Kingsport is a city in Sullivan and Hawkins counties 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, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

. It lies along the Holston River and had a population of 55,442 at the 2020 census. It is the largest city in the Kingsport–Bristol metropolitan area, which had 307,613 residents in 2020. The metro area is a component of the larger Tri-Cities region of Tennessee and Virginia, with a population of 508,260 in 2020. Kingsport was chartered in 1822. The city's name is a simplification of King's Port, originally referring to the area on the Holston River known as King's Boat Yard, the head of navigation for the

Tennessee Valley The Tennessee Valley is the drainage basin of the Tennessee River and is largely within the U.S. state of Tennessee. It stretches from southwest Kentucky to north Alabama and from northeast Mississippi to the mountains of Virginia and North C ...

. Kingsport is commonly included in what is known as the "Mountain Empire" in southwest Virginia and northeastern Tennessee.

History

Kingsport was developed after the Revolutionary War, at the confluence of the North and South Forks of the Holston River. In 1787 it was known as "Salt Lick" for an ancient mineral lick. It was first settled along the banks of the South Fork, about a mile from 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 ...

. The Long Island of the Holston River is near the confluence, which is mostly within the present-day corporate boundaries of Kingsport. The island was an important site for 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 ...

, colonial pioneers and early settlers, and specifically mentioned in the 1770 Treaty of Lochaber. Early settlements at the site were used as a staging ground for other pioneers who were traveling overland on 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 ...

leading to

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 ...

through the Cumberland Gap. First chartered in 1822, Kingsport became an important shipping port on the Holston River. Goods originating for many miles around from the surrounding countryside were loaded onto barges for the journey downriver to 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 ...

at Knoxville. In the Battle of Kingsport (December 13, 1864) 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 ...

, a force of 300 Confederates under Colonel Richard Morgan stopped a larger Union force for nearly two days. An army of over 5,500 troops under command of Major General George Stoneman had left Knoxville to raid Confederate targets in Virginia: the salt works at Saltville, the lead works at Wytheville, and the iron works in Marion. While Col. Morgan's small band held off a main Union force under Major General Cullem Gillem on the opposite side the Holston River, Union Col. Samuel Patton took a force of cavalry to a ford in the river north and came down behind the Confederates. Out-numbered, out-flanked, and demoralized by the bitter winter weather, Col. Morgan surrendered. The Confederates suffered 18 dead, and 84 prisoners of war were sent to a Union prison in Knoxville. The city lost its charter after a downturn in its fortunes precipitated by the Civil War. On September 12, 1916, Kingsport residents demanded the death of circus elephant Mary (an

Asian elephant The Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus''), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living ''Elephas'' species. It is the largest living land animal in Asia and the second largest living Elephantidae, elephantid in the world. It is char ...

that performed in the Sparks World-famous Shows Circus). She had killed city hotel worker Walter Eldridge, who was hired by the circus the day before as an assistant elephant trainer. Eldridge was attacked and killed by the elephant while he was leading her to a pond. The elephant was impounded by the local sheriff. Leaders of several nearby towns threatened to prevent the circus from performing if it included the elephant. The circus owner, Charlie Sparks, reluctantly decided that the only way to quickly resolve the situation was to hold a public execution. On the following day, she was transported by rail to Erwin, Tennessee, where a crowd of over 2,500 people assembled in the Clinchfield Railroad yard to watch her hang from a railroad crane.Schroeder, Joan V
"The Day They Hanged an Elephant in East Tennessee"
''Blue Ridge Country'' Re-chartered in 1917, Kingsport was an early example of a "garden city". Part of it was designed by city planner and landscape architect John Nolen of

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

. It was nicknamed as the "Model City" from this plan, which organized the town into areas for commerce, churches, housing and industry. Most of the land on the river was devoted to industry. Most of the Long Island is now occupied by Eastman Chemical Company, which is headquartered in Kingsport. As part of this plan, Kingsport built some of the earliest traffic circles (roundabouts) in the United States. Into the 1950s, two important

public works Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and procured by a government body for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, ...

projects were constructed: the Boone Dam and the Fort Patrick Henry Dam, hydroelectric dams built along the South Fork Holston River. Kingsport was among the first municipalities to adopt a

city manager A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city in the council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are referred to as the chief executive officer (CEO) or chief administ ...

form of government, to professionalize operations of city departments. It developed its school system based on a model promoted by

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. Pal's Sudden Service, a regional fast-food restaurant chain, opened its first location in 1956 and is headquartered in Kingsport. In 2001, Pal's Sudden Service, won the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, becoming the first restaurant company to receive the award.

