Tazewell, Tennessee
Encyclopedia
Tazewell is a town in Claiborne County, Tennessee
, United States
. The population was 2,165 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat
of Claiborne County. The town is named for Henry Tazewell
(1753–1799), a U.S. senator from Virginia
.
of the Appalachian Mountains
. Big Barren Creek rises in the western section of Tazewell and flows southwestward for approximately 10 miles (16.1 km) before emptying into the Norris Lake
impoundment of the Clinch River
. The streams in the eastern section of Tazewell are part of the watershed of the Powell River, a Clinch tributary that flows westward a few miles north of Tazewell.
Tazewell is centered just east of the junction of U.S. Route 25
, which connects the town to Morristown
to the southeast and Middlesboro, Kentucky to the north, and Tennessee State Route 33, which connects the town to Maynardville
to the southwest and the upper Clinch Valley to the northeast.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the town has a total area of 4.4 square miles (11.4 km²), all of it land.
of 2000, there were 2,165 people, 918 households, and 588 families residing in the town. The population density
was 496.0 people per square mile (191.7/km²). There were 987 housing units at an average density of 226.1 per square mile (87.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 94.00% White, 4.02% African American, 0.42% Native American, 0.60% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.05% from other races
, and 0.88% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.74% of the population.
There were 918 households out of which 27.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.7% were married couples
living together, 16.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.9% were non-families. 32.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.73.
In the town the population was spread out with 19.4% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 25.6% from 45 to 64, and 19.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 82.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.8 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $22,288, and the median income for a family was $32,813. Males had a median income of $25,721 versus $19,479 for females. The per capita income
for the town was $16,688. About 20.0% of families and 22.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.9% of those under age 18 and 19.9% of those age 65 or over.
of Virginia publicized the location of Cumberland Gap
, which brought a stream of long hunters
down the Clinch and Powell valleys into what is now Claiborne County. The land at the time was part of Cherokee
and Shawano
hunting grounds, and hostile attacks by members of these two tribes were not uncommon. To protect themselves, hunters, fur traders and early settlers erected a series of small forts and stations along the Powell and Clinch valleys. One such station, known as Fort Butler, was located just west of modern Tazewell.
Among the earliest settlers in the Tazewell area was John Hunt (1750–1822), a militia captain who would later be instrumental in the founding of Huntsville, Alabama
. In 1804, three years after the creation of Claiborne County, Tazewell was chosen as the county seat due in part to Hunt's influence (although a local legend states that the residents of Tazewell's rival for the seat, Springdale, were too intoxicated to vote on the day of selection). Hunt was named the county's first sheriff, and the government met at his house until a courthouse was constructed.
In 1862, at the height of the U.S. Civil War, Confederate
troops occupied Tazewell as part of the greater struggle for the strategic Cumberland Gap. When the Confederates evacuated the town in November of that year, a fire followed, destroying much of Tazewell.
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 2,165 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of Claiborne County. The town is named for Henry Tazewell
Henry Tazewell
Henry Tazewell was an American politician who was instrumental in the early government of the U.S. state of Virginia. He was born in Brunswick County, Virginia. He served as the President pro tempore of the United States Senate in 1795.He was the father of Littleton Tazewell...
(1753–1799), a U.S. senator from Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
.
Geography
Tazewell is located at 36°27′16"N 83°34′16"W (36.454408, -83.571074). The town is situated on the northern slope of Wallen Ridge, the northernmost of a series of long, narrow ridges that comprise the Ridge and Valley ProvinceRidge-and-valley Appalachians
The Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, also called the Ridge and Valley Province or the Valley and Ridge Appalachians, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division and are also a belt within the Appalachian Mountains extending from southeastern New York through northwestern New...
of the Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...
. Big Barren Creek rises in the western section of Tazewell and flows southwestward for approximately 10 miles (16.1 km) before emptying into the Norris Lake
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...
impoundment of the Clinch River
Clinch River
The Clinch River rises in Southwest Virginia near Tazewell, Virginia and flows southwest through the Great Appalachian Valley, gathering various tributaries including the Powell River before joining the Tennessee River in East Tennessee.-Course:...
