Elizabethton is the
county seatA 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
Carter CountyCarter County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2010, the population was 57,424. Its county seat is Elizabethton.Carter County is part of the Johnson City Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Johnson City–Kingsport–Bristol, TN-VA Combined...
,
TennesseeTennessee 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 StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Elizabethton is also the historical site both of the first independent American government (known as the Watauga Association, created in 1772) located west of both the
Eastern Continental DivideThe Eastern Continental Divide, in conjunction with other continental divides of North America, demarcates two watersheds of the Atlantic Ocean: the Gulf of Mexico watershed and the Atlantic Seaboard watershed. Prior to 1760, the divide represented the boundary between British and French colonial...
and the original thirteen
British American coloniesBritish colonization of the Americas began in 1607 in Jamestown, Virginia and reached its peak when colonies had been established throughout the Americas...
.
Elizabethton is also the historical site of the Transylvania Purchase (1775), a major historic muster site during the
American Revolutionary WarThe Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War was the central area of operations in North America in the second half of the American Revolutionary War. During the first three years of the conflict, the primary military encounters had been in the north, focused on campaigns around the...
for both the
Battle of Musgrove MillThe Battle of Musgrove Mill, August 19, 1780, occurred near a ford of the Enoree River, near the present-day border between Spartanburg, Laurens and Union Counties in South Carolina...
(1780) and the
Battle of Kings MountainThe Battle of Kings Mountain was a decisive battle between the Patriot and Loyalist militias in the Southern campaign of the American Revolutionary War...
(1780), and a local community within the
secessionSecession is the act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or especially a political entity. Threats of secession also can be a strategy for achieving more limited goals.-Secession theory:...
ist
North CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
"
State of FranklinThe State of Franklin, known also as the Free Republic of Franklin or the State of Frankland , was an unrecognized autonomous United States territory created in 1784 from part of the territory west of the Appalachian Mountains that had been offered,...
" territory (1784–1788).
The population of Elizabethton was enumerated at 14,176 during the 2010 U.S. Decennial Census.
Northeast Tennessee location
Elizabethton is centrally located within the "Tri-Cities" area (encompassed by Bristol, Johnson City, and Kingsport) of Northeast Tennessee.
Time offset from
Coordinated Universal TimeCoordinated Universal Time is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is one of several closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. Computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC for that purpose...
(UTC):
UTC-5UTC−05:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of −05.This offset is used in the Eastern Time Zone during standard time and in the Central Time Zone during Daylight Saving Time ....
(
Eastern Standard TimeThe Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
).
According to the
United States Census BureauThe 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 9.4 square miles (24.3 km), of which, 9.2 square miles (23.7 km) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.6 km) of it (2.35%) is water.
The elevation at Elizabethton Municipal Airport is 1593 feet (485.5 m) ASL (the highest point of elevation in Carter County is at
Roan MountainRoan Mountain is the highpoint of the Roan-Unaka Range of the Southern Appalachian Mountains, located in the Southeastern United States. The mountain is clad in a dense stand of Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest, and includes the world's largest natural rhododendron garden, and the longest...
with an elevation of 6285 feet (1,915.7 m) ASL) and the airport is located on the eastern side of the city along State Highway 91 Stoney Creek Exit. Elizabethton is also connected to larger commercial, shuttle, and cargo flights out of
Tri-Cities Regional AirportTri-Cities Regional Airport , also known as Tri-Cities Regional Airport, TN/VA, is a public airport located adjacent to Blountville, Tennessee...
located adjacent to the main campus of
Northeast State Technical Community CollegeNortheast State Community College is a public comprehensive community college based in Blountville, Tennessee, offering technical education and college transfer programs in Blountville and at teaching sites in Elizabethton, Gray, and Kingsport. The school strives to tailor its programs and services...
at nearby
Blountville, TennesseeBlountville is an unincorporated town and census-designated place in Sullivan County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 3,074 at the 2010 census...
.
Lynn Mountain reaches 2380 feet (725.4 m) ASL at the summit (36.350°N, 82.191°W) and is located directly across the U.S. Highway 19-E from the downtown Elizabethton business district.
Elizabethton also shares a contiguous western border with
Johnson CityJohnson City is a city in Carter, Sullivan, and Washington counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, with most of the city being in Washington County...
.
Climate
Demographics
As of the
censusA 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 13,372 people, 5,454 households, and 3,512 families residing in the city. The
population densityPopulation density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 1,459.3 people per square mile (563.6/km²). There were 5,964 housing units at an average density of 650.9 per square mile (251.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.30% White, 2.47% African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.55% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.49% from
other racesRace 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 1.02% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.18% of the population.
There were 5,454 households out of which 26.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.6% were
married couplesMarriage 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, 14.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.6% were non-families. 32.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.82.
In the city the population was spread out with 20.5% under the age of 18, 10.8% from 18 to 24, 24.5% from 25 to 44, 23.1% from 45 to 64, and 21.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 82.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 76.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $25,909, and the median income for a family was $33,333. Males had a median income of $26,890 versus $20,190 for females. The
per capita incomePer 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 $14,578. About 15.2% of families and 19.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.8% of those under age 18 and 16.1% of those age 65 or over.
Doe River
The
Doe RiverThe Doe River is a naturally flowing river in northeast Tennessee that forms in Carter County near the North Carolina line, just south of Roan Mountain State Park.-Hydrography:...
forms in
Carter County, TennesseeCarter County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2010, the population was 57,424. Its county seat is Elizabethton.Carter County is part of the Johnson City Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Johnson City–Kingsport–Bristol, TN-VA Combined...
near the
North CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
line, just south of
Roan Mountain State ParkRoan Mountain State Park is a Tennessee state park in Carter County in Northeast Tennessee along the Tennessee-North Carolina border near the community of Roan Mountain, Tennessee. Situated in the Blue Ridge of the Appalachian Mountains, the park preserves woodlands near 6,285 foot Roan Mountain...