Geography

Kingsport is located in western Sullivan County at the intersection of U.S. Routes 11W and 23. Kingsport is the northwest terminus of Interstate 26. The city is bordered to the west by the town of

Mount Carmel Mount Carmel (; ), also known in Arabic as Mount Mar Elias (; ), is a coastal mountain range in northern Israel stretching from the Mediterranean Sea towards the southeast. The range is a UNESCO biosphere reserve. A number of towns are situat ...

, to the southeast by unincorporated Colonial Heights, and to the northeast by unincorporated Bloomingdale. The Kingsport city limits extend west into Hawkins County and north to the

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 ...

border. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which are land and , or 1.86%, are water. Most of the water area is in the South Fork Holston River.

Climate

Neighborhoods

Neighborhoods in Kingsport include: * Allandale * Bloomingdale * Borden Village * Carter's Valley * Cliffside * Colonial Heights * Cooks Valley * Downtown * Fairacres * Fort Robinson * Green Acres * Highland Park * Hillcrest * Indian Springs (Fall Creek &

Airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

) * Litz Manor * Lynn Garden * Malabar Heights * Meadowview * Midtown * Orebank * Preston Forest * Preston Woods * Ridgefields * Riverfront * Riverview * Rock Springs * Sevier Terrace

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 55,442 people, 23,640 households, and 14,273 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 44,905 people, 19,662 households and 12,642 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 21,796 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 93.32%

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 ...

, 4.07%

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 ...

, 0.79% Asian, 0.24% American Indian/Alaska Native, 0.02% Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, 0.34% some other race, and 1.06% 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 1.05% of the population. There were 19,662 households, of which 26.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.5% were

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

living together, 12.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.7% were non-families. 32.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22, and the average family size was 2.80. In the city, the population was spread out, with 21.7% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 25.3% from 45 to 64, and 20.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 84.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.4 males. The median income for a household in the city was $30,524, and the median income for a family was $40,183. Males had a median income of $33,075 versus $23,217 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,549. About 14.2% of families and 17.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.9% of those under age 18 and 13.0% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Eastman Chemical Company's first chemical plant along with its world headquarters are located in Kingsport. Eastman also operates a molecular recycling plant in Kingsport. Accsys Technologies, through a joint venture with Eastman, operates an acetylated wood manufacturing plant in the city. Domtar operates a recycled containerboard facility in Kingsport that formerly was a paper mill established in 1916. Domtar converted the production of uncoated freesheet paper to containerboard in 2023. It is now home to one of the largest recycled containerboard machines in North America, which produces about 600,000 tons of recycled liner board and corrugated medium annually. Holston Army Ammunition Plant operated by

BAE Systems BAE Systems plc is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Aerospace industry, aerospace, military technology, military and information security company, based in London. It is the largest manufacturer in Britain as of 2017. It is ...

' Ordnance Systems, Inc. manufactures a wide range of secondary detonating explosives for the Department of Defense. In 2019, Kingsport's gross metropolitan product was reported to be .

Top employers

According to the City of Kingsport's annual comprehensive financial report for 2021, the top employers in the city are:

Culture

Museums

The Netherland Inn was constructed in 1802 by William King, whom the city of Kingsport is named after, to act as a boatyard to ship salt. In 1818 the property was sold to the Netherland family and they turned it into an inn and tavern. The inn and its grounds, which have been fully restored as a historic house museum, are open to tours and special events throughout the year. Additional buildings on the property include a reconstructed kitchen wing, a Log Cabin which housed

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 his family between 1773 and 1775, the Weilhouse which shelters an old stone-line well, a schoolhouse, and the Pence Reception Center and Gift Shop.

