Grainger 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 23,527. Its

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 ...

is Rutledge. Grainger County is a part of the

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area and formerly Morristown Metropolitan Statistical Area until 2023.

History

East Tennessee Crossing - The Lakes of the Crossing from Clinch Mountain - NARA - 7718101

Early years

In 1775, pioneers

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 ...

and

William Bean William Bean (December 9, 1721-May 1782) was an American pioneer, longhunter, and Commissioner of the Watauga Association. He is accepted by historians as the first permanent European American settler of Tennessee. Biography William Bean wa ...

had first observed 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 in Grainger County after crossing the gap at

Clinch Mountain Clinch Mountain is a mountain ridge in the U.S. states of Tennessee and Virginia, located within the ridge-and-valley section of the Appalachian Mountains. The ridge runs generally east-northeasterly from its southern terminus at Kitts Point (at ...

during a long hunting excursion. After fighting in 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 ...

one year later, Bean was awarded in the area he previously surveyed for settlement during his excursion with Boone. Bean would later construct a four-room cabin at this site, which served as his family's home, and as an inn for prospective settlers,

fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal ecosystem, boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals h ...

rs, and longhunters. Grainger County would be established into a county from Knox and Hawkins counties by 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 ...

state legislature on April 22, 1796, the year Tennessee became the sixteenth state of the United States.Kevin Collins,
Grainger County
" ''Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture''. Retrieved: October 20, 2013 It is named for Mary Grainger Blount, the wife of

William Blount William Blount ( ; April 6, 1749March 21, 1800) was an American politician, landowner and Founding Father who was one of the signers of the Constitution of the United States. He was a member of the North Carolina delegation at the Constitution ...

, making it the only county in Tennessee named for a woman. In 1801, Rutledge was selected as the county seat. Anderson, Claiborne, Campbell, Hamblen, Hancock, Scott and Union counties were formed from portions of the original Grainger County following its reduction in land size between 1801 and 1870.

Civil War

Like its surrounding East Tennessee counties, Grainger County was generally opposed to secession from the Union. In Tennessee's Ordinance of Secession referendum on June 8, 1861, sparsely populated Grainger County voters rejected secession by 1,756 to 495. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, a state of near-

guerrilla warfare Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrori ...

brought economic, political, and social chaos to Grainger County, notably during the Knoxville campaign. Two arguments occurred within the county during the Civil War, with the first as a skirmish in Blaine around Christmas of 1862. In the year ahead, the

Battle of Bean's Station The Battle of Bean's Station (December 14, 1863) was fought in Grainger County, Tennessee, during the Knoxville campaign of the American Civil War. The action saw Confederate forces commanded by Lieutenant General James Longstreet attack Union ...

pitted the forces of

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

General

James Longstreet James Longstreet (January 8, 1821January 2, 1904) was a General officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War and was the principal subordinate to General Robert E. Lee, who called him his "Old War Ho ...

against a Union forces under General

James Shackelford James Murrell Shackelford (July 7, 1827 – September 7, 1907) was a lawyer, judge, and general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He has the distinction of having captured Confederate cavalry commander John Hunt Morgan in mid-18 ...

in a planned

surprise attack Military deception (MILDEC) is an attempt by a military unit to gain an advantage during warfare by misleading adversary decision makers into taking action or inaction that creates favorable conditions for the deceiving force. This is usually ...

that failed for Confederate forces through the critically poor decision-making of Longstreet's staff. While the Battle of Bean's Station proved victorious for Longstreet in the end, he later failed to capture Knoxville westward through Blaine, and went into hiding in Russellville in nearby

Hamblen County Hamblen County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 64,499. Its county seat and only incorporated city is Morristown. Hamblen County is the core county of the Morristown, Tennessee Met ...

1900s to present day

In the post-Civil War era, a businessman named Samuel Tate constructed a large Victorian-style luxury hotel just west of Bean Station that became the main focus of a resort known as

Tate Springs Tate Springs was a historic world-class luxury hotel, luxury resort complex located on U.S. Route 11W in Bean Station, Tennessee, United States. Known for its mineral spring water shipped internationally, it was considered to be one of the most ...

