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 ...
migration into the river's headwaters and lower areas in the eastern part of what became the state. When Spanish explorers first visited Tennessee, led by
Hernando de Soto Hernando de Soto (; ; 1497 – 21 May 1542) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who was involved in expeditions in Nicaragua and the Yucatan Peninsula. He played an important role in Francisco Pizarro's conquest of the Inca Empire in Peru, ...
in 1539–43, it was inhabited by tribes of Muscogee and
Yuchi The Yuchi people are a Native American tribe based in Oklahoma, though their original homeland was in the southeastern United States. In the 16th century, the Yuchi lived in the eastern Tennessee River valley. By the late 17th century, they had ...
people. Possibly because of European diseases devastating the Native tribes, which would have left a population vacuum, and also from expanding European settlement in the north, the Cherokee migrated south through the mountains from the area that is now
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 ...
. They occupied a homeland incorporating also western North and South Carolina, northeastern Georgia and Alabama. As European-American
settler A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a Human settlement, settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among ...
s expanded through the Province of Carolina, they came into armed conflict and forcibly displaced native populations over time to the south and west. The rising states kept up the pressure against Native Americans, as they were eager for their lands. Congress passed the
Indian Removal Act The Indian Removal Act of 1830 was signed into law on May 28, 1830, by United States president Andrew Jackson. The law, as described by Congress, provided "for an exchange of lands with the Indians residing in any of the states or territories, ...
in 1830, and the United States military enforced the removal of nearly all Muscogee and Yuchi peoples, the
Chickasaw The Chickasaw ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, United States. Their traditional territory was in northern Mississippi, northwestern and northern Alabama, western Tennessee and southwestern Kentucky. Their language is ...
,
Choctaw The Choctaw ( ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States, originally based in what is now Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choct ...
and
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 latter were the last holdouts but, from 1838 to 1839, nearly 17,000 Cherokee were forced to walk overland from "emigration depots" in Alabama and Eastern Tennessee, such as Fort Cass, to
Indian Territory Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United States, ...
west of Arkansas. (They were transported by boat across the Mississippi River.) This came to be known as the
Trail of Tears The Trail of Tears was the forced displacement of about 60,000 people of the " Five Civilized Tribes" between 1830 and 1850, and the additional thousands of Native Americans and their black slaves within that were ethnically cleansed by the U ...
, as an estimated 4,000 Cherokees died along the way.


Colonial settlement

In 1769, a young James Robertson accompanied explorer
Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (, 1734September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyo ...
on his third expedition to lands beyond the
Allegheny Mountains The Allegheny Mountain Range ( ) — also spelled Alleghany or Allegany, less formally the Alleghenies — is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada. Historically it represented a significant barr ...
. The party discovered the "Watauga Old Fields" (lands previously cultivated by generations of Native Americans) along the Watauga River valley at present-day Elizabethton, which Robertson planted with
corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...
while Boone continued on to Kentucky. By 1769 Boone had formed an association with North Carolina promoter and judge Richard Henderson with a goal to purchase and settle a vast tract of Cherokee lands in present-day Middle Tennessee and Kentucky, and Boone later relocated his family to the Watauga Settlement sometime during the spring of 1771. After the
Battle of Alamance The Battle of Alamance, which took place on May 16, 1771, was the final confrontation of the Regulator Movement, a rebellion in colonial North Carolina over various issues with the Colonial Government. The Regulators primarily wanted reforms ...
in 1771, many North Carolinians refused to take the new oath of allegiance to the Royal Crown and withdrew from the province. Instead of taking their new oath of allegiance, James Robertson led a group of some twelve or thirteen families involved with the Regulator movement from near where present-day
Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...
, now stands. In 1772, Robertson and the pioneers who had settled in Northeast Tennessee (along the Watauga River, the Doe River, 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 ...
, and the Nolichucky River) met at Sycamore Shoals to establish an independent regional government known as the Watauga Association.
John Sevier John Sevier (September 23, 1745 September 24, 1815) was an American soldier, frontiersman, and politician, and one of the founding fathers of the State of Tennessee. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, he played a leading role in Tennes ...
, the future first governor of the State of Tennessee, first visited the Holston settlement and surrounding areas in present-day northeast Tennessee during 1771, bringing items to trade with settlers from his merchandising business in Middletown, Virginia. Sevier later returned to the area in 1772, where he witnessed a horse race at "the Watauga Old Fields, on Doe River; near its junction with the Watauga." However, in 1772, surveyors placed the land officially within the domain of 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 ...
tribe, who required negotiation of a lease with the settlers. Tragedy struck as the lease was being celebrated, when a Cherokee warrior was murdered by a white man. James Robertson's skillful diplomacy made peace with the irate Native Americans, who threatened to expel the settlers by force if necessary. All of present-day Tennessee was once recognized as one single North Carolina county: Washington County, North Carolina. Created in 1777 from the western areas of
Burke Burke (; ) is a Normans in Ireland, Norman-Irish surname, deriving from the ancient Anglo-Norman and Hiberno-Norman noble dynasty, the House of Burgh. In Ireland, the descendants of William de Burgh (''circa'' 1160–1206) had the surname'' de B ...
and Wilkes counties in North Carolina, Washington County had as its precursor the Washington District of 1775–76, which was the first political entity named for the Commander-in-Chief of American forces in the Revolution. "Lost Counties of Tennessee.