Leisure

The Kingsport Carousel, which was constructed by 300 local volunteers and was made using a refurbished 1956 Allan Herschell Company carousel frame, was completed in 2015. Pal and Sharon Barger, owners of Pal's Sudden Service which is headquartered in Kingsport, sponsored the creation of Pal's Roundhouse, a climate controlled building which houses the carousel. The Kingsport Aquatic Center is a popular swimming area located in the city of Kingsport and has several indoor and outdoor pools and diving boards, including an Olympic-size swimming pool. As well there are water attractions focused on children's entertainment, stadium seating with a capacity of 400 individuals, and multiple diving boards.

Cuisine

The Long Island iced tea is claimed to have been invented in the 1920s during

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

by an "Old Man Bishop", who was known to have been an illegal liquor distiller, on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

in Kingsport. The city of Kingsport has embraced this claim and has created a Long Island iced tea trail with several involved local restaurants and businesses, as well downtown Kingsport is home to a mural featuring the city's claim to being the birthplace of the Long Island iced tea.

Annual festivals

Fun Fest, Kingsport's annual community unity themed festival, began in 1981 and lasts for nine days in July. Fun Fest has a red and yellow colored sun mascot named Festus. An estimated 100,000 people attend Fun Fest annually. The annual Fun Fest celebration usually has a parade, hot air balloons, fireworks, concerts, block parties, and other events. The Santa Train, is an annual Christmas celebration which is currently operated by CSX, takes place on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Kingsport is the final stop of the Santa Train, which begins its journey in Kentucky. Volunteers aboard the train hand out winter clothes, backpacks, and toys to children at each stop. The festival originated in Kingsport in 1943, when a group of Kingsport businessmen partnered with the Clinchfield Railroad to uplift spirits 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 ...

In popular culture

* The vessel SS ''Kingsport Victory'', which later became USNS ''Kingsport'', was named in honor of the city.

Sports

The city is home to the Kingsport Axmen, a

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

team of 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 ...

. The nickname is in reference to frontiersman

, who began the

in Kingsport. The Axmen play their home games at Hunter Wright Stadium, which is named after former mayor Hunter Wright.

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 Kingsport, by the Kingsport Indians in the Appalachian League from 1921 to 1925. The team went dormant for 12 years before it returned to the circuit as the Kingsport Cherokees from 1938 to 1955—with the exception of the 1942 season as the Kingsport Dodgers and as members of the Mountain States League in 1953 and 1954. The club was later known as the Kingsport Orioles (1957), Kingsport Pirates (1960–1963), Kingsport Royals (1969–1973), and Kingsport Braves (1974–1979). The Kingsport Mets were members of the Appy League from 1980 to 2020, except for the 1983 season when the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

temporarily relocated the team to

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in and the county seat of Sarasota County, Florida, United States. It is located in Southwest Florida, the southern end of the Tampa Bay area, and north of Fort Myers, Florida, Fort Myers and Punta Gorda, Florida, Punta Gord ...

, as the Gulf Coast League Mets, while their home ballpark was being renovated. In conjunction with a contraction of

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 ...

beginning with the 2021 season, the Appalachian League was reorganized as a collegiate summer baseball league, and the Mets were replaced by the Axmen, a new franchise in the revamped league designed for rising college freshman and sophomores.

Parks and recreation

The Kingsport Parks and Recreation manages several parks within the city. * Bays Mountain Park * Borden Park * Dogwood Park * Edinburgh Park * Kingsport Greenbelt Walking/Cycling Trail * Riverview Splash Pad * Scott Adams Skate Park

Warrior's Path State Park Warriors' Path State Park is a 950-acre (3.84 km2) Tennessee State Park in Colonial Heights, Tennessee, an area within the city of Kingsport. It is named after the Great Indian Warpath that was used by the Iroquois in war raids ...