. Around the late 1870s, the hotel was purchased by Captain Thomas Tomlinson, who would transform the property into a vast resort that advertised the supposed healing powers of its

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

’s water. During its heyday, the resort complex included over three-dozen buildings, a park, and an 18-hole golf course. The resort had attracted some of the wealthiest people in America during this time. The resort declined during 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 ...

, and the hotel and most of its outbuildings have since been demolished after a major fire damaged the main hotel structure. The

Tate Springs Springhouse Tate Springs was a historic world-class luxury resort complex located on U.S. Route 11W in Bean Station, Tennessee, United States. Known for its mineral spring water shipped internationally, it was considered to be one of the most popular resor ...

still stands just off U.S. Route 11W near Bean Station Elementary School. In 1901, in the northern area of the county near Thorn Hill, a four-year conflict between two families, known locally as "The Battle of Thorn Hill," began following the murder of a prominent resident. The feud fueled acts of violence such as assassinations of prominent citizens and racially-motivated murders against

African Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...

in public places and businesses. During the early and mid 20th century,

moonshining Moonshine is high-proof liquor, traditionally made or distributed illegally. The name was derived from a tradition of distilling the alcohol at night to avoid detection. In the first decades of the 21st century, commercial distilleries hav ...

became popular and spread throughout many communities in the county. After the creation of 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 ...

in the 1930s, many Grainger County residents had to be

relocated Relocated may refer to: * ''Relocated'' (album), 2006 album by Camouflage *'' Red vs. Blue: Relocated'', 2009 television miniseries *"The Relocated", Inuit of the High Arctic relocation The High Arctic relocation took place during the Cold War ...

for the construction of both

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 ...

and Norris Dam in the southern and northern parts of the county. Bean Station experienced most of this loss, as the original site the town now resides in the Cherokee Lake basin. Of the 875 families relocated for the Cherokee Project, 434 or 49.6% were from Grainger County. Thornhillstore

In 1946, Grainger County suffered the loss of its third courthouse in Rutledge to a massive fire. However, most records, including those dating back to the county's establishment in 1796 were safe inside steel fireproof safes. In the 1970s through the 1980s, plans for a 75-mile-long hiking trail system known as the Trail of the Lonesome Pine were proposed to run along the ridgeline of Clinch Mountain from the Tennessee-Virginia state line in Hancock County to its terminus in the city of Blaine in Grainger County. The plans were met with extreme opposition from unwilling property owners, particularly those from Grainger County, as the project would be nearly complete in the Hawkins and Hancock portions of the trail system. With the unwillingness from Grainger County property owners, the trail system would be abandoned all-together in 1981 despite the completion of construction outside of Grainger County. On May 13, 1972, 14 people were killed in a

head-on collision A head-on collision is a traffic collision where the front ends of two vehicles such as cars, trains, ships or planes hit each other when travelling in opposite directions, as opposed to a side collision or rear-end collision. Rail trans ...

between a

Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a dog breed, breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Some are kept as show dogs or pets. Greyhounds are defined as a tall, muscular, smooth-c ...

double-decker bus and a tractor-trailer hauling carpet on U.S. Route 11W in the Bean Station area of the county, making it the deadliest automobile accident of its time in Tennessee. This infamous crash, along with several other fatal crashes along the narrow two-lane stretch of U.S. Route 11W in Grainger County, gave it the nickname "Bloody Highway 11W." On July 4, 2012, Grainger County received national attention when 10-year-old Noah Winstead and his friend, 11-year old Nate Lynam, were

electrocuted Electrocution is death or severe injury caused by electric shock from electric current passing through the body. The word is derived from "electro" and "execution", but it is also used for accidental death. The term "electrocution" was coined ...

due to frayed wiring being in contact with the water the boys were swimming near a Cherokee Lake marina in the German Creek area of the county. In the aftermath of the tragedy, Tennessee legislators passed the Noah and Nate Act, which required marinas to be routinely inspected safety hazards such as faulty wiring and dangerous equipment operations. On April 5, 2018, Southeastern Provisions, a cattle slaughterhouse in the county, was raided by

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE; ) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the Un ...

(ICE); 11 workers were arrested and 86 more were detained, all of whom were suspected of residing in the United States unlawfully. At the time, the raid was reportedly the largest workplace raid in United States history. In September 2018, the owner of the meatpacking facility was found guilty of multiple state and federal crimes, including

tax evasion Tax evasion or tax fraud is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to red ...

wire fraud Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical (e.g., the U.S. Postal Service) or electronic (e.g., a phone, a telegram, a fax, or the Internet) mail system to defraud another, and are U.S. fede ...