. The river initially flows north and is first paralleled by State Route 143; at the community of
Roan Mountain, TennesseeRoan Mountain is a census-designated place in Carter County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 1,360 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Johnson City Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Johnson City–Kingsport–Bristol, TN-VA Combined Statistical Area...
, it then continues to flow west and is at this point paralleled by U.S. Route 19E. The Doe River flows to the east of Fork Mountain; the
Little Doe RiverThe Little Doe River is a river located in Carter County, Tennessee. It forms from the confluence of Simerly Creek and Tiger Creek near the community of Tiger Valley, and runs in a northerly direction alongside U.S. Route 19E until its termination into Doe River just south of the town of Hampton,...
flows by the Fork Mountain to the west.
Below the confluence of both the Doe River and the Little Doe River at
Hampton, the Doe River then travels roughly in a northern downstream direction through the Valley Forge community, and is rejoined by U.S. Route 19E. Pushing through a mountain gap just north of Hampton, the volume of the river is amplified by the waters flowing from McCathern Spring.
Further downstream, the Doe River flows by the East Side neighborhood and parallel with
Tennessee State Route 67State Route 67 is a state-maintained highway in northeastern Tennessee, including a four-lane divided highway segments in both Washington County and Carter County, and part of a significant two-lane segment passing over the Butler Bridge some above the TVA Watauga Reservoir near Butler in Johnson...
and then underneath the historic
Elizabethton Covered BridgeThe Elizabethton Covered Bridge is a covered bridge over the Doe River in Elizabethton, the county seat of Carter County, Tennessee.The Elizabethton Covered Bridge was constructed in 1882 and connects 3rd Street and Hattie Avenue.- Features :...
, built in 1882 and located within the Elizabethton downtown business district. Connecting 3rd Street and Hattie Avenue, the covered bridge is adjacent to a city park and spans the Doe River. The covered bridge, although now closed to motor traffic, is still open for bicycles and pedestrians.
Most of Elizabethton's downtown is listed on the
National Register of Historic PlacesThe National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
for its historical and architectural merits. The Elizabethton Historic District contains a variety of properties ranging in age from the late 18th century through the 1930s. However, the
Elizabethton Covered BridgeThe Elizabethton Covered Bridge is a covered bridge over the Doe River in Elizabethton, the county seat of Carter County, Tennessee.The Elizabethton Covered Bridge was constructed in 1882 and connects 3rd Street and Hattie Avenue.- Features :...
is an important focal point and a well-known landmark in the state. In addition to the Covered Bridge, the downtown historical district also contains the 1928 Elk Avenue concrete arch bridge, and just a little further downstream on the Doe River, Tennessee State Route 67 passes another similar concrete arch bridge locally known as the Broad Street Bridge.
Elizabethton celebrates in the downtown business area for one week each June with the Elizabethton Covered Bridge Days featuring country and gospel music performances, activities for children, Elk Avenue car club show, and many food and crafts vendors.
Watauga River
Two
Tennessee Valley AuthorityThe 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...
reservoirs in Carter County — impounded behind both the
TVA Watauga DamWatauga Dam is a hydroelectric and flood control dam on the Watauga River in Carter County, in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, which built the dam in the 1940s as part of efforts to control flooding in the Tennessee River watershed...
(itself forming the
TVA Watauga ReservoirWatauga Lake, located southeast of Elizabethton, Tennessee, was created by the Tennessee Valley Authority with the completion of the TVA Watauga Dam and Reservoir....
) and the immediately downstream
TVA Wilbur ReservoirWilbur Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Watauga River in Carter County, in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is one of two dams on the river owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority. The dam impounds Wilbur Lake, which extends for about up the Watauga to the base of Watauga Dam...
— are located southeast and upstream of Elizabethton on the Watauga River. The
Appalachian TrailThe Appalachian National Scenic Trail, generally known as the Appalachian Trail or simply the AT, is a marked hiking trail in the eastern United States extending between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine. It is approximately long...
crosses over both the Watauga River and the Tennessee Valley Authority reservation in Carter County to the southeast of Elizabethton.
The
Watauga RiverThe Watauga River is a large stream of western North Carolina and East Tennessee. It is 60 miles long with its headwaters on the slopes of Grandfather Mountain and Peak Mountain in Watauga County, North Carolina.-Hydrography:...
flows past Elizabethton. Elizabethton lies on the south bank of the Watauga and along either side of its principal tributary, the
Doe RiverThe Doe River is a naturally flowing river in northeast Tennessee that forms in Carter County near the North Carolina line, just south of Roan Mountain State Park.-Hydrography:...
. The downtown business district is located approximately one-quarter mile upstream of the
confluenceIn geography, a confluence is the meeting of two or more bodies of water. It usually refers to the point where two streams flow together, merging into a single stream...
of both the Doe River and the Watauga River. The Doe River flows underneath the historic
wooden covered bridgeA covered bridge is a bridge with enclosed sides and a roof, often accommodating only a single lane of traffic. Most covered bridges are wooden; some newer ones are concrete or metal with glass sides...
that is located within the Elizabethton downtown business district.
The city of Elizabethton was at one time promoted as "The City of Power" as the town is located just southeast of the Wilbur Dam hydrogeneration site spanning the Watauga River. Construction of Wilbur Dam first began during 1909 and two hydroelectric generating units were online with power production at Wilbur Dam when it was completed in 1912. A third generating unit was added to Wilbur Dam in 1926, and a fourth hydrogeneration unit was added to Wilbur Dam after the Tennessee Valley Authority acquired the power production facility in 1945.
The
Bee Cliff RapidsThe Bee Cliff is a prominent northeast Tennessee geological limestone feature with high caves that overlooks the Watauga River and the Siam community of Carter County, Tennessee.-Geography:...
— a popular summer destination on the Watauga River for whitewater rafters during the summer months — are located southeast of Elizabethton and downstream of the TVA Wilbur Dam.
The Watauga River downstream of the western side of Elizabethton has one of the only two sections of trophy
troutTrout is the name for a number of species of freshwater and saltwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the family Salmonidae. Salmon belong to the same family as trout. Most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water...
streams across the entire state of Tennessee.