, a state park, is located in the Colonial Heights area of the city.

Government

Municipal

Kingsport uses the council-manager system, which was established in 1917 when the city was re-chartered. Kingsport is governed locally by a seven-member Board of Mayor and Aldermen. The citizens elect the mayor to a two-year term and the six aldermen to four-year terms. The elections take place in odd-numbered years, with the mayor and three aldermen elected every two years. New terms begin on July 1. The board elects a vice mayor from among the six aldermen. The council or board then hires a professional city manager. In late 2021, or early 2022, the board decided to move the election to coincide with the primary elections in Tennessee in August of every even-numbered year. This changes the Mayoral and Alderman election from May 2023 to August 2024.

Current composition of BMA

State

The Sullivan County portion of Kingsport is represented in the Tennessee House of Representatives by the 1st and 2nd State Representative districts and the Hawkins County portion by the 3rd district. Currently serving in these positions are Representatives John Crawford, Bud Hulsey, and Timothy Hill respectively. In the Tennessee State Senate, the Sullivan County portion of Kingsport is represented by the 4th Senatorial District and the Hawkins County portion by the 8th district. State Senator Bobby Harshbarger and State Senator Frank Niceley currently serve in these positions. All of these elected officials are members of the Republican Party.

Federal

Kingsport is represented in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

by Republican Diana Harshbarger of the 1st congressional district.

Education

Colleges and universities

While no college or university has its main campus within the city, these institutions have branch campuses in Kingsport: *

East Tennessee State University East Tennessee State University (ETSU) is a public research university in Johnson City, Tennessee. It was historically part of the State University and Community College System of Tennessee under the Tennessee Board of Regents, but since 2016, ...

* Lincoln Memorial University * Northeast State Community College Lincoln Memorial and Northeast State are located in the Kingsport Academic Village complex in downtown Kingsport. East Tennessee State offers general education courses in the Hawkins County (westernmost) portion of the city, with more advanced courses at the Academic Village.

Primary and secondary

Almost all residents of Kingsport are served by the Kingsport City Schools public school system. It operates eight elementary schools, two middle schools, and one high school. In addition, Kingsport has eight private academies, most with religious affiliation. All but a few parts in Sullivan County are in that district, with isolated areas in the Sullivan County School District. The portions in Hawkins County are entirely in Kingsport City Schools.

List of Kingsport city schools

* John Adams Elementary School * Andrew Jackson Elementary School * Andrew Johnson Elementary School * John F. Kennedy Elementary School * Abraham Lincoln Elementary School * Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School * Thomas Jefferson Elementary School * George Washington Elementary School * Ross N. Robinson Middle School * John Sevier Middle School * Dobyns-Bennett High School * Cora Cox Academy (formerly New Horizons Alternative School) * Dobyns-Bennett Excel

Former school for African Americans

Douglass High School in Kingsport was one of the largest

high schools in the region when it closed for desegregation in 1966. The school's former building on East Walnut Avenue (now East Sevier Avenue) was a historic Rosenwald School, built in 1929–30 with a combination of funds from the city, private citizens and the Rosenwald Fund. Although during the years of segregation the Douglass Tigers football team was not allowed to play white teams, the Tigers won a Tennessee state football championship a state basketball championship in 1946, and a state basketball championship in 1948. The present building, built in 1951 at 301 Louis Street, is now the V.O. Dobbins Sr. Complex, named for Douglass' former principal.

Media

Newspapers

* '' Kingsport Times-News'' * ''Daily News'' (defunct)

Television

* WKPT-TV ( COZI TV 19) * WAPK-CD ( MeTV 36) Kingsport shares a television market with Johnson City and Bristol, VA. WCYB-TV ( NBC;

THE CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

on DT2) in Bristol, WEMT-TV ( FOX) in Greeneville, WETP-TV ( PBS) in Sneedville and WJHL-TV ( CBS; ABC on DT2 aka ABC Tri-Cities) in Johnson City.