, contamination of local water supply, employing undocumented immigrants not authorized to work in the US, and other numerous workplace violations.

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 (7.2%) is water. Grainger County is bounded on the northwest by the

Clinch River The Clinch River is a river that flows southwest for more than through the Great Appalachian Valley in the U.S. states of Virginia and Tennessee, gathering various tributaries, including the Powell River, before joining the Tennessee River in ...

(impounded by

Norris Dam Norris Dam is a hydroelectric and flood control structure located on the Clinch River in Anderson County and Campbell County, Tennessee, United States. The dam was the first major project for the Tennessee Valley Authority, which had been creat ...

to form Norris Lake) and on the southeast by the

and Cherokee Lake. TN-32Grainger

is a major geographic feature that effectively separates the county into a southern section (including Bean Station, Blaine, Joppa, and Rutledge) and a northern section (including the communities of Washburn, Powder Springs, and Thorn Hill).

Indian Cave

Indian Cave is a historic site located on the

near present-day Blaine. The cave was used for centuries before Europeans entered the area, as

indigenous peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

settled in the area about 1000 CE."History of Great Smoky Mountain Park"
, Knoxville, Tennessee Information Gateway, accessed May 26, 2012 Remains of cane torches and other artifacts located in the cave indicate use by prehistoric indigenous peoples. The

Iroquoian The Iroquoian languages () are a language family of indigenous peoples of North America. They are known for their general lack of labial consonants. The Iroquoian languages are polysynthetic and head-marking. As of 2020, almost all surviving I ...

-speaking

migrated into the area from the northeast, making the eastern Ohio River valley and

Appalachians 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 ...

down into South Carolina their historic territory. In the 1700s, a Cherokee village was located just west of the main cave entrance, before the people were pushed out by encroaching Anglo-American settlers.Matthews (2008), "Caves of Knoxville", pp. 83-104 The Donelson Party passed the Indian Cave entrance on their way down the Holston River in 1779 to settle present-day

Nashville, Tennessee 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 ...

. In the years after the

, the number of settlers continued to increase. Under 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, ...

of 1830, Congress authorized the president to remove the Indians from the Southeast to territory west of the Mississippi River.

Robert Hoke Robert Frederick Hoke (May 27, 1837 – July 3, 1912) was a Confederate major general during the American Civil War. He was present at one of the earliest battles, the Battle of Big Bethel, where he was commended for coolness and judgment ...

, a former Confederate general from North Carolina, purchased the cave on July 21, 1869, as one of his business enterprises after the

. He had it mined for

bat Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...

guano Guano (Spanish from ) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. Guano is a highly effective fertiliser due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. Guano was also, to a le ...

, a valuable natural fertilizer. Area businessmen formed the Indian Cave Park Association on January 4, 1916, to develop the cave as a commercial attraction, as was being done for other caves throughout the Great Smoky Mountains. The Association did not open the cave officially to the public until May 30, 1924. On November 18, 2000, over 800 people from all over the United States attended an all-night dance party known as the "Rave in a Cave" in Indian Cave. The party lured many of its attendees via Internet advertisements. 22 arrests on drug charges were made and one party-goer died of a drug overdose. On the day of the party, nearby residents attempted to block access into the cave, leading to physical action by the attendees with baseball bats. Officials from the Grainger County sheriff's department had set up a road block to prevent further confrontations between county residents and the party attendees. Over 150 traffic citations were also filed as well. The cave is not open to visitors and is closed to the public as of 2005.

Joppa Mountain

Joppa Mountain is located along the Clinch Mountain ridge in central Grainger County in the unincorporated community of Joppa. Buzzard Rock is the summit of the mountain at an elevation of above sea level, making it one of the highest points in Grainger County. At this summit, the neighboring U.S. states of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, and

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 ...

can be seen, along with 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 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 ...

range, on a clear day.