Holston Mountain Communication Towers
Elizabethton itself lies within a river valley basin mostly surrounded by mountain ridges and significant hills, such as
Holston MountainHolston Mountain is a mountain ridge in Upper East Tennessee and southwest Virginia, in the United States. It is in the Blue Ridge Mountains part of the Appalachian Mountains...
, the southern end of which lies just northeast of Elizabethton. Panhandle Road is located off State Highway 91 in Carter County and ascends Holston Mountain for three miles (5 km) from the eastern side and ends four miles (6.5 km) along the ridge southwest of
Holston High Point. During periods of heavy snow and ice, the National Forest Service closes off Panhandle Road with an iron gate.
Located near the Cherokee National Forest boundary and to the left of Panhandle Road is a parking area and foot trail that leads down the slope to the Blue Hole Falls (approximately 45 feet (13.7 m) high). The last three miles (5 km) of Panhandle Road are filled with washouts, steep drop-offs, and no turnarounds. Vehicle travel on those last three miles (5 km) is at the driver's risk.
Early broadcasters in the 1950s and 1960s quickly realized Holston Mountain would be a prime radio-television transmission location because it is the highest visible point that faces most of the major cities in
Northeast TennesseeEast Tennessee is a name given to approximately the eastern third of the U.S. state of Tennessee, one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee defined in state law. East Tennessee consists of 33 counties, 30 located within the Eastern Time Zone and three counties in the Central Time Zone, namely...
in the surrounding valley between
Knoxville, TennesseeFounded 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...
, to southwest of
Roanoke, VirginiaRoanoke is an independent city in the Mid-Atlantic U.S. state of Virginia and is the tenth-largest city in the Commonwealth. It is located in the Roanoke Valley of the Roanoke Region of Virginia. The population within the city limits was 97,032 as of 2010...
. As a result, the Holston Mountain ridge is the transmitter site for three television stations in the
Tri-Cities, TennesseeIn Tennessee and Virginia the name "Tri-Cities" refers to the region comprising the cities of Kingsport, Johnson City and Bristol and the surrounding smaller towns and communities in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia...
Television Designated Market Area (DMA). The broadcasting antenna for
WCYB-TVWCYB-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station serving the Tri-Cities area of Northeastern Tennessee and Southwestern Virginia. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 5 from a transmitter on Rye Patch Knob of Holston Mountain in the Cherokee National Forest...
, Channel 5, Bristol, Virginia is on
Rye Patch Knob, with the top of the antenna 341 feet (104 m) above ground, 2,431 feet (741 m) above the surrounding valley floor, and 4,533 feet (1381.6 m) above mean sea level. The single tower that antenna sits on, is the highest and tallest man-made structure on the mountain. The television towers for WJHL-TV, Channel 11,
Johnson City, TennesseeJohnson City is a city in Carter, Sullivan, and Washington counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, with most of the city being in Washington County...
, and
WKPT-TVWKPT-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for the Tri-Cities area of Northeastern Tennessee and Southwestern Virginia that is licensed to Kingsport, Tennessee. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 27 from a transmitter at Holston High Point on Holston Mountain in...
, Channel 19,
Kingsport, TennesseeKingsport is a city located mainly in Sullivan County with some western portions in Hawkins County in the US state of Tennessee. The majority of the city lies in Sullivan County...
, are standing side by side in a common broadcasting antenna farm on the southwest slope of
Holston High Point, one mile (1.5 km) southwest of
Rye Patch Knob. The antenna for
WJHL-TVWJHL-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for the Tri-Cities area of Northeastern Tennessee and Southwestern Virginia that's licensed to Johnson City, Tennessee. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 11 from a transmitter on the southwest slope of Holston High Point...
stands 200 feet (61m) above ground, 2,319 feet (707m) above the surrounding valley floor, and 4,370 feet (1,332m) above mean sea level. The antenna for
WKPT-TVWKPT-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for the Tri-Cities area of Northeastern Tennessee and Southwestern Virginia that is licensed to Kingsport, Tennessee. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 27 from a transmitter at Holston High Point on Holston Mountain in...
next door stands 193 feet (58.8m) above ground, also 2,319 feet (707m) above the valley floor, and 4,366 feet (1,331m) above mean sea level. The stations' digital antennas are also on their respective towers.
Holston Mountain is also the transmitting site for three FM Class C radio stations:
WTFM-FM 98.5WTFM is a radio station broadcasting an Adult Contemporary music format. Licensed to Kingsport, Tennessee, USA, it serves the Tri-Cities TN / VA area...
, Kingsport, Tennessee; WXBQ-FM 96.9, Bristol, Virginia and
WETS-FMDuring the 1980s, members of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom who opposed some of the more hard-line policies of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher were often referred to as "wets"...
89.5, Johnson City, Tennessee. All three antennas and the backup antennas are located at the antenna farm on the southwest slope of
Holston High Point. Also located on the ridge are the antenna for one FM Class C1 radio station,
WHCB-FM 91.5WHCB is a Religious formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Bristol, Tennessee, serving the Tri-Cities, VA/TN area. WHCB is owned and operated by Appalachian Educational Communications Corp.-External links:*...
, Bristol, Tennessee, located at
Rye Patch Knob; one FM Class C2 antenna for radio station WCQR-FM 88.3, Kingsport, Tennessee, and one FM Class D antenna for radio station W214AP-FM 90.7, Johnson City, Tennessee, both transmitting from the antenna farm on the southwest slope of
Holston High Point. Various U.S. federal, Tennessee state, Sullivan, Washington and Carter County governmental agencies, along with utility microwave relay stations, also transmit base-to-mobile communications from the
Holston High Point antenna farm and
Rye Patch Knob.
The Federal Aviation Administration also maintains a navigational beacon at the Holston Mountain summit.
Connection with U.S. Interstate Highway System
Interstate 26Interstate 26 is a nominally east–west main route of the Interstate Highway System in the Southeastern United States. I-26 runs from the junction of U.S. Route 11W and U.S. Route 23 in Kingsport, Tennessee, generally southeastward to U.S. Route 17 in Charleston, South Carolina...