. The streams in the eastern section of Tazewell are part of the watershed of the Powell River, a Clinch tributary that flows westward a few miles north of Tazewell.
Tazewell is centered just east of the junction of U.S. Route 25
U.S. Route 25
U.S. Route 25 is a north–south United States highway that runs for from Brunswick, Georgia to the Ohio state line in Covington, Kentucky.-Georgia:...
, which connects the town to Morristown
Morristown, Tennessee
Morristown is a city in, and the county seat of, Hamblen County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 29,137 at the 2010 United States Census. It is the principal city of the Morristown, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Grainger, Hamblen and Jefferson counties...
to the southeast and Middlesboro, Kentucky to the north, and Tennessee State Route 33, which connects the town to Maynardville
Maynardville, Tennessee
Maynardville is a city in and the county seat of Union County, Tennessee, United States. Its population was 1,782 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Knoxville, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area....
to the southwest and the upper Clinch Valley to the northeast.
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 town has a total area of 4.4 square miles (11.4 km²), all of it land.
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 2,165 people, 918 households, and 588 families residing in the town. 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 496.0 people per square mile (191.7/km²). There were 987 housing units at an average density of 226.1 per square mile (87.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 94.00% White, 4.02% African American, 0.42% Native American, 0.60% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 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 0.88% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.74% of the population.
There were 918 households out of which 27.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.7% 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, 16.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.9% were non-families. 32.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.73.
In the town the population was spread out with 19.4% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 25.6% from 45 to 64, and 19.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 82.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.8 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $22,288, and the median income for a family was $32,813. Males had a median income of $25,721 versus $19,479 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 town was $16,688. About 20.0% of families and 22.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.9% of those under age 18 and 19.9% of those age 65 or over.
History
In 1750, Dr. Thomas WalkerThomas Walker (explorer)
Dr. Thomas Walker was a physician and explorer from Virginia who led an expedition to what is now the region beyond the Allegheny Mountains area of British North America in the mid-18th century...
of Virginia publicized the location of Cumberland Gap
Cumberland Gap
Cumberland Gap is a pass through the Cumberland Mountains region of the Appalachian Mountains, also known as the Cumberland Water Gap, at the juncture of the U.S. states of Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia...
, which brought a stream of long hunters
Longhunter
A Longhunter was an 18th-century explorer and hunter who made expeditions into the American frontier wilderness for as much as six months at a time...
down the Clinch and Powell valleys into what is now Claiborne County. The land at the time was part of Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
and Shawano
Shawano
Shawano is a name derived from a modified Ojibwa term meaning "southern". It is the name of several geographical locations:*Shawano County, Wisconsin*Shawano, Wisconsin, county seat of Shawano County...
hunting grounds, and hostile attacks by members of these two tribes were not uncommon. To protect themselves, hunters, fur traders and early settlers erected a series of small forts and stations along the Powell and Clinch valleys. One such station, known as Fort Butler, was located just west of modern Tazewell.
Among the earliest settlers in the Tazewell area was John Hunt (1750–1822), a militia captain who would later be instrumental in the founding of Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville is a city located primarily in Madison County in the central part of the far northern region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Huntsville is the county seat of Madison County. The city extends west into neighboring Limestone County. Huntsville's population was 180,105 as of the 2010 Census....
. In 1804, three years after the creation of Claiborne County, Tazewell was chosen as the county seat due in part to Hunt's influence (although a local legend states that the residents of Tazewell's rival for the seat, Springdale, were too intoxicated to vote on the day of selection). Hunt was named the county's first sheriff, and the government met at his house until a courthouse was constructed.
In 1862, at the height of the U.S. Civil War, Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
troops occupied Tazewell as part of the greater struggle for the strategic Cumberland Gap. When the Confederates evacuated the town in November of that year, a fire followed, destroying much of Tazewell.
Education
- Satellite campus of Walters State Community College.
- Claiborne County High School
- Soldiers Memorial School
External links
- Claiborne County Chamber of Commerce
- Joe Payne's Claiborne County Page — a large collection of historical documents and photographs pertaining the history of Tazewell and Claiborne County