Union County, Tennessee

Last updated

Union County
County
Union-County-Courthouse-tn2.jpg
Union County Courthouse in Maynardville
Flag of Union County, Tennessee.svg
Flag
UnionCoTNLogo.png
Logo
Map of Tennessee highlighting Union County.svg
Location within the U.S. state of Tennessee
Tennessee in United States.svg
Tennessee's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 36°17′N83°50′W / 36.28°N 83.84°W / 36.28; -83.84
CountryFlag of the United States.svg United States
StateFlag of Tennessee.svg  Tennessee
FoundedJanuary 23, 1856
Named for Either its creation from parts of five other counties or its support for the Union during the Civil War [1]
Seat Maynardville
Largest cityMaynardville
Government
 • MayorJason Bailey
Area
 • Total247 sq mi (640 km2)
 • Land224 sq mi (580 km2)
 • Water24 sq mi (60 km2)  9.5%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total19,802 Increase2.svg
 • Density85/sq mi (33/km2)
Time zone UTC−5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP Codes
37721, 37779, 37807, 37866, 37705
Area code 865
Congressional district 3rd
Website www.unioncountytn.com

Union County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, its population was 19,802. [2] Its county seat is Maynardville. [3] Union County is included in the Knoxville metropolitan statistical area.

Contents

History

Union County was created from the union of parts of five adjacent counties. Union County Creation.svg
Union County was created from the union of parts of five adjacent counties.

Union County was formed in 1850 from portions of Grainger, Claiborne, Campbell, Anderson, and Knox Counties. At least two theories are given on the source of its name. The name may commemorate the "union" of sections of five counties, or it may reflect East Tennessee's support for the preservation of the Union in the years before and during the Civil War. [4] The enabling legislation was initially passed January 3, 1850, but due to legal challenges and complications, the county was not formally created until January 23, 1856. The county seat was originally named "Liberty", but renamed "Maynardville" in honor of attorney and congressman Horace Maynard, who had defended the county in a court case that sought to block its formation. [1]

In the 1930s, the damming of the Clinch River by the construction of Norris Dam by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to form Norris Lake inundated a large part of the county, [5] including the community of Loyston, and displaced many residents. "The Move," what many displaced families called the forced relocation by TVA, would encounter criticism, as the promise of electrification of Union County would not come after the completion of Norris Dam, but two decades later in the mid-1950s. [6] With assistance from the National Park Service and the Civilian Conservation Corps, the TVA developed Big Ridge State Park as a demonstration park on the shore of Norris Lake in Union County. The park's recreational facilities opened in May 1934. [7]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 247 sq mi (640 km2), of which 224 sq mi (580 km2) are land and 24 sq mi (62 km2) (9.5%) are covered by water. [8] The county is situated in the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, a range characterized by long, narrow ridges alternating with similarly shaped valleys. Prominent ridges in Union County include Copper Ridge, Hinds Ridge, and Lone Mountain. The southern end of Clinch Mountain forms part of the county's border with Grainger County to the east.

Norris Lake, near Big Ridge State Park Norris-lake-big-ridge-tn1.jpg
Norris Lake, near Big Ridge State Park

The Clinch River, Union County's primary stream, flows through the northern part of the county. This section of the river is part of Norris Lake. Big Ridge Dam, a small, nongenerating dam, impounds an inlet of Norris Lake, creating Big Ridge Lake at Big Ridge State Park. The "Loyston Sea", one of the widest sections of Norris Lake, is located in Union County just north of the state park. [9]

Adjacent counties

State protected areas

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
1860 6,117—
1870 7,60524.3%
1880 10,26034.9%
1890 11,45911.7%
1900 12,89412.5%
1910 11,414−11.5%
1920 11,6151.8%
1930 11,371−2.1%
1940 9,030−20.6%
1950 8,670−4.0%
1960 8,498−2.0%
1970 9,0726.8%
1980 11,70729.0%
1990 13,69417.0%
2000 17,80830.0%
2010 19,1097.3%
2020 19,8023.6%
U.S. Decennial Census [10]
1790-1960 [11] 1900-1990 [12]
1990-2000 [13] 2010-2014 [14]
Age pyramid Union County USA Union County, Tennessee.csv age pyramid.svg
Age pyramid Union County

2020 census

Union County racial composition [16]
RaceNumberPercentage
White (non-Hispanic)18,64294.14%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)530.27%
Native American 330.17%
Asian 360.18%
Pacific Islander 50.03%
Other/Mixed 6293.18%
Hispanic or Latino 4042.04%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 19,802 people, 7,405 households, and 5,471 families residing in the county.