Exit 24 at
Johnson CityJohnson City is a city in Carter, Sullivan, and Washington counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, with most of the city being in Washington County...
then east
Tennessee State Route 67State Route 67 is a state-maintained highway in northeastern Tennessee, including a four-lane divided highway segments in both Washington County and Carter County, and part of a significant two-lane segment passing over the Butler Bridge some above the TVA Watauga Reservoir near Butler in Johnson...
to Elizabethton.
Native American inhabitants
The area now known as Tennessee was first settled by Paleo-Indians nearly 11,000 years ago. The names of the cultural groups that inhabited the area between first settlement and the time of European contact are unknown, but several distinct cultural phases have been named by archaeologists, including Archaic,
WoodlandThe Woodland period of North American pre-Columbian cultures was from roughly 1000 BCE to 1000 CE in the eastern part of North America. The term "Woodland Period" was introduced in the 1930s as a generic header for prehistoric sites falling between the Archaic hunter-gatherers and the...
, and
MississippianThe Mississippian culture was a mound-building Native American culture that flourished in what is now the Midwestern, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from approximately 800 CE to 1500 CE, varying regionally....
whose chiefdoms were the cultural predecessors of the
Muscogee peopleThe Muscogee , also known as the Creek or Creeks, are a Native American people traditionally from the southeastern United States. Mvskoke is their name in traditional spelling. The modern Muscogee live primarily in Oklahoma, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida...
who inhabited the Tennessee River Valley prior to Cherokee migration into the river's headwaters.
When
Spanish explorersConquistadors were Spanish soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who brought much of the Americas under the control of Spain in the 15th to 16th centuries, following Europe's discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492...
first visited Tennessee, led by
Hernando de SotoHernando de Soto was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who, while leading the first European expedition deep into the territory of the modern-day United States, was the first European documented to have crossed the Mississippi River....
in 1539–43, it was inhabited by tribes of
MuscogeeThe Muscogee , also known as the Creek or Creeks, are a Native American people traditionally from the southeastern United States. Mvskoke is their name in traditional spelling. The modern Muscogee live primarily in Oklahoma, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida...
and
YuchiFor the Chinese surname 尉迟, see Yuchi.The Yuchi, also spelled Euchee and Uchee, are a Native American Indian tribe who traditionally lived in the eastern Tennessee River valley in Tennessee in the 16th century. During the 17th century, they moved south to Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina...
people. Possibly because of European diseases devastating the Native tribes, which would have left a population vacuum, and also from expanding European settlement in the north, the
CherokeeThe Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
moved south from the area now called Virginia. As European colonists spread into the area, the native populations were forcibly displaced to the south and west, including all Muscogee and Yuchi peoples, the
ChickasawThe Chickasaw are Native American people originally from the region that would become the Southeastern United States...
, and
ChoctawThe Choctaw are a Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States...
. From 1838 to 1839, nearly 17,000 Cherokees were forced to march from "emigration depots" in Eastern Tennessee, such as
Fort CassFort Cass, established in 1835, was an important site during the Cherokee removal known as the Trail of Tears. Located on the Hiwassee River in present-day Charleston, Tennessee, it housed a garrison of United States troops and watched over the largest concentration of internment camps where...
, to
Indian TerritoryThe Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
west of Arkansas. This came to be known as the
Trail of TearsThe Trail of Tears is a name given to the forced relocation and movement of Native American nations from southeastern parts of the United States following the Indian Removal Act of 1830...
, as an estimated 4,000 Cherokees died along the way.
Colonial settlement
In 1759, a young
James RobertsonJames Robertson was an explorer and pioneer active primarily in what is now the State of Tennessee during the second half of the 18th century. An early companion of explorer Daniel Boone, Robertson helped establish the Watauga Association in the early 1770s, and helped defend Fort Watauga from an...
accompanied explorer
Daniel BooneDaniel Boone was an American pioneer, explorer, and frontiersman whose frontier exploits mad']'e him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. Boone is most famous for his exploration and settlement of what is now the Commonwealth of Kentucky, which was then beyond the western borders of...
on his third expedition to lands beyond the Alleghany Mountains. The party discovered the "Old Fields" (lands previously cultivated by generations of
Native AmericansNative Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
) along the
Watauga RiverThe Watauga River is a large stream of western North Carolina and East Tennessee. It is 60 miles long with its headwaters on the slopes of Grandfather Mountain and Peak Mountain in Watauga County, North Carolina.-Hydrography:...
valley at present day Elizabethton, in which Robertson planted with
cornMaize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
while Boone continued on to
KentuckyThe Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
. By 1769 Daniel Boone had formed an association with North Carolina promoter and judge
Richard HendersonTransylvania, or the Transylvania Colony, was a short-lived, extra-legal colony founded in 1775 by Richard Henderson, who controlled the North Carolina based Transylvania Company, which had reached an agreement to purchase the land from the Cherokee in the "Treaty of Sycamore Shoals"...
with a goal to purchase and settle a vast tract of Cherokee lands in present day Middle Tennessee and Kentucky, and Boone later relocated his family to the Watuaga Settlement sometime during the Spring of 1771.
James Robertson later returned to North Carolina, and there married Charlotte Reeves in 1767. After the
Battle of AlamanceThe Battle of Alamance was the final battle of the War of the Regulation, a rebellion in colonial North Carolina over issues of taxation and local control. In the past, historians considered the battle to be the opening salvo of the American Revolution and locals agreed with this assessment...
in 1771, many North Carolinians refused to take the new oath of allegiance to the Royal Crown and withdrew from the province. Instead of taking their new oath of allegiance, James Robertson led a group of some twelve or thirteen families involved with the Regulator movement from near where present day
Raleigh, North CarolinaRaleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
now stands. In 1772, Robertson and the pioneers who had settled in Northeast Tennessee (along the Watauga River, the
Doe RiverThe Doe River is a naturally flowing river in northeast Tennessee that forms in Carter County near the North Carolina line, just south of Roan Mountain State Park.-Hydrography:...
