Norris, Tennessee
Encyclopedia
Norris is a city in Anderson County
, Tennessee
, United States
. Its population was 1,446 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Knoxville, Tennessee
Metropolitan Statistical Area.
by the Tennessee Valley Authority
(TVA) in 1933 to house workers building Norris Dam
. It is named in honor of Nebraska
Senator
George W. Norris, a long-term supporter of TVA.
TVA chairman Arthur Morgan
envisioned Norris as a model of cooperative, egalitarian living. The city design was developed by TVA staff, who loosely based their design on the English garden city movement
of the 1890s. Winding roads followed the contour of the terrain. Houses did not always face the street. A central common green and a belt of rural land around the town were reserved for use by residents. The houses, which were some of the first all-electric homes, were built using local wood and stone, according to twelve basic house designs that each included a porch and fireplace. Different exterior materials were used for visual variety.
Norris represents the first use of greenbelt design principles in a self-contained town in the United States. The town was the first in Tennessee to have a complete system of dial telephone
s. Norris Creamery was the first milk-producing plant
in the world to be powered solely by electricity.
During the 1930s TVA officials excluded black
families from the city, purportedly to conform to the customs and traditions of the area. However, black leaders said that poor whites and blacks had lived and worked together in the area long before TVA came into existence. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
(NAACP) complained repeatedly (in 1934, 1935 and 1938) about racial discrimination by TVA in the hiring, housing and training of blacks.
In 1948 the U.S. Congress directed that the city be sold at public auction
. It was purchased for 2.1 million by a Philadelphia investment group headed by Henry D. Epstein, which then sold individual homes to their residents. The city was officially incorporated
in 1949. In 1953 the Epstein group sold its remaining Norris real estate to a corporation formed by Norris residents and known as the Norris Corporation.
The town, including 340 buildings and an area of about 4000 acres (16.2 km²), was added to the National Register of Historic Places
in 1975 as an historic district
, designated the Norris District.
Today Norris primarily serves as a bedroom community for Knoxville
and Oak Ridge
. Services available within the community include one elementary school
serving grades K-5, one middle school
serving grades 6-8, a small grocer, and a diner. The community's high school students attend Anderson County High School.
The Museum of Appalachia
, founded by John Rice Irwin
, is a popular attraction on the outskirts of Norris. Norris is a short distance from both the Norris Dam
and Big Ridge State Park
s, which include popular camping
areas.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 6.9 square miles (17.9 km²), all of it land. A large portion of this area is contained in the Norris Municipal Watershed, which has an area of more than 2700 acres (10.9 km²) and is managed for water supply, recreation, timber production, and wildlife, including deer hunting
. There are nearly 20 miles (32.2 km) of recreation trails on the watershed area.
of 2000, there were 1,446 people, 644 households, and 426 families residing in the city. The population density
was 210.6 people per square mile (81.3/km²). There were 682 housing units at an average density of 99.3 per square mile (38.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.41% White, 0.21% African American, 0.48% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 0.21% from other races
, and 0.55% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.55% of the population.
There were 644 households out of which 29.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.8% were married couples
living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.7% were non-families. 31.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.83.
In the city the population was spread out with 23.2% under the age of 18, 5.0% from 18 to 24, 24.5% from 25 to 44, 28.1% from 45 to 64, and 19.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 88.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was 47,105, and the median income for a family was 55,179. Males had a median income of 41,813 versus 27,727 for females. The per capita income
for the city was 29,832. About 0.7% of families and 4.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.1% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.
of Norris is vested in a mayor, a vice mayor and a three member city council
. As of 2009, the current mayor
of Norris is Chris Mitchell. The vice mayor is Tommy Mariner. The council members are: Jack Black, Loy Johnson, and Joy Wilson.
The original city hall
was located in an old TVA
dormitory on Ridgeway Drive until 1978, when it was destroyed by a fire. The cause was never determined, but arson
was rumored to be the cause. The city hall then moved to a location on Chestnut
Road, but this location was destroyed in an accidental fire in 2002. The facility on Chestnut Drive was reconstructed and continues to serve as a City Office and Community Building. The Norris Public Safety
Department is located at 23 West Circle Road.
The city of Norris also operates a public library. The library has about 20,000 materials in its collection, which is located in the McNeeley Municipal Building.