2000 census

At the 2000 census, [17] 17,808 people, 6,742 households and 5,191 families were residing in the county. The population density was 80 people per square mile (31 people/km2). The 7,916 housing units averaged 35 per square mile (14/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 98.46% White, 0.10% African American, 0.23% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 0.19% from other races, and 0.86% from two or more races. About 0.79% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race.

Of the 6,742 households, 35.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.20% were married couples living together, 10.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.00% were not families. About 19.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62, and the average family size was 2.99.

The age distribution was 25.70% under 18, 8.90% from 18 to 24, 31.00% from 25 to 44, 23.60% from 45 to 64, and 10.80% who were 65 or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.60 males.

The median household income was $27,335 and the median family income was $31,843. Males had a median income of $26,436 versus $18,665 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,375. About 16.80% of families and 19.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.10% of those under age 18 and 27.80% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Top employers

According to a data profile produced by the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development in 2018, [18] the top employers in the county are:

EmployerEmployees
1Union County School District350
2 Clayton Homes (Maynardville)350
3Union County150
4 Food City 100
5O-N Minerals Company100

Education

Attractions

Communities

The old Hamilton-Lay store at Hamilton Crossroads, east of Maynardville The old Hamilton-Lay store.jpg
The old Hamilton-Lay store at Hamilton Crossroads, east of Maynardville

Cities

Unincorporated communities

Ghost town

Notable people

Government and politics

United States presidential election results for Union County, Tennessee [19]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No. %No. %No. %
2020 6,80383.75%1,24915.38%710.87%
2016 5,05380.89%1,01216.20%1822.91%
2012 4,28273.35%1,47825.32%781.34%
2008 4,46769.81%1,82928.58%1031.61%
2004 4,14561.77%2,52437.62%410.61%
2000 3,19954.96%2,56444.05%581.00%
1996 2,25344.08%2,42147.37%4378.55%
1992 2,27442.47%2,47846.28%60211.24%
1988 2,11059.20%1,43140.15%230.65%
1984 2,44761.51%1,49537.58%360.90%
1980 2,45362.09%1,43536.32%631.59%
1976 1,80152.10%1,63147.18%250.72%
1972 1,92776.26%57022.56%301.19%
1968 1,95666.71%52717.97%44915.31%
1964 1,77061.87%1,09138.13%00.00%
1960 2,08275.63%65223.68%190.69%
1956 2,15479.69%53519.79%140.52%
1952 2,08775.78%66724.22%00.00%
1948 1,60374.35%51323.79%401.86%
1944 1,76873.73%62726.15%30.13%
1940 1,14362.66%67336.90%80.44%
1936 1,78564.70%96334.90%110.40%
1932 1,16958.95%80240.44%120.61%
1928 1,82683.30%36016.42%60.27%
1924 1,54078.37%36818.73%572.90%
1920 2,60785.98%42313.95%20.07%
1916 1,49079.09%38920.65%50.27%
1912 30716.05%40421.12%1,20262.83%

Union County's current mayor is Jason Bailey. The county has 17 commissioners, with two-to-three from each of its seven districts.

See also

Related Research Articles

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

Smith County is a county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,904. Smith County is located in the region of the state known as Middle Tennessee. Its county seat is Carthage. The county was organized in 1799 and is named for Daniel Smith, a Revolutionary War veteran who made the first map of Tennessee and served as a United States senator.

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

Polk County is a county located in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 17,544. Its county seat is Benton. The county was created on November 28, 1839, from parts of Bradley and McMinn counties, after final removal of most Cherokee from the region that year. The county was named after then-governor James K. Polk. Polk County is included in the Cleveland, Tennessee Metropolitan Area Statistical Area, which is also included in the Chattanooga–Cleveland–Dalton, TN–GA–AL Combined Statistical Area.

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

Loudon County is a county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is located in the central part of East Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 54,886. Its county seat is Loudon. Loudon County is included in the Knoxville, TN 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">Greene County, Tennessee</span> County in Tennessee, United States

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.

<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">Claiborne County, Tennessee</span> County in Tennessee, United States

Claiborne County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 32,043. Its county seat is Tazewell and its largest city is Harrogate.

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

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.

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

Campbell County is a county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is located on the state's northern border in East Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, its population was 39,272. Its county seat is Jacksboro. Campbell County is included in the Knoxville metropolitan statistical area.

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

Anderson County is a county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is located in the northern part of the state in East Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, its population was 77,123. Its county seat is Clinton. Anderson County is included in the Knoxville, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area.

