Gruetli-Laager, Tennessee
Encyclopedia
Gruetli-Laager is a city in Grundy County, Tennessee
, United States
. The population was 1,813 at the 2010 census
. As its name implies, Gruetli-Laager consists of two communities— Gruetli and Laager— incorporated as a single city.
, roughly halfway between the plateau's Sequatchie Valley
escarpment to the east and its Highland Rim
escarpment to the west. Just north of the city, the Collins River
and its upper watershed slice a massive gorge known as "Savage Gulf" as the river descends the plateau en route to its confluence with the Caney Fork at Rock Island
.
Gruetli-Laager stretches for several miles along Tennessee Highway 108. The highway connects the area with the Sequatchie Valley and Chattanooga
area to the southeast. Just west of Gruetli-Laager, TN-108 intersects Tennessee Highway 56, which connects the area to Monteagle
and Interstate 24
to the southwest and McMinnville
to the northwest.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 12.4 square miles (32.1 km²), all of it land.
As of the census
of 2000, there were 1,867 people, 720 households, and 540 families residing in the city. The population density
was 150.0 people per square mile (57.9/km²). There were 765 housing units at an average density of 61.4 per square mile (23.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 99.25% White, 0.05% Asian, 0.05% from other races
, and 0.64% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.54% of the population.
There were 720 households out of which 34.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.2% were married couples
living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.0% were non-families. 22.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.03.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.3% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 12.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 93.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $23,101, and the median income for a family was $27,542. Males had a median income of $26,198 versus $17,634 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $11,704. About 21.3% of families and 24.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 35.5% of those under age 18 and 8.8% of those age 65 or over.
immigrants in 1869. The town was part of a greater initiative— conducted by an organization known as the Tennessee Clonisation Gesellschaft— to establish Swiss colonies atop the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee. Gruetli was probably named after a commune in the Swiss canton of Glarus
. Peter Staub
, a member of Knoxville's
thriving Swiss community, helped purchase the initial tract of land for Gruetli. The land was advertised in Switzerland, where the opportunity for a new start appealed to many families struggling with difficult economic conditions in Europe.
Although over 100 Swiss families moved to the Gruetli area in the 1870s, many were disappointed by the land's poor quality and relative isolation, and thus relocated to nearby cities. Nevertheless, by 1880, Grundy County had the largest Swiss population of any county in Tennessee. Prominent early settlers at Gruetli included Christian Marugg, who operated an inn along the stagecoach road between Chattanooga and McMinnville, and Melchior Thoni, Jr. (1849–1926), a woodcarver whose work was displayed in the old Governor's Mansion and the Christ Church in Nashville
.
Throughout the early 1900s, railroads were constructed in the hills east of Gruetli to accommodate various coal mining operations in the area. Laager was established as a railroad stopover (initially known as Henley's Switch) in 1918. Gruetli and Laager merged and incorporated in 1980.
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 1,813 at the 2010 census
United States Census, 2010
The Twenty-third United States Census, known as Census 2010 or the 2010 Census, is the current national census of the United States. National Census Day was April 1, 2010 and is the reference date used in enumerating individuals...
. As its name implies, Gruetli-Laager consists of two communities— Gruetli and Laager— incorporated as a single city.
Geography
Gruetli-Laager is located at 35°22′23"N 85°37′25"W (35.373152, -85.623617). The city is situated atop the southern Cumberland PlateauCumberland Plateau
The Cumberland Plateau is the southern part of the Appalachian Plateau. It includes much of eastern Kentucky and western West Virginia, part of Tennessee, and a small portion of northern Alabama and northwest Georgia . The terms "Allegheny Plateau" and the "Cumberland Plateau" both refer to the...
