Morrison City is an unincorporated community in Sullivan County, Tennessee, United States. Named for pioneer settler Peter Morison, Morrison City developed with the industrial growth of nearby Kingsport, Tennessee, in the 1930s. Peter Morison, his wife Mary Kirkpatrick Morison, and other relatives, are buried in the Morrison Chapel Cemetery, in the heart of the community. They were awarded a land grant by the state of North Carolina, which controlled the area prior to Tennessee Statehood, in 1780. This was to recognize distinguished service during the Battle of King's Mountain.
Lynn Garden Drive (Tennessee State Route 36) and U.S. Route 23 intersect where the community's business district once stood, running north and south. Carter's Valley road runs east and west through the community. Bell Ridge School stands to the south of West Carter's Valley Road, behind State Line Baptist Church. This school was the community's only educational enterprise, and was part of the Sullivan County School system until it closed and was purchased by a private school.
Tenneva Street and Echo Drive were the main north–south streets before Lynn Garden Drive. Two churches, several businesses, and many homes were removed or relocated when the new US 23 was built through the area in the 1980s. Basset's Dairy Bar, W. D. Sensabaugh's Store, Lee's Barber Shop, a Monument Company, and several fruitstands once operated there. Parker's Grill was a restaurant that later was occupied by a taxidermy shop.
Citizens just north of the Virginia state line were categorized by utility companies for several years in a grouping called "Morrison City, Virginia." They maintained Virginia residency, but were served by Tennessee telephone and mail service. The Virginia side had several businesses attracted to the area because of the proximity to the state line, and capitalizing on cheaper goods not available in Tennessee due to differences in state and county laws. These included cigarette sales businesses, liquor trafficking stores, fireworks stands, and a club where alcohol was served to customers.
An unnamed tributary of the North Fork of the Holston River begins in the Tennessee side of the Morrison City community and runs through the state line, alongside of the state highway, and empties into the river in Virginia. A natural gap in ridge dividing the two states provides easy access for the roadways.
Scott County is a county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,576. Its county seat is Gate City. Scott County was formed by an act of the General Assembly on November 24, 1814, from parts of Washington, Lee, and Russell Counties and was named for Virginia born General Winfield Scott. Scott County is part of the Kingsport–Bristol–Bristol, TN-VA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Johnson City–Kingsport–Bristol, TN-VA Combined Statistical Area, commonly known as the "Tri-Cities" region. The County Administrator is Freda Russell Starnes.
Washington County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 133,001. Its county seat is Jonesborough. The county's largest city and a regional educational, medical and commercial center is Johnson City. Washington County is Tennessee's oldest county, having been established in 1777 when the state was still part of North Carolina. Washington County is part of the Johnson City, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Johnson City–Kingsport–Bristol, TN-VA Combined Statistical Area, commonly known as the "Tri-Cities" region.
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 the mist often seen in the foothills and mountains of this far northeast county. Unicoi County is part of the Johnson City Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Johnson City–Kingsport–Bristol, TN-VA Combined Statistical Area, commonly known as the "Tri-Cities" region.
Sullivan County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee on its northeast border. As of the 2020 census, the population was 158,163. Its county seat is Blountville.
Johnson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,948. Its county seat is Mountain City. It is the state's northeasternmost county, sharing borders with Virginia and North Carolina.
Greene County is a county located on the eastern border of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 70,152. Its county seat is Greeneville. Greene County comprises the Greeneville, TN Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Carter County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 56,356. Its county seat is Elizabethton. The county is named in honor of Landon Carter (1760-1800), an early settler active in the "Lost State of Franklin" 1784-1788 secession from the State of North Carolina. Carter County is part of the Johnson City, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Johnson City–Kingsport–Bristol, TN-VA Combined Statistical Area, located in northeastern Tennessee.
Elizabethton is a city in, and the county seat of Carter County, Tennessee, United States. Elizabethton is the historical site of the first independent American government located west of both the Eastern Continental Divide and the original Thirteen Colonies.
Blountville is a census-designated place (CDP) in and the county seat of Sullivan County, Tennessee. The population was 3,074 at the 2010 census. It is the only Tennessee county seat not to be an incorporated city or town.