, the
Holston RiverThe Holston River is a major river system of southwestern Virginia and east Tennessee. The three major forks of the Holston rise in southwestern Virginia and have their confluence near Kingsport, Tennessee. The North Fork flows southwest from Sharon Springs in Bland County, Virginia...
, and the
Nolichucky RiverThe Nolichucky River is a major stream draining the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina and east Tennessee. The river is long.-Hydrography:...
met at
Sycamore ShoalsThe Sycamore Shoals of the Watauga River, usually shortened to Sycamore Shoals, is a rocky stretch of river rapids along the Watauga River in Elizabethton, in the U.S. state of Tennessee...
to establish an independent regional government known as the
Watauga AssociationThe Watauga Association was a semi-autonomous government created in 1772 by frontier settlers living along the Watauga River in what is now present day Elizabethton, Tennessee...
.
However, in 1772, surveyors placed the land officially within the domain of the
CherokeeThe Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
tribe, who required negotiation of a lease with the settlers. Tragedy struck as the lease was being celebrated, when a Cherokee warrior was murdered by a white man. Robertson's skillful diplomacy made peace with the irate
Native AmericansNative Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
, who threatened to expel the settlers by force if necessary.
All of present day Tennessee was once recognized as one single North Carolina county: Washington County, North Carolina. Created in 1777 from the western areas of Burke and Wilkes Counties, North Carolina, Washington County had as a precursor a Washington District of 1775-76, which was the first political entity named for the Commander-in-Chief of American forces in the Revolution.
Previously named as Wayne County within the "lost" State of Franklin (along with present day Johnson County, Tennessee; 1785–86), Carter County is named in honor of Landon Carter, Chairman of the Court as defined by the articles of the Watauga Petition and
Speaker of the defunct Franklin SenateThe State of Franklin, known also as the Free Republic of Franklin or the State of Frankland , was an unrecognized autonomous United States territory created in 1784 from part of the territory west of the Appalachian Mountains that had been offered,...
. Elizabethton, previously named as Tiptonville within the State of Franklin, is the county seat and was renamed for Landon's wife, Elizabeth MacLin Carter, as well as Elizabeth McNabb, the wife of David McNabb who, with Landon, were members of a committee appointed by the Tennessee Assembly in 1796 to locate and name the county seat of Carter County.
Landon Carter was the son of early Carter County settler, John Carter. John Carter's circa 1780 home known as the Carter Mansion still serves as a tourist attraction. The oldest frame house in Tennessee, this former frontier plantation home is located on the Broad Street Extension on the eastern side of town above the banks of the Watauga River. A landscape painting of a Virginia plantation that was discovered underneath ancient layers of paint covering the wall surface above a fireplace mantle suggest that John Carter may have possibly been an illegitimate son of the wealthy Virginia plantation owner
Robert "King" CarterRobert "King" Carter , of Lancaster County, was a colonist in Virginia and became one of the wealthiest men in the colonies....
and half-brother to Virginia plantation owner
Landon CarterLandon Carter was a planter from Virginia, best known for his account of life before the American War of Independence, The Diary of Colonel Landon Carter.-Biography:...
.
American Revolution
Elizabethton (at
Sycamore ShoalsThe Sycamore Shoals of the Watauga River, usually shortened to Sycamore Shoals, is a rocky stretch of river rapids along the Watauga River in Elizabethton, in the U.S. state of Tennessee...
) was also the
Fort WataugaFort Watauga, more properly Fort Caswell, was an American Revolutionary War fort that once stood at the Sycamore Shoals of the Watauga River in what is now Elizabethton, Tennessee...
site of the
Transylvania PurchaseTransylvania, or the Transylvania Colony, was a short-lived, extra-legal colony founded in 1775 by Richard Henderson, who controlled the North Carolina based Transylvania Company, which had reached an agreement to purchase the land from the Cherokee in the "Treaty of Sycamore Shoals"...
. In March 1775, land speculator and North Carolina judge
Richard HendersonRichard Henderson was an American pioneer and merchant who attempted to create a colony called Transylvania just as the American Revolutionary War was starting.-Early life:Henderson was born in Hanover County, Virginia...
met with more than 1,200
CherokeeThe Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
s at Sycamore Shoals, including Cherokee leaders such as
AttacullacullaAttakullakulla or Atagulkalu , adopted as an infant into the Cherokee tribe, became their First Beloved Man, serving from 1761 to around 1775...
,
OconostotaOconostota was the Warrior of Chota and the First Beloved Man of the Cherokee from 1775 to 1781.-Meaning of the name:...
, and
Dragging CanoeTsiyu Gansini , "He is dragging his canoe", known to whites as Dragging Canoe, was a Cherokee war chief who led a band of Cherokee against colonists and United States settlers...
. In the Treaty of Sycamore Shoals (also known as the Treaty of Watauga), Henderson purchased all the land lying between the
Cumberland RiverThe Cumberland River is a waterway in the Southern United States. It is long. It starts in Harlan County in far southeastern Kentucky between Pine and Cumberland mountains, flows through southern Kentucky, crosses into northern Tennessee, and then curves back up into western Kentucky before...
, the
Cumberland MountainsThe Cumberland Mountains are a mountain range in the southeastern section of the Appalachian Mountains. They are located in southern West Virginia, western Virginia, eastern edges of Kentucky, and eastern middle Tennessee, including the Crab Orchard Mountains...
, and the
Kentucky RiverThe Kentucky River is a tributary of the Ohio River, long, in the U.S. state of Kentucky. The river and its tributaries drain much of the central region of the state, with its upper course passing through the coal-mining regions of the Cumberland Mountains, and its lower course passing through the...
, and situated south of the
Ohio RiverThe Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
. The land thus delineated, 20 million acres (81,000 km²), encompassed an area half as large as the present state of Kentucky. Henderson's purchase was in violation of North Carolina and Virginia law, as well as the
Royal Proclamation of 1763The Royal Proclamation of 1763 was issued October 7, 1763, by King George III following Great Britain's acquisition of French territory in North America after the end of the French and Indian War/Seven Years' War...