Anderson County, Tennessee
Anderson County is a U.S. county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2010 census, its population is 75,129. Its county seat is Clinton.It is included in the Knoxville, Tennessee, Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
, Tennessee
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...
. Its population was 1,446 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Knoxville, Tennessee
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...
Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Norris was built as a model planned communityPlanned community
A planned community, or planned city, is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed in a previously undeveloped area. This contrasts with settlements that evolve in a more ad hoc fashion. Land use conflicts are less frequent in planned communities since...
by the Tennessee Valley Authority
Tennessee Valley Authority
The Tennessee Valley Authority is a federally owned corporation in the United States created by congressional charter in May 1933 to provide navigation, flood control, electricity generation, fertilizer manufacturing, and economic development in the Tennessee Valley, a region particularly affected...
(TVA) in 1933 to house workers building Norris Dam
Norris Dam
Norris Dam is a hydroelectric and flood control structure located on the Clinch River in Anderson County and Campbell County, Tennessee, USA. Its construction in the mid-1930s was the first major project for the Tennessee Valley Authority, which had been created in 1933 to bring economic...
. It is named in honor of Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
George W. Norris, a long-term supporter of TVA.
TVA chairman Arthur Morgan
Arthur Ernest Morgan
Arthur Ernest Morgan was a civil engineer, U.S. administrator, and educator. He was the design engineer for the Miami Conservancy District flood control system and oversaw construction. He served as the president of Antioch College between 1920 and 1936...
envisioned Norris as a model of cooperative, egalitarian living. The city design was developed by TVA staff, who loosely based their design on the English garden city movement
Garden city movement
The garden city movement is a method of urban planning that was initiated in 1898 by Sir Ebenezer Howard in the United Kingdom. Garden cities were intended to be planned, self-contained communities surrounded by "greenbelts" , containing proportionate areas of residences, industry and...
of the 1890s. Winding roads followed the contour of the terrain. Houses did not always face the street. A central common green and a belt of rural land around the town were reserved for use by residents. The houses, which were some of the first all-electric homes, were built using local wood and stone, according to twelve basic house designs that each included a porch and fireplace. Different exterior materials were used for visual variety.
Norris represents the first use of greenbelt design principles in a self-contained town in the United States. The town was the first in Tennessee to have a complete system of dial telephone
Rotary dial
The rotary dial is a device mounted on or in a telephone or switchboard that is designed to send electrical pulses, known as pulse dialing, corresponding to the number dialed. The early form of the rotary dial used lugs on a finger plate instead of holes. Almon Brown Strowger filed the first patent...
s. Norris Creamery was the first milk-producing plant
Dairy
A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting of animal milk—mostly from cows or goats, but also from buffalo, sheep, horses or camels —for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on a dedicated dairy farm or section of a multi-purpose farm that is concerned...
in the world to be powered solely by electricity.
During the 1930s TVA officials excluded black
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
families from the city, purportedly to conform to the customs and traditions of the area. However, black leaders said that poor whites and blacks had lived and worked together in the area long before TVA came into existence. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. Its mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to...
(NAACP) complained repeatedly (in 1934, 1935 and 1938) about racial discrimination by TVA in the hiring, housing and training of blacks.
In 1948 the U.S. Congress directed that the city be sold at public auction
Auction
An auction is a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bid, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder...
. It was purchased for 2.1 million by a Philadelphia investment group headed by Henry D. Epstein, which then sold individual homes to their residents. The city was officially incorporated
Municipal corporation
A municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. Municipal incorporation occurs when such municipalities become self-governing entities under the laws of the state or province in which...
in 1949. In 1953 the Epstein group sold its remaining Norris real estate to a corporation formed by Norris residents and known as the Norris Corporation.
The town, including 340 buildings and an area of about 4000 acres (16.2 km²), was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1975 as an historic district
Historic district (United States)
In the United States, a historic district is a group of buildings, properties, or sites that have been designated by one of several entities on different levels as historically or architecturally significant. Buildings, structures, objects and sites within a historic district are normally divided...
, designated the Norris District.
Today Norris primarily serves as a bedroom community for Knoxville
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...
and Oak Ridge
Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Oak Ridge is a city in Anderson and Roane counties in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Tennessee, about west of Knoxville. Oak Ridge's population was 27,387 at the 2000 census...
