Pittman Center is a town in

Sevier County, Tennessee Sevier County ( ) is a county of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 98,380. Its county seat and largest city is Sevierville. Sevier County comprises the Sevierville, TN Micropolitan Statistical Area, which ...

, United States. The population was 454 at the 2020 census and 502 at the 2010 census. The town borders

Gatlinburg Gatlinburg is a city in Sevier County, Tennessee, United States. It is located southeast of Knoxville and had a population of 3,577 at the 2020 census. It is a popular mountain resort town, as it rests on the border of Great Smoky Mountains Nat ...

and the

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in the southeastern United States, southeast, with parts in North Carolina and Tennessee. The park straddles the ridgeline o ...

. U.S. Route 321 passes through the town. Emert's Cove is situated in Pittman Center, a broad valley along the Middle Fork of the Little Pigeon River. The

borders Pittman Center to the south, and the town's history and economy are largely intertwined with that of the Smokies. It is also the birthplace of American country music singer

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...

History

Like much of Sevier County, Emert's Cove was a

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 ...

hunting ground before the colonization of the area. After the Battle of Boyds Creek and several violent incidents between the Cherokee and the settlers to the west in what is now Cocke County, the Cherokee were induced to sign the Treaty of Dumplin Creek in 1785, ceding what is now Sevier County to 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 ...

. Among the first Euro-American settlers to move into the newly gained territory was Frederick Emert (1754–1829), who arrived with his family sometime between 1785 and 1793. Emert was born in Pennsylvania to German immigrants. He fought in the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

for the Continental Army, and probably saw action at the

Battle of Brandywine Creek The Battle of Brandywine, also known as the Battle of Brandywine Creek, was fought between the American Continental Army of General George Washington and the British Army of General Sir William Howe on September 11, 1777, as part of the Am ...

. In 2000, the residents of Pittman Center erected the Emert's Cove Covered Bridge in his honor. Other settlers arrived in Emert's Cove with Emert in 1785. Among them was

Johan Martin Shultz Johan Martin Shultz was a colonial American born in 1740 of German-Swiss descent. Martin fought in the American Revolutionary War and was the only doctor at Battle of Kings Mountain, the Battle of King's Mountain, as well as being the only doctor in ...

(1740–1787), a Revolutionary War surgeon that had served alongside Emert and John Sevier in the "Overmountain Men" in the Battle of King's Mountain. Shultz's son, Martin S.E. Shultz, would go on to marry Emert's daughter, Barbara Ann. Another important settler was Daniel Wesley Reagan (1803–1892), whose parents and grandparents were among the first settlers in what is now

. Many residents of Pittman Center are descended from these early settlers.

The Pittman Community Center

In 1910, a survey of Tennessee found Sevier County to be most in need of educational facilities. In spite of the establishment of a

settlement school Settlement schools are social reform institutions established in rural Appalachia in the early 20th century with the purpose of educating Mountain whites, mountain children and improving their isolated rural communities. Settlement schools have p ...

in Gatlinburg by the

Pi Beta Phi Pi Beta Phi (), often known simply as Pi Phi, is an international Fraternities and sororities in North America, women's fraternity founded at Monmouth College, in Monmouth, Illinois on April 28, 1867, as I. C. Sorosis, the first national secret c ...

fraternity in 1912, education in the region was still appallingly lacking. To help remedy this situation, Dr. John Burnett, a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

minister who visited the Smokies in 1919, envisioned the establishment a large-scale school in the area that would operate with virtually no tuition rates. Later that year, the

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself nationally. In 1939, th ...

endorsed Burnett's plan at its annual meeting, and with the help of Reverend Eli Pittman of

Elmira, New York Elmira () is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in and the county seat of Chemung County, New York, United States. It is the principal city of the Elmira, New York, metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses Chemung County. ...

, Burnett secured $15,000 for the project. In 1920, Burnett purchased Garfield Scott's farm just above the confluence of Webb Creek and the Middle Fork of the Little Pigeon River. This plot of land would become the core of the new school's campus.Margaret Ann Roth, "Pittman Center," ''Smoky Mountain Historical Society Newsletter'' 3, no. 4 (September 1977): 5. In late 1920, Burnett's new settlement school, which he named "Pittman Community Center" in honor of Reverend Pittman, opened with an enrollment of 100.Brief History of Pittman Center
Pittman Center Official Website. Retrieved: August 10, 2007. The school eventually expanded to include , 15 buildings, and 240 students operating on an annual budget of $9,000. The buildings included a general store, post office, and a small hospital. The Pittman School supported itself by canning tomatoes and growing apples, with students doing all the maintenance work. In 1955, the Sevier County Board of Education purchased the Pittman School, and the school was combined with the Pi Beta Phi High School in Gatlinburg to form Gatlinburg-Pittman High School in 1963. The only building remaining from the Pittman school is the Home Economics building, which the Methodist Episcopal Church gave to the town after its incorporation for use as its city hall. In 1996, the building was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

Municipal incorporation

In 1974 the community incorporated as the town of Pittman Center, which includes both the former Pittman Community Center campus and Emert's Cove. The Town of Pittman Center provides police services with a police department consisting of a Chief of Police and three full time patrol officers.

Geography

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 town has a total area of , all of it land. Pittman Center spans most of Emert's Cove, which is located just north of the Greenbrier section of the Smokies. The cove cuts into Webb Mountain, a low ridge that runs roughly parallel to the national park boundary. The main section of Pittman Center, which includes its city hall and maintenance buildings, an elementary school, and Burnett Memorial Chapel, is situated just above the confluence of Webb Creek and the Middle Fork of the Little Pigeon at the northern tip of the cove. Tennessee Route 416, which connects U.S. Route 321 at the park border with U.S. Route 411 in Sevierville, is Pittman Center's main road. Pittman Center's road signs are distinguished by gold lettering on an olive green background.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 454 people, 212 households, and 148 families residing in the town.

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 477 people, 220 households, and 130 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 321 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.74%

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 ...

, 0.21%

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 ...

, 0.21% Native American, 0.21% Asian, and 0.63% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.42% of the population. There were 220 households, out of which 22.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.0% 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, 6.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.5% were non-families. 35.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.84. In the town, the population was spread out, with 19.3% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 23.1% from 25 to 44, 32.5% from 45 to 64, and 17.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $27,734, and the median income for a family was $35,000. Males had a median income of $31,250 versus $20,714 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 town was $19,862. About 7.9% of families and 13.3% 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 6.9% of those under age 18 and 16.2% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Pittman Center's economy mainly comes from tourism, being located on the border of the

. The Greenbriar entrance to the national park is located in the town. A golf resort called Bent Creek Golf Village is located in Pittman Center. The golf course was once owned by the Town.

Education

Pittman Center is the location of Pittman Center Elementary School. Gatlinburg-Pittman High School is located less than a mile from the town limits in nearby

which serves the small amount of Pittman Center's high school students. However, all schools in Sevier County are "county schools" as no municipality in Sevier County operates a separate school system.

Notable people

- The American country music singer, songwriter, actress and businesswoman was born in a one-room cabin in Pittman Center.

References

External links

*
Municipal Technical Advisory Service entry for Pittman Center
— information on local government, elections, and link to charter {{authority control Towns in Sevier County, Tennessee Towns in Tennessee Communities of the Great Smoky Mountains