AM radio

* WKPT * WHGG

FM radio

* WTFM * WRZK * WCQR * WKOS * WCSK

Infrastructure

Transportation

Public transit

Kingsport has been serviced by the Kingsport Area Transit Service, also known as KATS, since 1995. KATS operates 4 bus routes throughout Kingsport.

Air

Kingsport is serviced by the Tri-Cities Regional Airport (IATA Code TRI)

Medical

Two hospitals operated by Ballad Health are located in Kingsport: Holston Valley Medical Center, and Indian Path Community Hospital.

Police

Kingsport Police Department is the municipal law enforcement agency for the City of Kingsport. As of 2022, the KPD has 119 sworn Officer positions, 9 Corrections Officers, 22 Telecommunicators, and 11 civilian positions variously assigned.

Notable people

* Lisa Alther, author, born and grew up in Kingsport * Edward L. Ayers, National Humanities Medal and Bancroft Prize-winning historian and ninth president of the

University of Richmond The University of Richmond (UR or U of R) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia, United States. It is a primarily undergraduate, residential institution with approxim ...

, raised in Kingsport * Barry Bales, Grammy Award-winning musician with Alison Krauss and Union Station * James F. Barker, president of Clemson University (1999–2013) * Nick Castle, actor who played Michael Myers in the original

Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...

, was born in Kingsport and makes appearances at the local haunted houses. * Jeff Chapman-Crane, Appalachian artist * Harry Coover, inventor of Super Glue * Denny Crawford, professional football player * Amy Dalley, country music artist * Bobby Dodd, College Football Hall of Fame inductee as both a football player (

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

) and coach (

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public university, public research university and Institute of technology (United States), institute of technology in Atlanta, ...

) * Bobby Eaton, professional wrestler * Elle and Blair Fowler, online beauty retailers who spent part of their childhoods in Kingsport * Daniel Kilgore, professional football player, Kansas City Chiefs * Cliff Kresge, Nationwide Tour golfer who splits his time between homes in Kingsport and Florida * Mark H. Landes, U.S. Army major general * Hal Lawton, President & CEO of Tractor Supply, graduate of Sullivan South High School * Blake Leeper, Paralympic silver medallist * Cripple Clarence Lofton, noted boogie-woogie pianist and singer, born in Kingsport * Matt Mahaffey, musician, frontman of pop/rock band

Self In philosophy, the self is an individual's own being, knowledge, and values, and the relationship between these attributes. The first-person perspective distinguishes selfhood from personal identity. Whereas "identity" is (literally) same ...

* Brownie and Stick McGhee, brothers and blues musicians, grew up in Kingsport and other East Tennessee towns * Ken Mellons, country music artist * John Palmer, former

NBC News NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Media Group, a division of NBCUniversal, which is itself a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's various operations r ...

correspondent, born in Kingsport and a graduate of Dobyns-Bennett High School * Jimmy Quillen, member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee's 1st congressional district (1963–1997) * John Shelton Reed, sociologist and essayist, author or editor of eighteen books, most of them dealing with the contemporary American South * Selwa Showker "Lucky" Roosevelt, Chief of Protocol of the United States from 1982 to 1989 and former journalist for the ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', married Archibald B. Roosevelt, grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt * Coty Sensabaugh, cornerback for the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

* Gerald Sensabaugh, retired NFL cornerback, played for the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

and the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

* LeRoy Sprankle, high school multi-sport coach, author, and general manager of the Canton Independents * Adam Steffey, bluegrass artist * Bill Streever, biologist and author * Cyrus Thomas,

entomologist Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...

and ethnologist * Steven Williams, actor who starred in '' 21 Jump Street'' and '' The Blues Brothers''

References

External links

* {{authority control Cities in Tennessee Cities in Sullivan County, Tennessee Cities in Hawkins County, Tennessee Cities in Washington County, Tennessee East Tennessee Kingsport–Bristol metropolitan area Populated places established in 1822 1822 establishments in Tennessee State of Franklin Planned communities in the United States Company towns in Tennessee