American Revolutionary War


Transylvania Purchase at Sycamore Shoals

Elizabethton (at Sycamore Shoals) was the Fort Watauga site of the Transylvania Purchase. In March 1775, land speculator and North Carolina judge Richard Henderson met with more than 1,200
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 ...
s at Sycamore Shoals, including Cherokee leaders such as Attacullaculla, Oconostota, and Dragging Canoe. In the Treaty of Sycamore Shoals (also known as the Treaty of Watauga), Henderson purchased all the land lying between the
Cumberland River The Cumberland River is a major waterway of the Southern United States. The U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 8, 2011 river drains almost of southern Kentucky and ...
, the
Cumberland Mountains The Cumberland Mountains are a mountain range in the southeastern section of the Appalachian Mountains. They are located in western Virginia, southwestern West Virginia, the eastern edges of Kentucky, and eastern middle Tennessee, including the ...
, and the Kentucky River, and situated south of the
Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...
. The land thus delineated, 20 million acres (81,000 km2), encompassed an area half as large as the present state of Kentucky. Henderson's purchase was in violation of North Carolina and Virginia law, as well as the
Royal Proclamation of 1763 The Royal Proclamation of 1763 was issued by British King George III on 7 October 1763. It followed the Treaty of Paris (1763), which formally ended the Seven Years' War and transferred French territory in North America to Great Britain. The ...
, which prohibited private purchase of American Indian land. Henderson may have mistakenly believed that a newer British legal opinion had made such land purchases legal. Before the Sycamore Shoals treaty, Henderson had hired
Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (, 1734September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyo ...
, an experienced hunter who had explored Kentucky, to travel to the Cherokee towns and inform them of the upcoming negotiations. Afterwards, Boone was hired to blaze what became known as the
Wilderness Road The Wilderness Road was one of two principal routes used by colonial and early national era settlers to reach Kentucky from the East. Although this road goes through the Cumberland Gap into southern Kentucky and northern Tennessee, the other ...
, which went through the
Cumberland Gap The Cumberland Gap is a Mountain pass, pass in the Eastern United States, eastern United States through the long ridge of the Cumberland Mountains, within the Appalachian Mountains and near the tripoint of Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee. At&n ...
and into central Kentucky. Along with a party of about thirty workers, Boone marked a path to the Kentucky River, where he established Boonesborough (near present-day
Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...
), which was intended to be the capital of Transylvania. Other settlements, notably Harrodsburg, were also established at this time. Many of these settlers had come to Kentucky on their own initiative, and did not recognize Transylvania's authority. A Daniel Boone Trail historical marker is found just outside the downtown Elizabethton business district.


July 1776 Dragging Canoe Attacks

Early during the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
, Fort Watauga at Sycamore Shoals was attacked in 1776 by Dragging Canoe and his warring faction of Cherokees opposed to the Transylvania Purchase (warring Cherokees also referred to by settlers as the Chickamauga), Cols. John Sevier and James Robertson are named as being among the defenders of the stockade fort along the Watauga River.


Wataugans' Settlement of Middle Tennessee

During the spring of 1779, James Robertson and a small group of Watauga settlers, acting upon the survey of Henderson's Transylvania Purchase, traveled west overland to select a site for a new settlement along the Cumberland River known as the French Lick (at present day
Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
). Later that same year, Robertson would return to the French Lick with a group of men to construct temporary shelters for their friends and relatives from the Watauga Settlement, who would eventually arrive at their new French Lick settlement on Christmas Day and drive their cattle across a frozen Cumberland River. A fort built by James Robertson and other settlers from the Watauga Settlement atop a bluff along the Cumberland River was named Fort Nashborough in honor of Francis Nash, who had fought alongside Robertson during the 1771 Battle of Alamance.