Hang gliding Hang gliding is an air sports, air sport or recreational activity in which a pilot flies a light, non-motorised, fixed-wing aircraft, fixed-wing heavier-than-air aircraft called a hang glider. Most modern hang gliders are made of an aluminium al ...

from Joppa Mountain was a pastime of many hang gliding enthusiasts around the United States and the world. Hang gliding on Joppa Mountain gained momentum in the mid-1970s and enjoyed considerable popularity until the late 1980s. As of the present day, Buzzard Rock is inaccessible to hang gliders and hikers alike due to the property being closed to the public since the 1990s.

Waterways

The main source of water in Grainger County is man-made Cherokee Lake. Cherokee Lake was created during the 1940s as part of the

’s hydroelectric revitalization project. The lake is fed by multiple sources, including a series of natural creeks and runoff waters. The lake begins with its first source at Poor Valley Creek in Hawkins County, extends through Grainger County and neighboring Hamblen and Jefferson counties. Cherokee Lake ends at

Cherokee Dam Cherokee Dam is a hydroelectric dam located on the Holston River in Grainger County and Jefferson County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The dam is operated and maintained by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in ...

where the water is drained into the

along the Grainger/Jefferson border. In total, Cherokee Lake has 28,780 acres of surface area and extends for 400 miles of shoreline. The Holston River below Cherokee Dam continues southwestward along the Grainger/Jefferson border passing the communities of New Corinth, Richland, and Blaine, then crossing into Knox County, with the confluence with the

French Broad River The French Broad River is a river in the U.S. states of North Carolina and Tennessee. It flows from near the town of Rosman, North Carolina, Rosman in Transylvania County, North Carolina, into Tennessee, where its confluence with the Holston R ...

in Knoxville, forming the

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is a long river located in the Southern United States, southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. Flowing through the states of Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, it begins at the confluence of Fren ...

. In the northern part of the county, the

passes through Thorn Hill near the tri-border of Claiborne, Hancock and Grainger counties. The river then traverses northwestward along the Grainger/Claiborne border, flowing into the basin of

Norris Lake Norris Lake, also known as Norris Reservoir, is a reservoir in Tennessee, US. The lake was created by the Norris Dam at the Cove Creek Site on the Clinch River in 1936 by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) for flood control, water storage, an ...

north of

Washburn Washburn (alternatively Wasseburne, Wasseborne, Wasshebourne, Wassheborne, Washbourne, Washburne, Washborne, Washborn, Wasborn, Washbon) is a toponymic surname, probably of Old English origin, with likely Anglo-Norman and Norman-French influe ...

and Liberty Hill. In total, Norris Lake has 33,840 acres of surface area and extends for 809 miles of shoreline that Grainger shares with Union, Claiborne, Campbell, and Anderson counties.

Adjacent counties

* Claiborne County (north) * Hancock County (northeast) * Hawkins County (northeast) *

(east) * Jefferson County (south) * Knox County (southwest) * Union County (west)

State protected areas

* Buffalo Springs Wildlife Management Area * Johnson Ridge Small Wildlife Area *

TVA 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 Carolina ...

Noeton Resource Management Area

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 23,527 people, 8,959 households, and 6,510 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 20,659 people, 8,270 households, and 6,161 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 9,732 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 98.41%

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 ...

, 0.32%

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 ...

, 0.15% Native American, 0.09% Asian, 0.02%

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 ...

, 0.40% from other races, and 0.61% from two or more races. 1.09% 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 8,270 households, out of which 31.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.90% 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, 8.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.50% were non-families. 22.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.89. In the county, the population was spread out, with 22.90% under the age of 18, 8.20% from 18 to 24, 30.50% from 25 to 44, 25.80% from 45 to 64, and 12.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.50 males. The median age of a resident in Grainger County is 44.2. The median income for a household in the county was $27,997, and the median income for a family was $33,347. Males had a median income of $25,781 versus $19,410 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 $14,505. About 15.10% of families and 18.70% 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 22.40% of those under age 18 and 26.00% of those age 65 or over.

Law and government

Executive Branch

* County Mayor - Mike Byrd * Sheriff - James Harville * Register of Deeds - Rick Diamond * Circuit Court Clerk - Sherry Clifton * Trustee - Rena Greer * Assessor of Property - Johnny Morgan * Road Superintendent - Charlie McAnally * County Clerk - Angie Lamb * General Sessions and Juvenile Court Judge - Lane Wolfenbarger

Legislative Branch

County commission

Grainger County has 15 county commissioners, with voters electing three individuals to serve from each of its five electoral districts.

