Jefferson County is an

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

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 54,683. 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 Dandridge. Jefferson County is part of the Morristown Metropolitan Statistical Area with neighboring Grainger and Hamblen counties. The county, along with the Morristown MSA, is included in the Knoxville-Morristown-Sevierville Combined Statistical Area.

History

Jefferson County was established on June 11, 1792, by William Blount, Governor of the

Southwest Territory The Territory South of the River Ohio, more commonly known as the Southwest Territory or the old Southwest Territory, was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 26, 1790, until June 1, 1796, when it was ...

.Estle Muncy,
Jefferson County
" ''Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture''. Retrieved: October 18, 2013. It had been a part of

Caswell County Caswell County is a county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is located in the Piedmont Triad region of the state. At the 2020 census, the population was 22,736. Its county seat is Yanceyville. Partially bordering the state of Virginia ...

during the

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 ...

period (1784–1789). Its county seat, Dandridge, was settled in 1783. On the eve of 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 ...

, Jefferson County, like most other counties in mountainous

East Tennessee East Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee defined in state law. Geographically and socioculturally distinct, it comprises approximately the eastern third of the U.S. state of Tennessee. East Tennessee consists of 33 coun ...

, was opposed to secession. In Tennessee's Ordinance of Secession referendum on June 8, 1861, Jefferson County voters rejected secession by a margin of 1,987 to 603. A railroad bridge at Strawberry Plains was among those targeted by the East Tennessee bridge-burning conspiracy in November 1861.Temple, ''East Tennessee and the Civil War'', pp. 370-406. This led to internal conflict in the area throughout the war, with men from the county enlisting in both of the rival armies. On October 2, 2013, on I-40 in Jefferson County near the I-40 and I-81 split, a multi-vehicle collision involving a church bus, a tractor-trailer, and a SUV occurred at mile marker 423. Tennessee Highway Patrol officials discovered that the church bus had blown a tire, leading it to merge into oncoming traffic, clipping the SUV and colliding with the semi-truck, causing it to burst into flames. The accident resulted in 8 fatalities and 14 injuries.

Politics

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 (13%) is water. The county is affected by two artificial lakes: Douglas Lake, created by the damming of 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 the south, and Cherokee Lake, created by the damming of 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 ...

in the north.

Adjacent counties

* Hamblen County (northeast) * Cocke County (southeast) * Sevier County (south) * Knox County (west) * Grainger County (north)

State protected areas

* Henderson Island Refuge

Transportation

Principal highways

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

Major surface routes

* * * *

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 54,683 people, 20,154 households, and 13,998 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 44,294 people, 17,155 households, and 12,608 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 19,319 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 95.66%

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 ...

, 2.32%

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 ...

, 0.31% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.04%

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 ...

, 0.63% from other races, and 0.77% from two or more races. 1.33% 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 17,155 households, out of which 31.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.90% 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, 9.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.50% were non-families. 22.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 2.89. In the county, the population was spread out, with 22.90% under the age of 18, 10.60% from 18 to 24, 29.10% from 25 to 44, 24.50% from 45 to 64, and 12.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.00 males. However, the last statistic is somewhat misleading because of female longevity, and if adults 18-65 were considered, the numbers would be very close to equal. The median income for a household in the county was $32,824, and the median income for a family was $38,537. Males had a median income of $29,123 versus $20,269 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 $16,841. About 9.60% of families and 13.40% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 16.90% of those under age 18 and 12.60% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

According to a data profile produced by the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development in 2023, the top employers in the county are:

Education

K-12 public education in the county is conducted by Jefferson County Public Schools.

Communities

Cities

* Baneberry *

Jefferson City Jefferson City, informally Jeff City, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Missouri. It had a population of 43,228 at the 2020 United States census, ranking as the List of cities in Missouri, 16th most popu ...

* Morristown (partial, mostly in Hamblen)

Towns

* Dandridge (county seat) * New Market * White Pine (small portion in Hamblen)

Census-designated place

* Strawberry Plains (partial, portions in Knox and Sevier)

Unincorporated communities

* Belmont * Chestnut Hill * Shady Grove * Talbott (partial)

References

External links

* * * * {{authority control Tennessee counties 1792 establishments in the Southwest Territory Morristown metropolitan area, Tennessee Populated places established in 1792 Second Amendment sanctuaries in Tennessee East Tennessee