Overmountain Men Muster for the Battle of Kings Mountain

The Overmountain Men serving under Col.
Isaac Shelby Isaac Shelby (December 11, 1750 – July 18, 1826) was an American politician and military officer who was the List of governors of Kentucky, first and fifth Governor of Kentucky and served in the state legislatures of Virginia and North Ca ...
(who years earlier had worked as a surveyor for the Transylvania Company) and other patriot forces engaged and defeated a larger force of British Loyalists on August 19, 1780, at the Battle of Musgrove Mill near present-day
Clinton, South Carolina Clinton is a city in Laurens County, South Carolina, Laurens County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 8,490 as of the United States Census, 2010, 2010 census. It is part of the Greenville, South Carolina, Greenville–Mauldin ...
. Fort Watauga later served as the September 26, 1780,U.S. National Park Service.
/ref> staging area for a much larger contingent of some 1,100 Overmountain Men who were preparing to trek over 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 ...
at Roan Mountain to engage, and subsequently defeat, the British Army
Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...
forces at the Battle of Kings Mountain in rural York County, South Carolina, south of the present-day town of
Kings Mountain, North Carolina Kings Mountain is a small suburb, suburban city within the Charlotte metropolitan area in Cleveland County, North Carolina, Cleveland and Gaston County, North Carolina, Gaston counties, North Carolina, United States. Most of the city is in Clev ...
. Prior to the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
very little
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, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...
had been made in the colonies, and most was imported from
Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...
.Brown, ''The Big Bang: A History of Explosives'', p? In October 1777, the
British Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...
banned the importation of gunpowder into the American colonies. In preparation for the overmountain march, five hundred pounds of
black powder 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, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...
was manufactured for the Overmountain Men by Mary Patton and her husband at their Gap Creek powder mill. The Overmountain Men stored the Patton black powder on the rainy first night of their march in a dry cave known as the Shelving Rock that is located near Roan Mountain State Park at present-day Roan Mountain, Tennessee. During January 1781, the Overmountain Men also fought the British at the
Battle of Cowpens The Battle of Cowpens was a military engagement during the American Revolutionary War fought on January 17, 1781, near the town of Cowpens, South Carolina. American Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot forces, estimated at 2,000 militia and reg ...
in South Carolina.


John Carter, Landon Carter, and the Carter Mansion

Landon Carter was the son of early Carter County settler John Carter. John Carter's circa 1780 white frame home, known as the Carter Mansion, now serves as a tourist attraction and is part of Sycamore Shoals State Park, although it is not at the park's main location. The oldest frame house in Tennessee, this former frontier plantation home is located on Broad Street Extension on the eastern side of town above the banks of the Watauga River. The property also contains a small Carter family cemetery. A landscape painting of a Virginia plantation that was discovered beneath layers of ancient paint covering the wall surface above a fireplace mantle suggests that John Carter may have been an illegitimate son of the wealthy Virginia plantation owner Robert "King" Carter and half-brother to Virginia plantation owner Landon Carter.


Tiptonville and the Battle of Franklin feud

Carter County was previously named "Wayne County" while briefly within the defeated State of Franklin (along with present-day Johnson County, Tennessee, 1784–88). Samuel Tipton (1752−1833), a son of frontiersman and later State of Franklin independence opponent Colonel John Tipton, had deeded the land on which the town Tiptonville was established on the banks of the Doe River near its confluence with the Watauga River then within Wayne County. The February 1788
Battle of Franklin The Battle of Franklin was fought on November 30, 1864, in Franklin, Tennessee, as part of the Franklin–Nashville Campaign of the American Civil War. It was one of the worst disasters of the war for the Confederate States Army. Confederate L ...
was fought between those aligned with Col. John Tipton and loyal to the area remaining within the authority of the State of North Carolina and the United States and the opposition aligned with Col. John Sevier who were seeking
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 as an independent
State of Franklin The State of Franklin (also the Free Republic of Franklin, Lost State of Franklin, or the State of Frankland) was an unrecognized proposed U.S. state, state located in present-day East Tennessee, in the United States. Franklin was created in ...
under Spanish rule. The Battle of Franklin took place on a farm owned by Col. John Tipton (now known as the Tipton-Haynes State Historic Site) within the southern section of present-day
Johnson City, Tennessee Johnson City is a city in Washington, Carter, and Sullivan counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, mostly in Washington County. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 71,046, making it Tennessee's eighth-most populous cit ...
. Col. John Tipton would also later help to lead the effort of having Tennessee be admitted as the sixteenth state into the United States of America during 1796. Following the 1796 admittance of the State of Tennessee into the United States of America, Wayne County was renamed named as Carter County by the losers of the Battle of Franklin in honor of Landon Carter, who served both as Chairman of the Court of the Watauga Settlement (as defined by the articles of the Watauga Petition) and as Speaker of the defunct State of Franklin Senate. Previously named "Tiptonville" in honor of Samuel Tipton while within the State of Franklin, the town was as the county seat of the newly minted Tennessee county of Carter was, likewise, renamed as "Elizabethton" by Landon Carter and David McNabb (who were members of a state committee to officially name the area that was appointed by the Tennessee General Assembly in 1796 to locate and name the county seat of Carter County) after their wives, Elizabeth MacLin Carter and Elizabeth McNabb. The gravesite of Samuel Tipton, "Founder of Elizabethton", is located at the Green Hill Cemetery, found on the crest of West Mill Street and overlooking northeast by north toward the historic site of Fort Caswell (this location as recorded in the unpublished John Sevier notes of Wisconsin historian Lyman C. Draper, and now more popularly known as Fort Watauga) and the Watauga River.