Bristol is a city in Sullivan County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 27,147 at the 2020 census. It is the twin city of Bristol, Virginia, which lies directly across the state line between Tennessee and Virginia. The boundary between the two cities is also the state line, which runs along State Street in their common downtown district. It is a principal city in the Kingsport–Bristol metropolitan area, which had a population of 307,614 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.
Gate City is a town in Scott County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,034 at the 2010 census. It is the seat of Scott County.
Johnson City is a city in Washington, Carter, and Sullivan counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, mostly in Washington County. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 71,046, making it the eighth largest city in Tennessee. Johnson City is the principal city of the Johnson City Metropolitan Statistical Area, which consists of Carter, Unicoi, and Washington counties and had a population of 207,285 as of 2020. The MSA is also a component of the Johnson City–Kingsport–Bristol, Tennessee–Virginia Combined Statistical Area – commonly known as the "Tri-Cities" region. This CSA is the fifth-largest in Tennessee with a population of 514,899 as of 2020.
Fall Branch is a census-designated place (CDP) in Washington and Greene counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The population was 1,291 at the 2010 census. Some areas in Sullivan also use the Fall Branch ZIP code.
Kingsport is a city in Sullivan and Hawkins counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, its population was 55,442. Lying along the Holston River, Kingsport is commonly included in what is known as the Mountain Empire, which spans a portion of southwest Virginia and the mountainous counties in northeastern Tennessee. It is the largest city in the Kingsport–Bristol metropolitan area, which had a population of 307,614 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.
Halls Crossroads is a census-designated place in northern Knox County, Tennessee. As a northern suburb of nearby Knoxville, Halls is included in the Knoxville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town takes its name from the Thomas Hall family that settled in the area in the late 18th century.
U.S. Route 11W (US 11W) is the western branch of US 11 from the twin cities of Bristol, Tennessee/Bristol, Virginia, where US 11 splits into US 11E and US 11W, to Knoxville, Tennessee, where the two highways rejoin. The highway serves the Appalachia region's Ridge-and-Valley section of East Tennessee, bounded by the Clinch Mountain ridge to the north and the Holston River to the south. US 11W from Bristol to Bean Station and Blaine to Knoxville are designated as part of the National Highway System.
U.S. Route 23 (US 23) is a part of the United States Numbered Highway System that runs from Jacksonville, Florida, to Mackinaw City, Michigan. In Virginia, the U.S. Highway runs 60.80 miles (97.85 km) from the Tennessee state line near Weber City north to the Kentucky state line near Pound. US 23, which is known as Orby Cantrell Highway for most of its course, is a four-lane divided highway that follows Corridor B of the Appalachian Development Highway System through Southwest Virginia. The U.S. Highway serves as the main east–west highway of Scott County and the primary north–south highway of Wise County. US 23 runs concurrently with US 58 from Weber City to Duffield and with US 58 Alternate between Big Stone Gap and the independent city of Norton.
The Washington District of North Carolina was in a remote area west of the Appalachian Mountains, officially existing for only a short period, although it had been self-proclaimed and functioning as an independent governing entity since the spring of 1775. The district was the bureaucratic successor to the Watauga Association, a group of Virginian settlers that colonized the area in 1769, originally believing themselves to be in trans-Appalachian Virginia territory. When the settlement's application to be united with Virginia was denied, they asked North Carolina to annex the settlement, which occurred in November, 1776.
Anne Wetzell Armstrong was an American novelist and businesswoman, active primarily in the first half of the 20th century. She is best known for her novel, This Day and Time, an account of life in a rural Appalachian community. She was also a pioneering woman in business management, and was the first woman to lecture before the Harvard School of Business and Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business in the early 1920s.
Boones Creek is a neighborhood of Johnson City, in northern Washington County, Tennessee. Almost all of Boones Creek has been annexed by Johnson City, and has become a neighborhood of Johnson City. However, much of it has the postal addresses of "Gray, Tennessee". It extends along Boone's Creek and other nearby tributaries of Boone Lake, from the strip of restaurants, hotels and other businesses around the intersection of Boone's Creek Road and Interstate 26, northeastwards to the older business district at the intersection of 354 and State Route 36, and up to Boone Lake, formerly the Watauga River.