, which prohibited private purchase of American Indian land. Henderson may have mistakenly believed that a newer British legal opinion had made such land purchases legal.
Before the Sycamore Shoals treaty, Henderson had hired
Daniel BooneDaniel Boone was an American pioneer, explorer, and frontiersman whose frontier exploits mad']'e him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. Boone is most famous for his exploration and settlement of what is now the Commonwealth of Kentucky, which was then beyond the western borders of...
, an experienced hunter who had explored Kentucky, to travel to the Cherokee towns and inform them of the upcoming negotiations. Afterwards, Boone was hired to blaze what became known as the
Wilderness RoadThe Wilderness Road was the principal route used by settlers for more than fifty years to reach Kentucky from the East. In 1775, Daniel Boone blazed a trail for the Transylvania Company from Fort Chiswell in Virginia through the Cumberland Gap into central Kentucky. It was later lengthened,...
, which went through the Cumberland Gap and into central Kentucky. Along with a party of about thirty workers, Boone marked a path to the
Kentucky RiverThe Kentucky River is a tributary of the Ohio River, long, in the U.S. state of Kentucky. The river and its tributaries drain much of the central region of the state, with its upper course passing through the coal-mining regions of the Cumberland Mountains, and its lower course passing through the...
, where he established Boonesborough (near present-day
Lexington, KentuckyLexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
), which was intended to be the capital of Transylvania. Other settlements, notably
HarrodsburgHarrodsburg is a city in and the county seat of Mercer County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 8,014 at the 2000 census. It is the oldest city in Kentucky.-History:...
, were also established at this time. Many of these settlers had come to Kentucky on their own initiative, and did not recognize Transylvania's authority. A Daniel Boone Trail historical marker is found just outside the downtown Elizabethton business district.
Early during the
American Revolutionary WarThe Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War was the central area of operations in North America in the second half of the American Revolutionary War. During the first three years of the conflict, the primary military encounters had been in the north, focused on campaigns around the...
, Fort Watauga at
Sycamore ShoalsThe Sycamore Shoals of the Watauga River, usually shortened to Sycamore Shoals, is a rocky stretch of river rapids along the Watauga River in Elizabethton, in the U.S. state of Tennessee...
was the attacked in 1776 by
Dragging CanoeTsiyu Gansini , "He is dragging his canoe", known to whites as Dragging Canoe, was a Cherokee war chief who led a band of Cherokee against colonists and United States settlers...
and his warring faction of Cherokee opposed to the Transylvania Purchase (also referred to by settlers as the
ChickamaugaThe Chickamauga Wars were a series of raids, campaigns, ambushes, minor skirmishes, and several full-scale frontier battles which were a continuation of the Cherokee struggle against encroachment by American frontiersmen from the former British colonies...
), and the surviving frontier fort on the banks of the
Watauga RiverThe Watauga River is a large stream of western North Carolina and East Tennessee. It is 60 miles long with its headwaters on the slopes of Grandfather Mountain and Peak Mountain in Watauga County, North Carolina.-Hydrography:...
.
The Overmountain Men serving under Col.
Isaac ShelbyIsaac Shelby was the first and fifth Governor of the U.S. state of Kentucky and served in the state legislatures of Virginia and North Carolina. He was also a soldier in Lord Dunmore's War, the Revolutionary War, and the War of 1812...
(who years earlier worked as a surveyor for the Transylvania Company) and other Patriot forces engaged and defeated a larger force of British Loyalists at the
Battle of Musgrove MillThe Battle of Musgrove Mill, August 19, 1780, occurred near a ford of the Enoree River, near the present-day border between Spartanburg, Laurens and Union Counties in South Carolina...
near present day
Clinton, South CarolinaClinton is a city in Laurens County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 8,091 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Greenville–Mauldin–Easley Metropolitan Statistical Area. Clinton was first settled by Scots-Irish immigrants two decades before the American Revolutionary...
. Fort Watauga later served as the September 26, 1780 staging area for a much larger contingent of some 1,100
Overmountain MenThe Overmountain Men were American frontiersmen from west of the Appalachian Mountains who took part in the American Revolutionary War. While they were present at multiple engagements in the war's southern campaign, they are best known for their role in the American victory at the Battle of Kings...
who were preparing to trek over the
Blue Ridge MountainsThe Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. This province consists of northern and southern physiographic regions, which divide near the Roanoke River gap. The mountain range is located in the eastern United States, starting at its southern-most...
at
Roan MountainRoan Mountain is the highpoint of the Roan-Unaka Range of the Southern Appalachian Mountains, located in the Southeastern United States. The mountain is clad in a dense stand of Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest, and includes the world's largest natural rhododendron garden, and the longest...
to both engage, and later defeat, the British Army
LoyalistLoyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution...
forces and later at the
Battle of Kings MountainThe Battle of Kings Mountain was a decisive battle between the Patriot and Loyalist militias in the Southern campaign of the American Revolutionary War...
in North Carolina.
Prior to the
American Revolutionary WarThe American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
very little gunpowder had been made in the United States; and, as a British colony, most had been imported from
BritainThe former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
. In October 1777, the
British ParliamentThe Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
banned the importation of gunpowder into America. Five hundred pounds of black powder was manufactured for the Overmountain Men by Mary Patton and her husband at their Gap Creek powder mill, and the Overmountain Men stored the Patton black powder on that first rainy night in a dry cave known as Shelving Rock that is located nearby the
Roan Mountain State ParkRoan Mountain State Park is a Tennessee state park in Carter County in Northeast Tennessee along the Tennessee-North Carolina border near the community of Roan Mountain, Tennessee. Situated in the Blue Ridge of the Appalachian Mountains, the park preserves woodlands near 6,285 foot Roan Mountain...
at present day
Roan Mountain, TennesseeRoan Mountain is a census-designated place in Carter County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 1,360 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Johnson City Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Johnson City–Kingsport–Bristol, TN-VA Combined Statistical Area...