American Civil War

On the recommendation of Military Governor of Tennessee
Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. The 16th vice president, he assumed the presidency following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a South ...
, U.S. naval officer Samuel Powhattan (S.P.) Carter was promoted to the brevet rank of brigadier general and assigned by U.S. President
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
to engage
cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...
based in Kentucky against Confederate-held railroad lines and bridges in East Tennessee during the
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, 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 policies.J ...
. In early 1861, after receiving a letter from Carter assuring his loyalty to the Union should a civil war break out, Tennessee Governor Andrew Johnson used his influence in the
United States Department of War The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, als ...
for Carter to organize and train
militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...
within East Tennessee. After leading successful cavalry operations at the Battle of Mill Springs on January 19, 1862, Carter accepted a commission as Brigadier General of volunteers in May and later continued leading operations at the Battle of
Cumberland Gap The Cumberland Gap is a Mountain pass, pass in the Eastern United States, eastern United States through the long ridge of the Cumberland Mountains, within the Appalachian Mountains and near the tripoint of Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee. At&n ...
in June as well as raids against Holston, Carter's Station, and Jonesville in December, in support of General William S. Rosecrans' attack on Murfreesboro. Carter's younger brother, William B. Carter (1820−1902), planned and coordinated the so-called East Tennessee bridge burnings in 1861. On the night of November 8 of that year, Carter's pro-Union conspirators destroyed five railroad bridges across Confederate-occupied East Tennessee. Daniel Stover, a son-in-law of Andrew Johnson who lived near Elizabethton in the Siam community, led the party that destroyed the bridge at Union Depot (modern Bluff City). Confederate authorities placed much of East Tennessee under
martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...
as a result of the bridge-burning incident. In July 1863, Carter was placed in command of the XXIII Corps cavalry division and would continue campaigning across Tennessee throughout the year. By 1865, Carter was in North Carolina and commanding the left wing of the Union forces at the Battle of Kingston. He was promoted to Brevet Major General of Volunteers, briefly commanding the XXIII Corps before being mustered out of volunteer service in January 1866. While Carter was serving in the Union Army, the U.S. Navy promoted him to lieutenant commander in 1863, then to
commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...
in 1865. A Tennessee Historical Marker located on West Elk Avenue in front of the S.P. Carter Mansion in downtown Elizabethton commemorates his life and naval career. The Veterans' Monument in downtown Elizabethton was originally constructed and dedicated in 1912 to "the memory of the old soldiers of Carter County since the days of the
Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...
." It is in the form of an
obelisk An obelisk (; , diminutive of (') ' spit, nail, pointed pillar') is a tall, slender, tapered monument with four sides and a pyramidal or pyramidion top. Originally constructed by Ancient Egyptians and called ''tekhenu'', the Greeks used th ...
, constructed primarily from river rock collected from the nearby Doe River, guarded by two short Civil War field cannon.


Railroad history

During the early 20th century, Elizabethton became a rail hub, served by three different railroad companies. Beginning in the 1880s, the narrow-gauge engine known as the "Tweetsie" ran on the East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad (ET&WNC) from Johnson City, passing through Elizabethton before climbing into 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 ...
, eventually connecting to
Boone, North Carolina Boone is a town in and the county seat of Watauga County, North Carolina, United States. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina, Boone is the home of Appalachian State University and the headquarters of the disaster and me ...
, in 1916. In 1927, the portion of the ET&WNC railroad from Johnson City to Elizabethton was converted to
standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...
in order to more efficiently serve the NARC and Bemberg Rayon Plants. The narrow-gauge portion of the ET&WNC ceased operations in 1950 and was subsequently abandoned, though the standard-gauge portion of the line from Johnson City to Elizabethton continued to operate until 2003 as the East Tennessee Railway. The railroad's dormant track has been removed, pending negotiations between Elizabethton and Johnson City to establish a walking and bike path. One of the ET&WNC's narrow-gauge
steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...
s (Engine #12) is still in existence, operating at the " Tweetsie Railroad"
theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...
at nearby Blowing Rock, North Carolina. The Southern Railway operated a branch line into Elizabethton until the flood of 1940. It connected with the ET&WNC at a small railroad yard near the confluence of the Watauga River and the Doe River. In the 1910s and 1920s, another small railroad, the Laurel Fork Railway, operated out of Elizabethton paralleling the ET&WNC and Doe River to Hampton, where the line split off and ran to a
sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...
near present-day Watauga Lake.


North American Rayon Corp., American Bemberg Corp., and the 1929 Rayon Plants strikes

Beginning in the late 1920s, German and Dutch business investors established two major
rayon Rayon, also called viscose and commercialised in some countries as sabra silk or cactus silk, is a semi-synthetic fiber made from natural sources of regenerated cellulose fiber, cellulose, such as wood and related agricultural products. It has t ...
manufacturing plants (Bemberg and the North American Rayon Corporation) in Elizabethton along the banks of the Watauga River, producing rayon material for both U.S. domestic and export markets. The Rayon factories were controlled by the German-Dutch Algemene Kunstzijde Unie (AKU). During
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
the U.S. government seized managerial control of these critical rayon plants in Elizabethton. A post-war hiring apex of the Elizabethton rayon industry occurred in 1949 when over 6,100 employees were working at both of the Elizabethton rayon mills. A specialized fiber utilized by
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
within the
Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable launch system, reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. ...
program was manufactured at the Elizabethton plants during the 1980s, and after many years of a declining U.S. rayon market and increased foreign competition following the
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is a legal agreement between many countries, whose overall purpose was to promote international trade by reducing or eliminating trade barriers such as tariffs or quotas. According to its p ...
and
North American Free Trade Agreement The North American Free Trade Agreement (, TLCAN; , ALÉNA), referred to colloquially in the Anglosphere as NAFTA, ( ) was an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States that created a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The ...
, the remaining rayon mill (owned by the North American Rayon Corporation) closed down during the late 1990s after a fire burned down most of the factory buildings.