=Current members as of 2020

= Source: * District 1: Avondale & Rutledge ** Wendy Noe (Rutledge) ** Darell Stratton (Rutledge) ** Scott Wynn (Rutledge) * District 2: Bean Station & Rutledge ** Johnny Baker (Rutledge) ** Rodney Overbay (Bean Station) ** Luke Stratton (Rutledge) * District 3: Blaine, Joppa and Rutledge ** Andy Cameron (Rutledge) ** Leon Spoone (Rutledge) ** Darrell Williams (Blaine) * District 4:

Powder Springs Powder Springs is a city in Cobb County, Georgia, United States. The population was 13,940 at the 2010 census, with an estimated population for 2019 of 15,758. The 12,000-capacity Walter H. Cantrell Stadium is located in Powder Springs. It is ...

, Thorn Hill, &

** James Acuff (Washburn) ** Justin Epperson (Washburn) ** Gary Dalton (Thorn Hill) * District 5: Bean Station & Mary Chapel ** Becky Johnson (Bean Station) ** Larry Johnson (Bean Station) ** Mike Holt (Bean Station)

School Board

The county has ten school board members, with voters electing two individuals to serve from each of its five electoral districts.

Appointed officials

* Director of Schools - James Atkins * Administrator of Elections - Gina Hispher * Soil Conservation Director - Joan Coffey * Solid Waste Director - Ed McBee * Historical Archives Director - Stevvi Cook * Clerk and Master - Vicki Greenlee * Office on Aging Director - Rita Jarnigan

Economy

Top employers

According to a data profile produced by the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development in 2018, the top employers in the county are:

Agriculture

Grainger County is acknowledged as a predominately

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...

and

exurb An exurb (or alternately: exurban area) is an area outside the typically denser inner suburbs, suburban area, at the edge of a metropolitan area, which has some economic and commuting connection to the metro area, low housing-density, and rela ...

an county of the Greater Knoxville region.

Agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

has accounted for a large portion of the county economy throughout history due to the county's soil containing a mass amount of rich nutrients beneficial to select crops of choice. The

tomato The tomato (, ), ''Solanum lycopersicum'', is a plant whose fruit is an edible Berry (botany), berry that is eaten as a vegetable. The tomato is a member of the nightshade family that includes tobacco, potato, and chili peppers. It originate ...

has been the major crop, though

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

raising continues to important gains. Grainger County tomatoes have in recent decades become nationally and internationally renowned. In 2018, Grainger County was reported to have over 650 greenhouses, 923 farms producing 500 acres of field vegetables, and nearly 90,000 acres of farmland. The county celebrates the tomato in an annual

festival A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...

since 1992. Around thirty-thousand festival-goers across the state of Tennessee and the United States gather to witness events about the county's heritage and its significant agricultural impact across the state of Tennessee, enjoy live music performances, purchase local produce and handmade gifts, and take part in arts and crafts events. The Grainger County Tomato Festival takes place during the second to last weekend in July.

Real estate

Residential construction has been increasing in the county, with most occurring near the Cherokee Lake shoreline, the Bean Station area and the Blaine area. With a cost of living around $2,600, and an average housing cost of $420 monthly, it is one of the least expensive counties in Tennessee. In 2017, the median value of property in the county was $110,600, compared to $229,700 nationally.

Tourism and leisure

By the late 19th century, a tourism industry had flourished around the

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

flowing from the Clinch Mountain range. The Tate Springs Resort complex located in the Bean Station region of the county, provided accommodations for tourists and business travelers alike until the

. It included mineral baths and waters, an enormous resort hotel, a swimming pool and bathhouse, a springhouse constructed as a gazebo, private cabins, and a golf course. After the Great Depression, the resort had closed and the property was given to local authorities. A children's home and school occupied the space of the hotel and cabins, until a major fire destroyed the entire hotel in the 1960s. Today, the

, the bathhouse, and several cabins are what remains of the complex. Since the 1940s, the county's tourism and recreational industry nonetheless sparked once again after the Tennessee Valley Authority's creation of Cherokee and Norris Lake in the southern and northern parts of the county respectively. Fishing, hiking, hunting, camping, golf, boating, water sports, and development of lakefront property seek to continue contributing to the county's economy.

Industry and commerce

In the county's early years, small businesses represented the secondary source of economic development.

Gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...

hatters Hat-making or millinery is the design, manufacture and sale of hats and other headwear. A person engaged in this trade is called a milliner or hatter. Historically, milliners made and sold a range of accessories for clothing and hairstyles. ...

saddle A saddle is a supportive structure for a rider of an animal, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is equestrian. However, specialized saddles have been created for oxen, camels and other animals. It is not know ...

makers,

tailor A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century. History Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...

lawyers A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as wel ...

, and

dry goods Dry goods is a historic term describing the type of product line a store carries, which differs by region. The term comes from the textile trade, and the shops appear to have spread with the mercantile trade across the British Empire (and Common ...

merchants supplied the many necessities for the county's isolated and spread-out agricultural communities. The Shields family operated Holston Paper Mill, one of the earliest industries in the county. The Knoxville and Bristol Railroad, also known as the Peavine Railroad, ran through the Richland Creek Valley from Bean Station to Blaine. The tracks would later succumb to

flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

ing after the damming of the Richland Valley by the TVA in the 1940s. Clinchdale Lumber Company, a locally owned business, logged a significant portion of the county's timber in the early part of the 20th century. Afterwards, this timbering movement gave way to

knitting Knitting is a method for production of textile Knitted fabric, fabrics by interlacing yarn loops with loops of the same or other yarns. It is used to create many types of garments. Knitting may be done Hand knitting, by hand or Knitting machi ...

mills and

zinc mining Zinc mining is the process by which mineral forms of the metal zinc are extracted from the earth through mining. A zinc mine is a mine that produces zinc minerals in ore as its primary product. Common co-products in zinc ores include minerals of l ...

in the Clinch River Valley in the northern part of the county. Around the late 20th century,

Tennessee marble Tennessee marble is a type of crystalline limestone found only in East Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. Long esteemed by architects and builders for its pinkish-gray color and the ease with which it is polished, the stone has been use ...

was

quarried A quarry is a type of open-pit mining, open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock (geology), rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some juri ...

in the Thorn Hill region of Grainger County.

Economic hardship

Unlike neighboring counties such as Jefferson, Hamblen, and Knox, Grainger County does not have county-wide

zoning ordinances In urban planning, zoning is a method in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into land-use "zones", each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for a ...

, which has led to the uncontrolled and controversial development of RV campgrounds in predominately residential areas. In 2010, it was reported that nearly two-thirds of Grainger County residents commute to cities in surrounding counties such as Morristown and

for work. With this, Grainger County was reported as one of five counties in the East Tennessee Development District region experiencing significant

out-migration Human migration is the movement of people from one place to another, with intentions of settling, permanently or temporarily, at a new location (geographic region). The movement often occurs over long distances and from one country to another ( ...

of young college-educated adults leaving Grainger County for urban economic hubs such as

and Morristown, due to the lack of employment opportunities in the county. In the fiscal year 2020, Grainger County was recognized as one of twenty-four counties in the state of Tennessee at risk of becoming economically distressed.

Communities

Cities

* Blaine * Rutledge (county seat)

Town

* Bean Station (small portion in Hawkins)

Unincorporated communities

Beech Grove Beech Grove is a city in Marion County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city's population is 14,717. The city is located within the Indianapolis metropolitan area. Beech Grove is designated an "excluded city" under Indiana ...

* Joppa *

Lea Springs Lea Springs was a historic mansion in Lea Springs, Tennessee near the city of Blaine, Tennessee. It was built by slaves in 1819 for Pryor Lea, who grew up at Richland. With Lea became a politician in Tennessee and Texas, and he was a founding ...

* Liberty Hill * New Corinth *

* Richland *

* Thorn Hill *

Education

The Grainger County School district has one high school, one middle school, four elementary/intermediate schools, one primary school, one K-12 school, and one alternative-placement school. The Grainger County School district has 3,637 students enrolled.