. During January 1781, the Overmountain Men also fought the British at the
Battle of CowpensThe Battle of Cowpens was a decisive victory by Patriot Revolutionary forces under Brigadier General Daniel Morgan, in the Southern campaign of the American Revolutionary War...
in South Carolina.
U.S. Civil War
On the recommendation of Military Governor of Tennessee
Andrew JohnsonAndrew Johnson was the 17th President of the United States . As Vice-President of the United States in 1865, he succeeded Abraham Lincoln following the latter's assassination. Johnson then presided over the initial and contentious Reconstruction era of the United States following the American...
, U.S. naval officer
Samuel Powhattan (S.P.) CarterSamuel Perry "Powhatan" Carter was a United States naval officer who served in the Union Army as a brevet major general during the American Civil War and became a rear admiral in the postbellum United States Navy. He was the first and thusfar only United States officer to have been commissioned...
was promoted to the
brevet rankIn many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...
of
brigadier generalBrigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
and assigned by
U.S. President Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
to engage
cavalryThe United States Cavalry, or U.S. Cavalry, is the designation of the mounted force of the United States Army. The role of the U.S. Cavalry is reconnaissance, security and mounted assault. Cavalry has served as a part of the Army forces in every war in which the United States has participated...
based in Kentucky against Confederate held railroad lines and bridges in Tennessee during the
Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
In early 1861, after receiving a letter from Carter assuring his loyalty to the Union should a civil war break out, Tennessee Governor
Andrew JohnsonAndrew Johnson was the 17th President of the United States . As Vice-President of the United States in 1865, he succeeded Abraham Lincoln following the latter's assassination. Johnson then presided over the initial and contentious Reconstruction era of the United States following the American...
used his influence in the
United States Department of WarThe United States Department of War, also called the War Department , was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army...
for Carter to organize and train
militiaThe term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
within East Tennessee. After leading successful cavalry operations at the
Battle of Mill SpringsThe Battle of Mill Springs, also known as the Battle of Fishing Creek in Confederate terminology, and the Battle of Logan's Cross Roads in Union terminology, was fought in Wayne and Pulaski counties, near current Nancy, Kentucky, on January 19, 1862, as part of the American Civil War. It...
on January 19, 1862, Carter accepted a commission as
Brigadier GeneralBrigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
of volunteers in May and later continued leading operations at the Battle of
Cumberland GapCumberland 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...
in June as well as raids against Holston, Carter's Station, and Jonesville in December, in support of General William S. Rosecrans' attack on Murfreesboro.
Carter's younger brother, William B. Carter (1820–1902), planned and coordinated the so-called
East Tennessee bridge-burningsThe East Tennessee bridge-burning conspiracy was a Civil War-era guerrilla warfare operation carried out by Union sympathizers in Confederate-occupied East Tennessee in 1861. The operation, which was planned by Carter County minister William B...
in 1861. On the night of November 8 of that year, Carter's pro-Union conspirators destroyed five railroad bridges across Confederate-occupied East Tennessee. Daniel Stover, a son-in-law of Andrew Johnson who lived near Elizabethton in the Siam community, led the party that destroyed the bridge at Union Depot (modern
Bluff CityBluff City is a city in Sullivan County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 1,733 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Kingsport–Bristol –Bristol Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Johnson City–Kingsport–Bristol, TN-VA Combined Statistical...
). Confederate authorities place much of East Tennessee under
martial lawMartial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis— only temporary—when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively , when there are extensive riots and protests, or when the disobedience of the law...
as a result of the bridge-burning incident.
In July 1863, Carter was placed in command of the
XXIII CorpsXXIII Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War. It served in the Western Theater as part of the Army of the Ohio.The corps was organized in April 1863 by order of the departmental commander, Ambrose E. Burnside...
cavalry division and would continue campaigning across Tennessee throughout the year. By 1865, Carter was in
North CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
and commanding the left wing of the Union forces at the Battle of Kingston. He was promoted to
BrevetIn many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...
Major GeneralMajor general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
of Volunteers, briefly commanding the XXIII Corps before being mustered out of volunteer service in January 1866.
While Carter was serving in the
Union ArmyThe Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
, the U.S. Navy promoted him to
lieutenant commanderLieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...
in 1863, then to
commanderCommander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
in 1865. A Tennessee Historical Marker located on West Elk Avenue in front of the S.P. Carter Mansion in downtown Elizabethton, Tennessee commemorates his life and naval career.
The Veterans' Monument in downtown Elizabethton was originally constructed and dedicated in 1912 to "the memory of the old soldiers of
Carter CountyCarter County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2010, the population was 57,424. Its county seat is Elizabethton.Carter County is part of the Johnson City Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Johnson City–Kingsport–Bristol, TN-VA Combined...
since the days of the
RevolutionThe American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
." It is in the form of an
obeliskAn obelisk is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape at the top, and is said to resemble a petrified ray of the sun-disk. A pair of obelisks usually stood in front of a pylon...
, constructed primarily from river rock collected from the nearby
Doe RiverThe Doe River is a naturally flowing river in northeast Tennessee that forms in Carter County near the North Carolina line, just south of Roan Mountain State Park.-Hydrography:...
, guarded by two short Civil War field cannon.
Railroad history
During the early 20th century, Elizabethton became a rail hub, served by three different railroad companies.
Beginning in the 1880s, the
narrow gaugeA narrow gauge railway is a railway that has a track gauge narrower than the of standard gauge railways. Most existing narrow gauge railways have gauges of between and .- Overview :...
engine known as the "Tweetsie" ran on
East Tennessee and Western North Carolina RailroadThe East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad , affectionately called the "Tweetsie" in reference to the sound of its steam whistles, was primarily a railroad established in 1866 for the purpose of serving the mines at Cranberry, North Carolina.The narrow gauge portion of the ET&WNC was...
(a.k.a. the 'ET&WNC ) between
Johnson CityJohnson City is a city in Carter, Sullivan, and Washington counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, with most of the city being in Washington County...
and passing through Elizabethton before climbing into the
Blue Ridge MountainsThe Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. This province consists of northern and southern physiographic regions, which divide near the Roanoke River gap. The mountain range is located in the eastern United States, starting at its southern-most...
