Washburn, Tennessee

Last updated

Washburn, Tennessee
Unincorporated community
Painted barn in Washburn, Tennessee.jpg
Painted barn in Washburn near SR 131
USA Tennessee location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Washburn
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Washburn
Coordinates: 36°17′24″N83°35′28″W / 36.29000°N 83.59111°W / 36.29000; -83.59111
Country United States
State Tennessee
County Grainger
Elevation
1,447 ft (441 m)
Population
 (2000)
 • Total2,408
Time zone UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST) UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code
37888
Area code 865
FIPS code [1] 47-47057
GNIS feature ID [1] [2] 1304392

Washburn is an unincorporated community in rural northern Grainger County, Tennessee, United States. It is part of both the Knoxville metropolitan area and the Morristown metropolitan area. According to the 2020 United States census, the total population of Washburn was 3,289.[ citation needed ]

Contents

History

Forty-one days prior to the naming of the town on June 2, 1898, Knoxville-born Rear Admiral Washburn Maynard, son of local politician and Postmaster General Horace Maynard, fired the first shot of the Spanish–American War from the gunboat USS Nashville off the coast of Cienfuegoes, Cuba. [3] Rear Admiral Washburn Maynard and the USS Nashville were instrumental in the capture of the Spanish steamer Buena Ventura and several other vessels. The crew of the USS Nashville also participated in the May 11, 1898, heroic mission of cutting underwater Spanish telegraph cables. [4] [5] It is proposed that partially in honor of former U.S. Postmaster General Horace Maynard, the post office and the town alike were named in honor of the then recent war hero Washburn Maynard. [6]

The town continued to grow well into the early twentieth century. In the 1950s, it was decided that northern Grainger County needed a secondary school of its own. Prior to this, any student who wished to go to school beyond the 8th grade had to find a way to get to Rutledge High School, across Clinch Mountain in the county seat of Rutledge. Washburn School was established to meet this need. Subsequently, as the idea of centralized schooling became popular, the smaller elementary schools, such as Thorn Hill Elementary, Liberty Hill School, and Powder Springs Elementary were closed and combined into the new Washburn Elementary School.

At the time, buildings of both Rutledge and Washburn High Schools were built in a similar design. This design similarity is still evident in both schools to this day.

In early 2004, the Grainger County Board of Education decided that a new comprehensive high school was needed in the county, residents of Washburn and surrounding areas became concerned that the county might decide to close Washburn High School and instead bus their children across Clinch Mountain every day. Rutledge High School was severely over capacity with more than 800 students, while Washburn High School had only some 200 students in grades 9 through 12. As of 2006, this situation was still unresolved. Construction on the new Grainger High School, with a planned capacity of 1600 students, began in 2006 and was scheduled for completion in 2008. About 1,000 students currently attend Grainger High School. [7]

In July 2015, Washburn and Grainger County received international attention and social media backlash after a (now closed) [8] hardware store owner in the community placed a ‘No gays allowed’ sign on the door of his business after the ruling of Obergefell v. Hodges by the Supreme Court of the United States. [9] [10]

Geography

While many smaller communities exist in the area, such as Joppa, Powder Springs, Tater Valley, Liberty Hill, and Thorn Hill, Washburn is considered to be the central town of northern Grainger County, due to its access to most county services.[ citation needed ]

Economy

Commercial and public services include a bank, post office, storage center, school, library, and a medical clinic, as well as several private businesses.

Education

Washburn is home to the only operating public school in northern Grainger County. The Washburn School complex is a pre-kindergarten through 12th grade school.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union County, Tennessee</span> County in Tennessee, United States

Union County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, its population was 19,802. Its county seat is Maynardville. Union County is included in the Knoxville metropolitan statistical area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hamblen County, Tennessee</span> County in Tennessee, United States

Hamblen County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 64,499. Its county seat and only incorporated city is Morristown. Hamblen County is the core county of the Morristown, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Hamblen, Jefferson, and Grainger counties. The county and the Morristown MSA are included in the Knoxville-Morristown-Sevierville, TN Combined Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grainger County, Tennessee</span> County in Tennessee, United States

Grainger County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 23,527. Its county seat is Rutledge. Grainger County is a part of both the Knoxville Metropolitan Statistical Area and Morristown Metropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blaine, Tennessee</span> Knoxville suburb and city in Grainger County, Tennessee

Blaine, formerly known as Blaine's Crossroads, is a city in Grainger County, Tennessee, United States, and a suburb of neighboring Knoxville. It is part of both the Knoxville Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Morristown Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,084 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rutledge, Tennessee</span> City in Tennessee, United States

Rutledge is a city in and the county seat of Grainger County, Tennessee. The city is part of both the Knoxville metropolitan area and the Morristown metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 1,321.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clarksville, Tennessee</span> City in Tennessee, United States

Clarksville is the county seat of Montgomery County, Tennessee, United States. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, after Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, and Chattanooga. The city had a population of 166,722 as of the 2020 United States census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bean Station, Tennessee</span> Lakeside town in Grainger and Hawkins counties, Tennessee

Bean Station is a town in Grainger and Hawkins of Tennessee, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,967. It is part of the Kingsport, Knoxville, and Morristown metropolitan statistical areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horace Maynard</span> American politician