The City of Power and the Tennessee Valley Authority

Elizabethton was first served by relatively inexpensive
hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...
power during the early 1910s, leading to the popular "The City of Power" moniker. The Horseshoe section of the Watauga River (within 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 ...
reservation behind the TVA
Wilbur Dam Wilbur Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Watauga River in Carter County, in the U.S. state of Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeaster ...
) is the site of the first hydroelectric dam constructed in Tennessee (beginning in 1909), going online with power production and distribution in 1912. The 1928 Republican U.S. presidential candidate Herbert C. Hoover made his only southern campaign stop at Elizabethton and delivered his nationally broadcast October 6, 1928, election "
stump speech A political stump speech is a standard speech used by a politician running for office. Typically a candidate who schedules many appearances prepares a short standardized stump speech that is repeated verbatim to each audience, before opening ...
" before 50,000 people gathered at the base of Lynn Mountain in Harmon Field (now at the mini-park and the Elizabethton/Carter County Chamber of Commerce building location on U.S. 321) during Elizabethton's Second Annual Industrial Celebration."Hoover Day in Dixie: Elizabethton's Second Annual Industrial Celebration October 6th, 1928". Dan W. Crowe, 1979. During the Elizabethton speech, Hoover "...alluded to a matter of growing concern, the status of the Federal Government's involvement in the ydrogenerationproduction of lectricpower, specifically the Muscle Shoals (Alabama) issue: "There are local instances where the Government must enter the business field as a by-product to some great major purpose such as an improvement in navigation, flood control, irrigation, scientific research or national defense." It was the succession of Republican presidents in the White House at the time leading up to the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
—first
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Coolidge in 1928, followed by President Hoover later in 1931—choosing to veto the federal legislation passed by the
U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...
that would have created a water power development agency of the federal government. It was U.S. Senator George W. Norris of Nebraska who sponsored 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 ...
Act of 1933, water power development legislation which was finally enacted during the administration of President
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
that created the Tennessee Valley Authority. Norris was later an important proponent of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936. Following the end of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the TVA Watauga Dam and Reservoir were completed upstream of the Wilbur Dam in 1948. The TVA Wilbur Dam has four hydroelectric generating turbines with a production capacity of 10,700 kilowatts of electricity while the TVA Watauga hydroelectric facility upstream has two generating units with a net dependable capacity (the amount of power a hydrogenerating impounded reservoir can produce on an average day, minus the electricity used by the dam itself) of 66 megawatts.


U.S. Bicentennial – Overmountain Victory Trail

Hikers, military reenactors, and scouts have followed segments of the famous Overmountain Victory Trail, and in 1975, three Elizabethton Boy Scouts were among those who completed the re-enactment of the overmountain route (approximately in one direction) by hiking from Elizabethton at Sycamore Shoals to the Kings Mountain National Military Park. ''Liberty: The Saga of Sycamore Shoals'' (formerly known as '' The Wataugans'') is the official outdoor historical drama of the state of Tennessee. It is presented by the Watauga Historical Association and the Sycamore Shoals Historic Area in Elizabethton every July on the last three Thursday–Friday–Saturday weekends of the month. Employing a mixed cast of volunteer professional and amateur local actors and re-enactors engaged through an open casting call, ''Liberty: The Saga of Sycamore Shoals'' depicts the early history of the area that is now Northeast Tennessee. Based on a bill introduced by North Carolina Congressman James T. Broyhill before the final NPS report was issued, Congress passed an amendment to Section 5(a) of the National Trails System Act to establish the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail. U.S. President
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 ...
, recognizing the historical significance of the frontier patriots marching over the
Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...
to fight the British Loyalists at the Battle of King's Mountain, signed the bill (P.L. 96 344) into law on September 8, 1980, designating the historical overmountain route as the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail, the first National Historic Trail established within the eastern United States.


Elizabethton Airport Plane Incident

On June 4, 2023, a plane that took off from the Elizabethton airport was the cause of an airspace emergency over Washington, DC, after the pilot lost consciousness and the plane flew into restricted airspace. The plane crashed in the St Mary's Wilderness in Virginia. The four aboard, including the pilot, were killed.


Geography


Northeast Tennessee location

Elizabethton is located within the "Tri-Cities" area (encompassed by
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 ...
, Johnson City, and Kingsport) of northeast Tennessee. Time offset from
Coordinated Universal Time Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the primary time standard globally used to regulate clocks and time. It establishes a reference for the current time, forming the basis for civil time and time zones. UTC facilitates international communicat ...
(UTC): UTC-5 (
Eastern Time 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, and the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico. * Eastern Standard Time (EST) is five hours behi ...
). 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 is land and , or 1.62%, is water. The elevation at Elizabethton Municipal Airport is ASL (the highest point of elevation in Carter County is at Roan Mountain with an elevation of ASL), and the airport is located on the eastern side of the city along State Highway 91 Stoney Creek Exit. Elizabethton is also connected to larger commercial, shuttle, and cargo flights out of
Tri-Cities Regional Airport Tri-Cities Airport (also known as Tri-Cities Airport, TN/VA), serves the Tri-Cities, Tennessee, Tri-Cities area (Johnson City, Tennessee; Kingsport, Tennessee; Bristol, Tennessee-Bristol, Virginia, Virginia) of Northeast Tennessee and Southwest ...
northwest of Johnson City. Lynn Mountain reaches ASL at the summit (36.350°N, 82.191°W) and is located directly across the U.S. Highway 19E from the downtown Elizabethton business district. Elizabethton is bordered on the west by Johnson City.


