Blount County, Tennessee
Encyclopedia : B : BL : BLO : Blount County, Tennessee
Blount County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2000, the population was 105,823, though 2004 census estimates show a population of 113,744. The county seat is at Maryville6, which is also the county's largest city.
History
What is today Blount County was for many thousands of years Indian territory, passed down to the Cherokee tribe that claimed the land upon the arrival of white settlers in the late 18th century. Shortly thereafer, On July 11, 1795, Blount County became the tenth county established in Tennessee, when the Territorial Legislature voted to split adjacent Knox and Jefferson counties. The new county was named for the governor of the state of Tennessee, William Blount, and its county seat, Maryville, was named for his wife Mary Grainger Blount. This establishment, however, did little to settle the differences between white immigrants and Cherokee natives, which was, for the most part, not accomplished until an 1819 treaty[link].Throughout its history the boundaries of Blount County have been altered numerous times, most notably in 1870 when a large swath of western Blount was split into Loudon and portions of other counties. Also, the establishment of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 1936, while not effecting the territory of Blount County, has significantly impacted the use of southeastern Blount[link].
Economy
Most of the early settlers were of very little means, existing on subsistance-based agriculture throughout the early years of the county's establishment. The first industry to make its mark on Blount County, as in other neighboring counties, was that of lumber. It was the massive development of this industry in the mountains of east Blount that, in part, led to the creation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which includes the southeastern portion of the county. Today manufacutring is [link]Government
The following list consists of the current elected members of the Blount County government[link]:- County Mayor: Robert Ramsey
- Commissioners: Bob Arwood, Keith Brock, Dennis Cardin , Donna Dowdy , W. C. Evans, Joe Everett, Gary Farmer, David Graham, Steve Gray, Steve Hargis, John Keeble, Bob Kidd, Robby Kirkland , Jeff McCall, Kenneth Melton, Dan Neubert, Otto Slater, Ernest Tallent, Shirley Townsend, and Mike Walker'
- Sheriff: James Berrong
- Highway Chief Administrative Officer: Bill Dunlap
- Trustee: Scott Graves
- Assessor of Property: Mike Morton
- County Clerk: Roy Crawford Jr.
- Register of Deeds: Penny Whaley
- Clerk & Master: James Carroll
- Circuit Court Clerk: Thomas Hatcher
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,468 km² (567 mi²). 1,447 km² (559 mi²) of it is land and 21 km² (8 mi²) of it (1.43%) is water.The foothills of the Appalachian Mountains determine much of Blount County's landscape, with a segment of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park extending into southeastern Blount County. In addition to the dominant mountains, the Little Tennessee River flows through the county and forms several man-made lakes created by the Tennessee Valley Authority.
Adjacent counties
- Knox County, Tennessee - north
- Sevier County, Tennessee - east
- Swain County, North Carolina - south
- Monroe County, Tennessee - southwest
- Loudon County, Tennessee - west
Geographical features
- Appalachian Mountains
- Great Smoky Mountains
- Look Rock
- Fort Loudon Lake
- Chilowhee Lake
- Little River
- Little Tennessee River
Demographics
As of the census² of 2000, there were 105,823 people, 42,667 households, and 30,634 families residing in the county. The population density was 73/km² (190/mi²). There were 47,059 housing units at an average density of 33/km² (84/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 94.73% White, 2.91% Black or African American, 0.29% Native American, 0.72% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.34% from other races, and 0.99% from two or more races. 1.06% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.There were 42,667 households out of which 30.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.40% were married couples living together, 10.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.20% are classified as non-families by the United States Census Bureau. Of the 42,667 households, 1,384 are unmarried partner households: 1,147 heterosexual, 107 same-sex male, 130 same-sex female. 24.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.88.
In the county, the population was spread out with 22.80% under the age of 18, 8.30% from 18 to 24, 29.40% from 25 to 44, 25.40% from 45 to 64, and 14.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 93.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.80 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $37,862, and the median income for a family was $45,038. Males had a median income of $31,877 versus $23,007 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,416. About 7.30% of families and 9.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.30% of those under age 18 and 9.10% of those age 65 or over.
Infrastructure
Parks
In addition to the federally operated Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which draws many visitors to the county each year, Blount County operates numerous smaller community parks and recreation centers, primarily in the cities of Alcoa and Maryville. Some of these facilities include[link]:- Amerine Park (Maryville)
- Bassell Courts (Alcoa)
- Eagleton Park (Maryville)
- Everett Athletic Complex (Maryville)
- Everett Park/Everett Senior Center (Maryville)
- Howe Street Park (Alcoa)
- John Sevier Park/Pool (Maryville)
- Louisville Point Park (Louisville)
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center (Alcoa)
- Oldfield Mini Park (Alcoa)
- Pearson Springs Park (Maryville)
- Pole Climbers Athletic Fields (Alcoa)
- Richard Williams Park (Alcoa)
- Rock Garden Park (Alcoa)
- Sandy Springs Park (Maryville)
- Springbrook Park/Pool (Alcoa)
Colleges and Universities
Blount County is home to two post-secondary educational institutions: Maryville College, in downtown Maryville, and a satellite campus of Knoxville based Pellissippi State Technical Community College, referred to as Pellissippi State Technical Community College, Blount County Campus.Transportation
Mass transit
Blount County is served by the East Tennessee Human Resource Agency's Public Transit system. ETHRA, as it is commonly referred to, operates over sixteen counties in eastern Tennessee, and is headquartered in the nearby city of Loudon. The service offers residents of any of the counties covered by ETHRA door-to-door pickup transportation across its service area by request only[link].Airports
TYS, McGhee Tyson AirportHighways
- State highways
- *Tennessee Route 33
- *Tennessee Route 71
- *Tennessee Route 72
- *Tennessee Route 73
- *Tennessee Route 115
- Secondary Primary Routes
- *Tennessee Secondary Primary Route 33
- *Tennessee Secondary Primary Route 73
- *Tennessee Secondary Primary Route 333
- *Tennessee Secondary Primary Route 334
- *Tennessee Secondary Primary Route 335
- *Tennessee Secondary Primary Route 336
- *Tennessee Secondary Primary Route 337
- *Tennessee Secondary Primary Route 446
Cities and towns
References
- Inez Burns (1995). History of Blount County, Tennessee. Windmill Publications.
External links
- [Blount County Chamber of Commerce]
- [Blount County Government]
- [Tennessee Department of Transportation Map of Blount County]
- [Blount Today]
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