Horace Maynard was an American educator, attorney, politician and diplomat active primarily in the second half of the 19th century. Initially elected to the House of Representatives from Tennessee's 2nd Congressional District for the term commencing on March 4, 1857, Maynard, an ardent Union supporter and abolitionist, became one of the few Southern congressmen to maintain his seat in the House during the Civil War. Toward the end of the war, Maynard served as Tennessee's attorney general under Governor Andrew Johnson, and later served as ambassador to the Ottoman Empire under President Ulysses S. Grant and Postmaster General under President Rutherford B. Hayes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.S. Route 11W</span> Suffixed section of U.S. Highway in Tennessee and Virginia in the United States

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.S. Route 25E</span> Highway in Tennessee and Kentucky, United States

U.S. Route 25E (US 25E) is the eastern branch of US 25 from Newport, Tennessee, where US 25 splits into US 25E and US 25W, to North Corbin, Kentucky, where the two highways rejoin. The highway, however, continues as US 25E for roughly two miles (3.2 km) until it joins Interstate 75 (I-75) in the Laurel County community of North Corbin at exit 29. The highway serves the Appalachia regions of Kentucky's Cumberland Plateau and the Ridge-and-Valley section of East Tennessee, including the urbanized areas of Corbin and Middlesboro in Kentucky and Morristown in Tennessee.

The Tennessee Schools for the Deaf (TSD) is a state-operated residential and day school for deaf and hard-of-hearing students who reside in the state of Tennessee ranging from pre-kindergarten to grade 12 and also includes a Comprehensive Adult Program. The main campus is located in Knoxville, Tennessee within the historic Island Home Park neighborhood. There are two additional campuses serving elementary students in Nashville and Jackson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knox County Schools</span> School district in Tennessee, United States

Knox County Schools is the school district that operates all public schools in Knox County, Tennessee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morristown metropolitan area</span> Metropolitan area based in Morristown, Tennessee, United States

The Morristown Metropolitan Statistical Area, commonly known as the Lakeway Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of three counties - Grainger, Hamblen, and Jefferson - in eastern Tennessee, anchored by the city of Morristown. Grainger County is both in the Knoxville and Morristown Metropolitans. Including Grainger County, the 2020 census showed that the MSA had a population of 142,709.

Washburn School is a public school located in Washburn, Tennessee, USA in the east division of the state. Currently there are over 600 students enrolled at the secondary school, with approximately 56 staff members, including principal Ginny McElhaney, and vice principal Aaron Clay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joppa, Tennessee</span> Unincorporated community in Tennessee, United States

Joppa is an unincorporated community in rural central-western Grainger County, Tennessee, United States. It rests below Joppa Mountain, a subrange located near the southern terminus of the 150 mile (240 km) long Clinch Mountain ridge complex, offering views of five U.S. States and the Great Smoky Mountains. Joppa is part of the Morristown, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area, and also a component of the Knoxville-Morristown-Sevierville Combined Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thorn Hill, Tennessee</span> Unincorporated town in Tennessee, United States

Thorn Hill is an unincorporated community in rural northeastern Grainger County, Tennessee. It is part of the Morristown Metropolitan Statistical Area which consists of Grainger, Hamblen, and Jefferson counties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tennessee State Route 92</span> State highway in Tennessee, United States

State Route 92 is a state highway in East Tennessee with both four lane and two lane sections.

Richland Creek is a stream in Tennessee. It is a tributary of the Elk River. It runs from Maury County, Tennessee, to Giles County, Tennessee, past Pulaski and flows into the Elk River below the border between Tennessee and Alabama. This is one of at least five streams by the name of "Richland Creek" in various regions of Tennessee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grainger High School</span> Public high school in Rutledge, Tennessee, United States

Grainger High School (GHS) is a public high school in Rutledge, Tennessee, United States. It was established in 2008 and is part of the Grainger County Schools district. The school serves the communities of Rutledge, Bean Station, Blaine, and Washburn, and is the largest school in Grainger County.

References

  1. 1 2 "FIPS55 Data: Tennessee". United States Geological Survey. February 23, 2006. Archived from the original on June 18, 2006.
  2. ↑ "Washburn (Grainger County, Tennessee)". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey . Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  3. ↑ "Spanish American War". www.sharetngov.tnsosfiles.com. February 10, 2019.
  4. ↑ Lee, Bill. "Nashville (USN Gunboat #7)". Naval History and Heritage Command.
  5. ↑ Ritchie, Roger (February 28, 2019). "Convincing History". www.graingertoday.com. Archived from the original on November 25, 2021. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  6. ↑ Ritchie, Roger Ritchie (February 28, 2018). "Convincing History". Grainger Today. Archived from the original on November 25, 2021. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
  7. ↑ "Grainger County Comprehensive High School". www.lewisgroup.net. Archived from the original on January 8, 2007. Retrieved January 20, 2007.
  8. ↑ "Unknown".[ permanent dead link ]
  9. ↑ "Tennessee hardware store puts up 'No Gays Allowed' sign". USA Today. July 1, 2015. Archived from the original on June 11, 2020. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  10. ↑ Perry, Tod (February 2, 2019). "After a bigoted hardware store owner posted a 'No Gays Allowed' sign, he got roasted on Yelp". Good. Archived from the original on September 21, 2020. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.