Water resources and renewable energy


Spring Water

While most of the Tennessee public water-supply systems withdrawing spring water for their supplies are found in East Tennessee, the Elizabethton municipal water system during 2010 extracted and distributed 5.39 Mgal/d of clean spring water from three springs owned by the city --- a unique local supply of flowing spring water that greatly exceeds the volume of spring water extracted and distributed than any other local water resource system across the entire state of Tennessee.


Doe River

The Doe River forms in Carter County, Tennessee, near the
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 ...
line, just south of Roan Mountain State Park. The river initially flows north and is first paralleled by State Route 143; at the community of Roan Mountain, Tennessee, it then turns west and is at this point paralleled by U.S. Route 19E. The Doe River flows to the east of Fork Mountain; the Little Doe River flows by Fork Mountain to the west. Below the confluence of the Doe River and the Little Doe River at Hampton, the Doe River then travels roughly in a northern downstream direction through the Valley Forge community, and is rejoined by U.S. Route 19E. Pushing through a mountain gap just north of Hampton, the volume of the river is amplified by the waters flowing from McCathern Spring. Further downstream, the Doe River flows by the East Side neighborhood parallel with Tennessee State Route 67 and then underneath the historic Elizabethton Covered Bridge, built in 1882 and located within the Elizabethton downtown business district. Connecting 3rd Street and Hattie Avenue, the covered bridge is adjacent to a city park and spans the Doe River. The covered bridge, although now closed to motor traffic, is still open for bicycles and pedestrians. Most of Elizabethton's downtown is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
for its historical and architectural merits. The Elizabethton Historic District contains a variety of properties ranging in age from the late 18th century through the 1930s. The Elizabethton Covered Bridge is an important focal point and a well-known landmark in the state. In addition to the covered bridge, the downtown historic district contains the 1928 Elk Avenue concrete arch bridge, and just a little further downstream on the Doe River, Tennessee State Route 67 passes another similar concrete arch bridge locally known as the Broad Street Bridge. Elizabethton celebrates in the downtown business area for one week each June with the Elizabethton Covered Bridge Days featuring country and gospel music performances, activities for children, Elk Avenue car club show, and many food and crafts vendors.


Watauga River

Two
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 ...
(TVA) reservoirs in Carter County—impounded behind the Watauga Dam (forming Watauga Lake) and the immediately downstream
Wilbur Dam Wilbur Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Watauga River in Carter County, in the U.S. state of Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeaster ...
Tennessee Valley Authority – Wilbur Reservoir.
/ref>—are located southeast and upstream of Elizabethton on the Watauga River. The
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 ...
crosses the Watauga River and the TVA reservation in Carter County to the southeast of Elizabethton. The Watauga River flows westward past Elizabethton, which lies on the south bank of the Watauga and along either side of its principal tributary, the Doe River. The downtown business district is located approximately one-quarter mile upstream of the
confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...
of the Doe River and the Watauga River. The Doe River flows underneath the historic wooden covered bridge that is located within the Elizabethton downtown business district. The city of Elizabethton was at one time promoted as "The City of Power", as the town is located just southeast of the Wilbur Dam hydrogeneration site spanning the Watauga River. Construction of Wilbur Dam first began during 1909, and two hydroelectric generating units were online with power production at Wilbur Dam when it was completed in 1912. A third generating unit was added to Wilbur Dam in 1926, and a fourth hydrogeneration unit was added to Wilbur Dam after the Tennessee Valley Authority acquired the power production facility in 1945. The Bee Cliff Rapids—a popular summer destination on the Watauga River for whitewater rafters during the summer months—are located southeast of Elizabethton and downstream of the TVA Wilbur Dam. The Watauga River downstream of the western side of Elizabethton has one of the only two sections of trophy trout streams in Tennessee.