, roughly halfway between the plateau's Sequatchie Valley
Sequatchie Valley
Sequatchie Valley is a relatively long and narrow valley in the U.S. state of Tennessee and, in some definitions, Alabama. It is generally considered to be part of the Cumberland Plateau region of the Appalachian Mountains; it was probably formed by erosion of a compression anticline, rather than...
escarpment to the east and its Highland Rim
Highland Rim
The Highland Rim is a geographic term for the area in Tennessee surrounding the Central Basin. Nashville is largely surrounded by higher terrain in all directions....
escarpment to the west. Just north of the city, the Collins River
Collins River
The Collins River is a tributary of the Caney Fork of the Cumberland River in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Via the Cumberland and Ohio rivers, it is part of the Mississippi River watershed....
and its upper watershed slice a massive gorge known as "Savage Gulf" as the river descends the plateau en route to its confluence with the Caney Fork at Rock Island
Rock Island State Park (Tennessee)
Rock Island State Park is a state park in Warren County and White County, Tennessee, located in the Southeastern United States. The park is named after the community of Rock Island, Tennessee, which in turn received its name from an island on the Caney Fork upstream from the Collins River...
.
Gruetli-Laager stretches for several miles along Tennessee Highway 108. The highway connects the area with the Sequatchie Valley and Chattanooga
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...
area to the southeast. Just west of Gruetli-Laager, TN-108 intersects Tennessee Highway 56, which connects the area to Monteagle
Monteagle, Tennessee
Monteagle is a town in Franklin, Grundy, and Marion counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, in the Cumberland Plateau region of the southeastern part of the state...
and Interstate 24
Interstate 24
Interstate 24 is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It runs diagonally from Interstate 57 to Chattanooga, Tennessee, at Interstate 75....
to the southwest and McMinnville
McMinnville, Tennessee
McMinnville is the largest city in and the county seat of Warren County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 13,605 at the 2010 census...
to the northwest.
According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 12.4 square miles (32.1 km²), all of it land.
Demographics
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 1,867 people, 720 households, and 540 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 150.0 people per square mile (57.9/km²). There were 765 housing units at an average density of 61.4 per square mile (23.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 99.25% White, 0.05% Asian, 0.05% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.64% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.54% of the population.
There were 720 households out of which 34.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.2% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.0% were non-families. 22.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.03.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.3% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 12.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 93.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $23,101, and the median income for a family was $27,542. Males had a median income of $26,198 versus $17,634 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $11,704. About 21.3% of families and 24.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 35.5% of those under age 18 and 8.8% of those age 65 or over.
History
Gruetli was founded by German-speaking SwissSwitzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
immigrants in 1869. The town was part of a greater initiative— conducted by an organization known as the Tennessee Clonisation Gesellschaft— to establish Swiss colonies atop the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee. Gruetli was probably named after a commune in the Swiss canton of Glarus
Canton of Glarus
The Canton of Glarus is a canton in east central Switzerland. The capital is Glarus.The population speaks a variety of Alemannic German.The majority of the population identifies as Christian, about evenly split between the Protestant and Catholic confessions.-History:According to legend, the...
. Peter Staub
Peter Staub
Peter Staub was a Swiss-born American businessman, politician, and diplomat. He immigrated to the United States in 1854, and moved to Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1856, where he lived for most of the remainder of his life...
, a member of Knoxville's
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
thriving Swiss community, helped purchase the initial tract of land for Gruetli. The land was advertised in Switzerland, where the opportunity for a new start appealed to many families struggling with difficult economic conditions in Europe.
Although over 100 Swiss families moved to the Gruetli area in the 1870s, many were disappointed by the land's poor quality and relative isolation, and thus relocated to nearby cities. Nevertheless, by 1880, Grundy County had the largest Swiss population of any county in Tennessee. Prominent early settlers at Gruetli included Christian Marugg, who operated an inn along the stagecoach road between Chattanooga and McMinnville, and Melchior Thoni, Jr. (1849–1926), a woodcarver whose work was displayed in the old Governor's Mansion and the Christ Church in Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
.
Throughout the early 1900s, railroads were constructed in the hills east of Gruetli to accommodate various coal mining operations in the area. Laager was established as a railroad stopover (initially known as Henley's Switch) in 1918. Gruetli and Laager merged and incorporated in 1980.
External links
- Grundy County Swiss Historical Society — headquartered in Gruetli-Laager