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

Norris is a city in Anderson County, Tennessee. Its population was 1,599 at the 2020 census. It is included in the Knoxville, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Harrison is a census-designated place (CDP) in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 7,902 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Chattanooga metropolitan area. Harrison Bay State Park, the Hamilton County Landfill, Bear Trace Golf Course, a course designed by Jack Nicklaus, and Skull Island, a recreational area owned by TVA, are all located in Harrison.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maynardville, Tennessee</span> City and county seat of Union County, Tennessee, United States

Maynardville is a city in and the county seat of Union County, Tennessee, United States. The city was named to honor Horace Maynard, who successfully defended the creation of Union County from a challenge from Knox County. Its population was 2,413 at the 2010 census, up from 1,782 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Knoxville metropolitan statistical area.

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

Plainview is a city in Union County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 2,125 at the 2010 census, up from 1,866 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Knoxville, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area. Plainview is located in the southern part of the county, south of Maynardville, the county seat.

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

Norris Dam is a hydroelectric and flood control structure located on the Clinch River in Anderson County and Campbell County, Tennessee, United States. The dam was the first major project for the Tennessee Valley Authority, which had been created in 1933 to bring economic development to the region and control the rampant flooding that had long plagued the Tennessee Valley. The dam was named in honor of Nebraska Senator George Norris (1861–1944), a longtime supporter of government-owned utilities in general, and supporter of TVA in particular. The infrastructure project was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.

<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 counties in the state of Tennessee, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,967. It is part of the Kingsport Metropolitan Statistical Area, Knoxville Metropolitan Statistical Area, and Morristown metropolitan statistical area. Established in 1776 as a frontier outpost by pioneer William Bean, it is considered one of the earliest permanently settled communities in Tennessee. It grew throughout the rest of the 18th and 19th centuries as an important stopover for early pioneers and settlers in the Appalachia region due to its strategic location at the crossroads of Daniel Boone's Wilderness Road and the Great Indian Warpath.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norris Dam State Park</span> United States historic place

Norris Dam State Park is a state park in Anderson County and Campbell County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The park is situated along the shores of Norris Lake, an impoundment of the Clinch River created by the completion of Norris Dam in 1936. The park consists of 4,038 acres (16.34 km2) managed by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. The park also administers the Lenoir Museum Complex, which interprets the area's aboriginal, pioneer, and early 20th-century history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Ridge State Park</span> State park in Tennessee, United States

Big Ridge State Park is a state park in Union County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The park consists of 3,687 acres (14.92 km2) on the southern shore of the Norris Reservoir, an impoundment of the Clinch River created by the completion of Norris Dam in 1936. Much of the park's recreational focus is on Big Ridge Lake, a 45-acre (0.18 km2) sub-impoundment of Norris near the center of the park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loyston, Tennessee</span> Ghost town in Tennessee, United States

Loyston is a ghost town in Union County, Tennessee, United States, that was inundated by the waters of the Clinch River after the completion of Norris Dam in 1936. Established in the early 19th century around a foundry built by its namesake, John Loy, over subsequent decades the community's location along State Highway 61 helped it grow into a trading center for local farmers. By the time the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) began making plans to build Norris Dam in the early 1930s, Loyston had a population of approximately 70 residents, and consisted of a post office and several small businesses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tennessee State Route 170</span> State highway in Tennessee, United States

State Route 170 is a state highway in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It travels through portions of Anderson, Knox and Union counties. It connects Oak Ridge to the Maynardville area.

References

  1. 1 2 Bonnie Heiskell Peters, "Union County," Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture. Retrieved: April 19, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Census - Geography Profile: Union County, Tennessee". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 7, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  4. ↑ Origins Of Tennessee County Names, Tennessee Blue Book , 2005-2006, page 513
  5. ↑ History Archived April 24, 2010, at the Wayback Machine , Union County Chamber of Commerce website, accessed December 5, 2009
  6. ↑ Stephens, Joseph. "Forced Relocations Presented More of an Ordeal than an Opportunity for Norris Reservoir Families". Historic Union County. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  7. ↑ America from the Great Depression to World War II: Black-and-White Photographs from the FSA-OWI, 1935-1945, LC-USW33- 015718-C
  8. ↑ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  9. ↑ Michelle Gibson, "Waterside at Norris Lake," Knoxnews.com, May 16, 2008. Retrieved: November 7, 2013.
  10. ↑ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  12. ↑ Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  14. ↑ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved December 7, 2013.
  15. ↑ Based on 2000 census data
  16. ↑ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  17. ↑ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  18. ↑ "Union County: County Profile Tool". Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. State of Tennessee. 2018. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  19. ↑ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 12, 2018.

36°17′N83°50′W / 36.28°N 83.84°W / 36.28; -83.84

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.