Holston Mountain communication towers

Elizabethton lies within a river valley basin mostly surrounded by mountain ridges and significant hills, such as Holston Mountain, the southern end of which lies just to the northeast. Panhandle Road is located off State Highway 91 in Carter County and ascends Holston Mountain for from the eastern side and ends along the ridge southwest of Holston High Point. During periods of heavy snow and ice, the National Forest Service closes Panhandle Road. Located near the Cherokee National Forest boundary and to the left of Panhandle Road is a parking area and foot trail that leads down the slope to the Blue Hole Falls (approximately high). The last of Panhandle Road are filled with washouts, steep drop-offs, and no turnarounds. Vehicle travel on this last section is at the driver's risk. Early broadcasters in the 1950s and 1960s quickly realized Holston Mountain would be a prime radio-television transmission location because it is the highest visible point that faces most of the major cities in Northeast Tennessee. As a result, the Holston Mountain ridge is the transmitter site for three television stations in the
Tri-Cities, Tennessee The Tri-Cities is the region comprising the cities of Kingsport, Johnson City, and Bristol and the surrounding smaller towns and communities in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. All three cities are located in Northeast Tennessee, ...
Television Designated Market Area. The broadcasting antenna for WCYB-TV, Channel 5,
Bristol, Virginia Bristol is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 17,219. It is the Twin cities (geographical proxi ...
, is on Rye Patch Knob, with the top of the antenna above ground, above the surrounding valley floor, and above sea level. The single tower the antenna sits on is the highest and tallest man-made structure on the mountain. The television towers for WJHL-TV, Channel 11, Johnson City, and WKPT-TV, Channel 19, Kingsport, are standing side by side in a common broadcasting antenna farm on the southwest slope of Holston High Point, southwest of Rye Patch Knob. The antenna for WJHL-TV stands above ground, above the surrounding valley floor, and above sea level. The antenna for WKPT-TV next door stands above ground, also above the valley floor, and above sea level. The stations' digital antennas are also on their respective towers. Holston Mountain is also the transmitting site for three FM Class C radio stations: WTFM-FM 98.5, Kingsport, Tennessee; WXBQ-FM 96.9, Bristol, Virginia, and WETS-FM 89.5, Johnson City, Tennessee. All three antennas and the backup antennas are located at the antenna farm on the southwest slope of Holston High Point. Also located on the ridge are the antenna for one FM Class C1 radio station, WHCB-FM 91.5, Bristol, Tennessee, located at Rye Patch Knob; one FM Class C2 antenna for radio station WCQR-FM 88.3, Kingsport, Tennessee, and one FM Class D antenna for radio station W214AP-FM 90.7, Johnson City, Tennessee, both transmitting from the antenna farm on the southwest slope of Holston High Point. Various U.S. federal, Tennessee state, Sullivan, Washington and Carter County governmental agencies, along with utility microwave relay stations, also transmit base-to-mobile communications from the Holston High Point antenna farm and Rye Patch Knob. The
Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...
maintains a navigational beacon at the Holston Mountain summit. East Tennessee PBS (or "ETPtv"), while not having a television repeater station serving the immediate area, broadcasts programming on two different over-the-air digital channels that can be received and viewed at higher hilltop elevations in Elizabethton. In early 2009, ETPtv became one of the first stations in East Tennessee to broadcast a digital high definition signal 24 hours a day.


Climate


Connection with Interstate Highway System

The closest Interstate Highway is I-26 in Johnson City. To reach Elizabethton, drivers take Exit 24 and head east on U.S. Route 321 and Tennessee State Route 67.


Demographics


2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 14,546 people, 5,448 households, and 3,301 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 13,372 people, 5,454 households, and 3,512 families residing in the city. 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 5,964 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 95.30%
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 ...
, 2.47%
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 ...
, 0.16% Native American, 0.55% 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 ...
, 0.49% from other races, and 1.02% 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 1.18% of the population. There were 5,454 households, out of which 26.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.6% 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, 14.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.6% were non-families. 32.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.82. In the city, the population was spread out, with 20.5% under the age of 18, 10.8% from 18 to 24, 24.5% from 25 to 44, 23.1% from 45 to 64, and 21.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 76.8 males. The median income for a household in the city was $25,909, and the median income for a family was $33,333. Males had a median income of $26,890 versus $20,190 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 $14,578. About 15.2% of families and 19.4% 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 29.8% of those under age 18 and 16.1% of those age 65 or over.


Education


Colleges

Satellite campuses of Northeast State Community College and Tennessee College of Applied Technology are located in the eastern part of the city. Milligan University and Emmanuel Christian Seminary are located in the southwestern part of the city.


K–12

Public schools in Elizabethton are operated by Elizabethton City Schools. * Elizabethton High School * T.A. Dugger Jr. High School * East Side Elementary School * Harold McCormick Elementary School * West Side Elementary School


Recreation

Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area is located in the city and consists of three separate areas; the main and Sabine Hill portions on the west side of the city and Elizabethton in the east side of the city. The City of Elizabethton Parks and Recreation Department manages: * Harmon Park – 1.9 acres * Cat Island Park – 12.5 acres * Covered Bridge Park – 2.25 acres * Edward's Island Park – 3.2 acres * Walter Curtis Memorial Park – 1.6 acres * Douglas Park – 3.7 acres * Carmen Dugger Sports Complex – 9.8 acres * Kiwanis Park – 3.1 acres * Riverside Park – 6.8 acres * Lions Field – 12 acres * Race Street Park – 1.3 acres * Mill Race Park – 0.5 acres * Dixon Street Park – 1.4 acres * Elizabethton Linear Path (Greenway) – 6 miles long