. Services available within the community include one elementary school
Elementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
serving grades K-5, one middle school
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
serving grades 6-8, a small grocer, and a diner. The community's high school students attend Anderson County High School.
The Museum of Appalachia
Museum of Appalachia
The Museum of Appalachia, located in Norris, Tennessee, north of Knoxville, is a living history museum that interprets the pioneer and early 20th-century period of the Southern Appalachian region of the United States...
, founded by John Rice Irwin
John Rice Irwin
John Rice Irwin is an American cultural historian, and founder of the Museum of Appalachia in Norris, Tennessee.Rice was born in Union County, Tennessee, but while still an infant his family moved twice, and would eventually permanently reside on a farm near Norris, Tennessee...
, is a popular attraction on the outskirts of Norris. Norris is a short distance from both the Norris Dam
Norris Dam State Park
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 managed by...
and Big Ridge State Park
Big Ridge State Park
Big Ridge State Park is a state park in Union County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The park consists of on the southern shore of the Norris Reservoir, an impoundment of the Clinch River created by the completion of Norris Dam in 1936...
s, which include popular camping
Camping
Camping is an outdoor recreational activity. The participants leave urban areas, their home region, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, usually at a campsite. Camping may involve the use of a tent, caravan, motorhome, cabin, a primitive structure, or no...
areas.
Geography
Norris is located at 36°11′58"N 84°4′9"W (36.199515, -84.069077).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 6.9 square miles (17.9 km²), all of it land. A large portion of this area is contained in the Norris Municipal Watershed, which has an area of more than 2700 acres (10.9 km²) and is managed for water supply, recreation, timber production, and wildlife, including deer hunting
Deer hunting
Deer hunting is survival hunting or sport hunting, harvesting deer, dating back to tens of thousands of years ago. Which occurred though out Europe Asia and North America There are numerous types of deer throughout the world that are hunted.- New Zealand :...
. There are nearly 20 miles (32.2 km) of recreation trails on the watershed area.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
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 1,446 people, 644 households, and 426 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 210.6 people per square mile (81.3/km²). There were 682 housing units at an average density of 99.3 per square mile (38.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.41% White, 0.21% African American, 0.48% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 0.21% 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 0.55% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.55% of the population.
There were 644 households out of which 29.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.8% 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, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.7% were non-families. 31.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.83.
In the city the population was spread out with 23.2% under the age of 18, 5.0% from 18 to 24, 24.5% from 25 to 44, 28.1% from 45 to 64, and 19.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 88.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was 47,105, and the median income for a family was 55,179. Males had a median income of 41,813 versus 27,727 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 29,832. About 0.7% of families and 4.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.1% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.
Government
The governmentGovernment
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
of Norris is vested in a mayor, a vice mayor and a three member city council
City council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
. As of 2009, the current mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Norris is Chris Mitchell. The vice mayor is Tommy Mariner. The council members are: Jack Black, Loy Johnson, and Joy Wilson.
The original city hall
City hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall or a municipal building or civic centre, is the chief administrative building of a city...
was located in an old TVA
Tennessee Valley Authority
The Tennessee Valley Authority is a federally owned corporation in the United States created by congressional charter in May 1933 to provide navigation, flood control, electricity generation, fertilizer manufacturing, and economic development in the Tennessee Valley, a region particularly affected...
dormitory on Ridgeway Drive until 1978, when it was destroyed by a fire. The cause was never determined, but arson
Arson
Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...
was rumored to be the cause. The city hall then moved to a location on Chestnut
Chestnut
Chestnut , some species called chinkapin or chinquapin, is a genus of eight or nine species of deciduous trees and shrubs in the beech family Fagaceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce.-Species:The chestnut belongs to the...
Road, but this location was destroyed in an accidental fire in 2002. The facility on Chestnut Drive was reconstructed and continues to serve as a City Office and Community Building. The Norris Public Safety
Public Safety
Public safety involves the prevention of and protection from events that could endanger the safety of the general public from significant danger, injury/harm, or damage, such as crimes or disasters .-See also:* By nation...
Department is located at 23 West Circle Road.
The city of Norris also operates a public library. The library has about 20,000 materials in its collection, which is located in the McNeeley Municipal Building.
External links
- City of Norris — official website
- Norris Public Library