Primary school

* Rutledge Primary School

Elementary schools

* Bean Station Elementary School * Joppa Elementary School * Rutledge Elementary School * Washburn School

Middle school

* Rutledge Middle School

High schools

* Grainger High School * Washburn School

Alternative school

* Grainger Academy

Infrastructure

A report conducted by the

Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations The Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR) is an intergovernmental body of state and local governments in the U.S. state of Tennessee that has the purpose of providing a forum for discussion and resolution of intergo ...

in 2018 found the top three infrastructure needs in Grainger County, with

transportation Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

at ,

water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...

and

wastewater Wastewater (or waste water) is water generated after the use of freshwater, raw water, drinking water or saline water in a variety of deliberate applications or processes. Another definition of wastewater is "Used water from any combination of do ...

at , and

recreation Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for happiness, enjoyment, amusement, ...

Transportation

East Tennessee Crossing - The East Tennessee Crossing Meeting Clinch Mountain - NARA - 7718111

U.S. Routes 11W and 25E are the major arterial roadways in the county. US 25E, established as the East Tennessee Crossing Byway and Appalachian Development Corridor S, provides four-lane expressway north-south access to Hamblen and Claiborne counties. US 11W, established as Rutledge Pike and Memphis-to-Bristol Highway, provides four-lane expressway access in the municipalities of Bean Station and Blaine. The highway outside of these areas is two-lane. State Routes 92,

131 131 may refer to: *131 (number) *AD 131 *131 BC *131 (album), the album by Emarosa *131 (MBTA bus), the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority bus. For the MBTA bus, see 131 (MBTA bus). *131 (New Jersey bus), the New Jersey Transit bus *131 Val ...

375 __NOTOC__ Year 375 ( CCCLXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known in Rome as the Year after the Consulship of Augustus and Equitius (or, less frequently, year 1128 ''Ab urbe condita''). The ...

are the secondary roadways in the county. SR 92 provides two-lane access from Rutledge to the Jefferson County line near

. SR 131 provides two-lane access to Union and Hancock counties, and the unincorporated communities of Washburn and Thorn Hill. SR 375, established as Lakeshore Drive, provides two-lane access along the northern shore of Cherokee Lake to SR 92 and US 25E.

Utilities

, a

hydroelectric dam 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 ...

constructed by the

in the early 1940s, is located at the Grainger-Jefferson county line and provides electricity for the surrounding region. The billing and operation of the electrical system is provided by Appalachian Electric Cooperative (AEC), a municipal power company that serves southern Grainger County excluding Blaine. AEC also provides the option for fiber broadband access for the service area. Bean Station Utility District, (BSUD), provides

municipal water Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Thes ...

access for southeastern Grainger County including the municipalities of Rutledge and Bean Station. Knoxville Utilities Board provides electricity to southwestern Grainger County including the city of Blaine and the community of Powder Springs. Luttrell-Blaine-Corryton Utility District (LBCUD) provides municipal water services to this same region. The municipalities of Rutledge, Blaine, and the county's industrial park have access to municipal

sewage treatment Sewage treatment is a type of wastewater treatment which aims to remove contaminants from sewage to produce an effluent that is suitable to discharge to the surrounding environment or an intended reuse application, thereby preventing water p ...

systems. The eastern portion of the county, which is the most populated region, does not have access to a sewage treatment system.

Politics

Like all of East Tennessee, Grainger County has long been overwhelmingly Republican, due to its powerful Unionist sentiment during the Civil War. The last Democratic presidential candidate to ever carry Grainger County was

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...

in 1832. The Whig Party carried the county consistently between 1836 and 1852, and since the Republican Party first contested Tennessee in 1868, it has won Grainger County in every election except in 1912 when the GOP was mortally divided and Progressive

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

carried the county over conservative incumbent

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) served as the 27th president of the United States from 1909 to 1913 and the tenth chief justice of the United States from 1921 to 1930. He is the only person to have held both offices. ...

. The American Communities Project (ACP) characterized Grainger County as an 'evangelical hub,' due to the high number of religious residents tied to

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

churches, particularly the

Southern Baptist Convention The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization, the largest Protestant, and the second-largest Chr ...

, and the county is in one of the most politically

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

types of the ACP's characteristic placements. In recent elections, the county has shown little competitiveness for Democratic candidates in local, state, and federal elections.

References

External links

Official county government website

Map of county electoral districts

Grainger County Chamber of Commerce website

Grainger County Schools website

Hear it spoken
(Voice of Former Grainger County Mayor Mark Hipsher, 2010) {{authority control 1796 establishments in Tennessee Populated places established in 1796 Knoxville metropolitan area Morristown metropolitan area, Tennessee East Tennessee