Tweetsie Trail

The Tweetsie Trail is a rails-to-trails project traversing former ET&WNC railroad right-of-way between Johnson City and Elizabethton that provides opportunities for walking, hiking, running, biking, and eBiking over a relatively minor grades, including a mostly natural setting found between the bridges over Buffalo Creek in western Elizabethton and the Legion Street trailhead in Johnson City. The cost of constructing the newly resurfaced, 10-mile compacted crushed stone gravel Tweetsie Trail rails-to-trails project was financed with private and local government contributions. Section I between Johnson City and Sycamore Shoals State Park in Elizabethton was completed in the summer of 2014 and opened on August 30 with the inaugural Tweetsie Trail Trek. Section II of the trail begins at Sycamore Shoals State Park, proceeds to downtown Elizabethton and continues to the end of the line, near the Betsytowne Shopping Center. Section II opened during August 2015, making a total length of 10 miles. The Carter County Commission has discussed plans to further extend the trail into Roan Mountain, Tennessee, which is scheduled for completion in 2025.


Sports

Several
Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...
teams have been based in Elizabethton.
Professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...
was first played in the city by the Elizabethton Betsy Red Sox in the
Appalachian League The Appalachian League is a Collegiate summer baseball, collegiate summer baseball league that operates in the Appalachian regions of Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Designed for rising freshmen and sophomores using wooden ...
in 1937. They remained in the league through 1942 and won the Appalachian League championship in 1939 and 1941. Subsequent entries in the league were the Elizabethton Betsy Cubs (1945–1948), Elizabethton Betsy Local (1949–1950), Elizabethton Phils (1951), and
Elizabethton Twins The Elizabethton Twins were a Minor League Baseball team of the Appalachian League and a Rookie-level affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They were located in Elizabethton, Tennessee, and were named for their Major League Baseball, major league aff ...
(1974–2020). The Twins won the league championship 12 times, more than any other team in the circuit's history. In conjunction with a contraction of Minor League Baseball beginning with the 2021 season, the Appalachian League was reorganized as a collegiate summer baseball league, and the Twins were replaced by the Elizabethton River Riders, a new franchise in the revamped league designed for rising college freshman and sophomores.


Notable people

* Paul Edward Anderson – Olympic gold medalist in
weightlifting Weightlifting or weight lifting generally refers to physical exercises and sports in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells, barbells or machines. People engage in weightlifting for a variety of different reasons. These can ...
* Margaret Bowen – led the March 12, 1929, walkout of 523 female co-workers at American Glanzstoff, beginning the 1929 labor strikeshttp://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=1277 "Elizabethton Rayon Plants Strikes, 1929". *
William Gannaway Brownlow William Gannaway "Parson" Brownlow (August 29, 1805April 29, 1877) was an American newspaper publisher, Methodist minister, book author, prisoner of war, lecturer, and politician who served as the 17th governor of Tennessee from 1865 to 1869 and ...
– governor of Tennessee, U.S. senator, Methodist minister, and publisher of the '' Whig'' newspaper * Evan Carter
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
outfielder -- 2023 World Series Winner with the Texas Rangers * Samuel P. Carter – U.S. Army general and U.S. Navy admiral * Charles Davis – University of Tennessee football player and Fox Sports analyst * Landon Carter Haynes – Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives, Confederate senator, lawyer, Methodist minister, and editor of the ''Tennessee Sentinel'' * Alec McLean – Olympic rower * Thomas Amos Rogers Nelson – early Elizabethton attorney and member of the U.S. House of Representatives. *
Dayton E. Phillips Dayton E. Phillips (March 29, 1910 – October 23, 1980) was an American politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives for the Tennessee's 1st congressional district, 1st congressional district of Tennessee. Biography Born ...
– jurist and member of the U.S. House of Representatives * Jeff Reed
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
catcher * Alfred A. Taylor – governor of Tennessee and congressman *
Robert Love Taylor Robert Love Taylor (July 31, 1850March 31, 1912) was an American politician, writer, and lecturer. A member of the Democratic Party, he served three terms as the 24th governor of Tennessee, from 1887 to 1891, and again from 1897 to 1899, and su ...
– governor of Tennessee and U.S. senator from Tennessee * Kent Williams – Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives * Jason Witten
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
tight end


See also


Places


People


Events

* Treaty of Dumplin Creek (1785-1786; State of Franklin negotiated this treaty with the Cherokees - not recognized by the State of North Carolina.) * Treaty of Hopewell (1785-1786) * Treaty of Holston (1791) *
Cherokee–American wars The Cherokee–American wars, also known as the Chickamauga Wars, were a series of raids, campaigns, ambushes, minor skirmishes, and several full-scale frontier battles in the Old Southwest from 1776 to 1794 between the Cherokee and American se ...
* Textile workers strike (1934)


Other

* Scottish Indian trade


References


External links


City of Elizabethton official website

Carter County History.com
{{authority control Cities in Carter County, Tennessee Cities in Tennessee County seats in Tennessee Early American land companies Johnson City metropolitan area, Tennessee North Carolina in the American Revolution Tennessee in the American Revolution Populated places established in 1769 State of Franklin 1769 establishments in the British Empire Tennessee populated places on the Watauga River