Unicoi is a town in

Unicoi County Unicoi County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,928. Its county seat is Erwin. ''Unicoi'' is a Cherokee word meaning "white," "hazy," "fog-like," or "fog draped," and refers to ...

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 ...

, United States. The population was 3,833 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Johnson City Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Johnson City–

Kingsport Kingsport is a city in Sullivan and Hawkins counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. 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, w ...

–

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

Combined Statistical Area – commonly known as the " Tri-Cities" region.

History

Unicoi was originally known as "Greasy Cove." In 1851, the Swingle brothers opened a post office in the community, and named it "Swingleville." In 1876, Dr. F.H. Hannum obtained control of the post office, and changed its name to "Limonite." When the railroads arrived in the valley in the late 1880s, the name was changed to "Unicoi City," and later shortened to its current form. The town developed in the early 20th century as a shipping point for area mining and logging operations.Tennessee Place Names and Post Offices
" Tennessee state website (TN.gov). Accessed: September 30, 2015. In 1994, the municipal government of Johnson City would purchase the Buffalo Valley Golf Course located in upper Unicoi County for $1.52 million. Residents of Unicoi speculated that the purchase was a sign of Johnson City seeking to begin

annexation Annexation, in international law, is the forcible acquisition and assertion of legal title over one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. In current international law, it is generally held t ...

s into Unicoi. As a result, a community group gathered to incorporate Unicoi into a town by public referendum vote the following year to prevent potential annexation.

Geography

Unicoi is located at (36.220028, -82.338138). The town is situated in the North Indian Creek Valley (known locally as "The Valley Beautiful"), at a point where North Indian Creek emerges from the mountains to the southeast and bends to the southwest toward Erwin and its eventual confluence with the

Nolichucky River The Nolichucky River is a river that flows through western North Carolina and East Tennessee in the southeastern United States. Traversing the Pisgah National Forest and the Cherokee National Forest in the Blue Ridge Mountains, the river's wate ...

. The northern portions of Unicoi are located in the headwaters of Buffalo Creek, which flows northeastward (in the opposite direction from North Indian Creek) and eventually empties into the

Watauga River The Watauga River () is a large stream of western North Carolina and East Tennessee. It is long with its headwaters in Linville Gap to the South Fork Holston River at Boone Lake. Course The Watauga River rises from a spring located south to ...

. Unicoi is surrounded by the

Cherokee National Forest The Cherokee National Forest is a United States National Forest located in the U.S. states of Tennessee and North Carolina that was created on June 14, 1920. The forest is maintained and managed by the United States Forest Service. It encompas ...

. Buffalo Mountain rises prominently to the west of Unicoi, and a series of rugged hills and ridges that comprise the outer Unaka Mountains rise to the east. Erwin, the county seat, is located further down the valley to the southwest. Johnson City is located opposite Buffalo Mountain to the north.

Interstate 26 Interstate 26 (I-26) is a main route of the Interstate Highway System in the Southeastern United States. Nominally east–west, as indicated by its even number, I-26 runs from the junction of U.S. Route 11W, US Route 11W (US 11W) ...

, which traverses the valley, passes through western Unicoi.

Tennessee State Route 107 State Route 107 (SR 107) is a state highway in eastern Tennessee, United States. It begins at an intersection with Round Mountain Road south of Del Rio, Tennessee, Del Rio and ends at the North Carolina state line east of Unicoi, Tennessee, Uni ...

connects Unicoi with Erwin to the southwest and the rural Limestone Cove area to the east. Tennessee State Route 173 connects the town with U.S. Route 19E. 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.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 3,833 people, 1,421 households, and 909 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 3,519 people, 1,452 households, and 1,052 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 1,562 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.76%

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 ...

, 0.06%

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, 0.23% Asian, 0.03%

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 ...

, 1.05% from other races, and 0.57% 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 2.22% of the population. There were 1,452 households, out of which 29.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.1% 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, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.5% were non-families. 23.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.88. In the town, the population was spread out, with 22.3% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 29.7% from 25 to 44, 27.4% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.0 males. The median income for a household in the town was $29,483, and the median income for a family was $40,208. Males had a median income of $31,299 versus $19,052 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 $15,870. About 9.7% of families and 13.2% 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 16.0% of those under age 18 and 19.9% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

Official siteMunicipal Technical Advisory Service entry for Unicoi
— information on local government, elections, and link to charter {{authority control Towns in Unicoi County, Tennessee Towns in Tennessee Johnson City metropolitan area, Tennessee