, eventually connecting to
Boone, North CarolinaBoone is a town located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina, United States. Boone's population was reported as 17,122, as of 2010...
in 1916.
In 1927, the 9 miles (14.5 km) portion of the ET&WNC railroad from Johnson City to Elizabethton was converted to
standard gaugeThe standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
in order to more efficiently serve the NARC and Bemberg Rayon Plants.
The narrow gauge portion of the ET&WNC ceased operations in 1950 and was subsequently abandoned, however the standard gauge portion of the line from Johnson City to Elizabethton continued to operate until 2003 as the
East Tennessee RailwayThe East Tennessee Railway is a short line railroad linking Elizabethton, Tennessee to CSX Transportation and the Norfolk Southern Railway in Johnson City, Tennessee, away. Since 1996, the railroad has been owned by Genesee and Wyoming, an international operator of short line railroads, as part...
. Today the railroad's dormant track remains in place, though its future is uncertain.
One of the ET&WNC's narrow gauge steam locomotives (Engine #12) is still in existence, operating at the "
Tweetsie RailroadTweetsie Railroad is a family oriented railroad and Wild West theme park located between Boone and Blowing Rock, North Carolina, United States. In addition to a ride aboard an authentic steam locomotive, the park features amusement rides and other attractions geared towards families with...
" theme park at nearby
Boone, North CarolinaBoone is a town located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina, United States. Boone's population was reported as 17,122, as of 2010...
.
The
Southern RailwayThe Southern Railway is a former United States railroad. It was the product of nearly 150 predecessor lines that were combined, reorganized and recombined beginning in the 1830s, formally becoming the Southern Railway in 1894...
operated a
branch lineA branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line...
into Elizabethton until the flood of 1940. It connected with the ET&WNC at a small railroad yard near the confluence of the
Watauga RiverThe Watauga River is a large stream of western North Carolina and East Tennessee. It is 60 miles long with its headwaters on the slopes of Grandfather Mountain and Peak Mountain in Watauga County, North Carolina.-Hydrography:...
and the
Doe RiverThe Doe River is a naturally flowing river in northeast Tennessee that forms in Carter County near the North Carolina line, just south of Roan Mountain State Park.-Hydrography:...
.
In the 1910s and 1920s, another small railroad,
The Laurel Fork RailwayThe Laurel Fork Railway was a small, standard-gauge logging railroad that operated entirely in Carter County, Tennessee from 1912 to 1927. Built by the Pittsburgh Lumber Company to serve a double-band sawmill at Braemar, in present day Hampton, Tennessee....
, operated out of Elizabethton paralleling the ET&WNC and
Doe RiverThe Doe River is a naturally flowing river in northeast Tennessee that forms in Carter County near the North Carolina line, just south of Roan Mountain State Park.-Hydrography:...
to
Hampton, Tennessee. At Hampton the line split off and ran to a
sawmillA sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
near present-day
Watauga LakeWatauga Lake, located southeast of Elizabethton, Tennessee, was created by the Tennessee Valley Authority with the completion of the TVA Watauga Dam and Reservoir....
.
North American Rayon Corp., American Bemberg Corp., and the 1929 Rayon Plants Strikes
Beginning during the late 1920s, German and Dutch business investors established two major
rayonRayon is a manufactured regenerated cellulose fiber. Because it is produced from naturally occurring polymers, it is neither a truly synthetic fiber nor a natural fiber; it is a semi-synthetic or artificial fiber. Rayon is known by the names viscose rayon and art silk in the textile industry...
manufacturing plants (Bemberg and the North American Rayon Corporation) in Elizabethton along the banks of the Watauga River, producing rayon material for both U.S. domestic and export markets. Even today, you can find examples of the construction or major renovation of Elizabethton buildings located within the downtown area that can be easily dated from the Elizabethton rayon economic boom of the late 1920s.
During
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. the U.S. government seized managerial control of these critical rayon plants in Elizabethton. A post-war hiring apex of the Elizabethton rayon industry occurred in 1949 when over 6,100 employees were working at both of the Elizabethton rayon mills.
A specialized fiber utilized by
NASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
within the
Space ShuttleThe Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
program was manufactured at the Elizabethton plants during the 1980s, and after many years of a declining U.S. rayon market and increased foreign competition following the
General Agreement on Tariffs and TradeThe General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade was negotiated during the UN Conference on Trade and Employment and was the outcome of the failure of negotiating governments to create the International Trade Organization . GATT was signed in 1947 and lasted until 1993, when it was replaced by the World...
and
North American Free Trade AgreementThe North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA is an agreement signed by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The agreement came into force on January 1, 1994. It superseded the Canada – United States Free Trade Agreement...
, the remaining rayon mill (owned by the North American Rayon Corporation) closed down during the late 1990s.
The City of Power and the Tennessee Valley Authority
Elizabethton was first serviced by relatively inexpensive hydroelectric power during the early 1910s, leading to the popular "The City of Power" moniker. The Horseshoe section of the Watauga River (found within the
Tennessee Valley AuthorityThe 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...
reservation behind the TVA Wilbur Dam) is the site of the first hydroelectric dam constructed in Tennessee (beginning in 1909), going online with power production and distribution in 1912.
The 1928 Republican U.S. Presidential candidate
Herbert C. HooverHerbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...
made his only southern campaign stop at Elizabethton and delivered his nationally broadcasted October 6, 1928 election "stump speech" delivered before 50,000 people gathered at the base of Lynn Mountain in Harmon Field (now at both the mini-park and the Elizabethton/Carter County Chamber of Commerce building location on U.S. 321) during Elizabethton's Second Annual Industrial Celebration.
During the Elizabethton speech (at a location within easy walking distance to the confluence of both the Watauga River and the Doe River), Hoover "...allued to a matter of growing concern, the status of the Federal Government's involvement in the [hydrogeneration] production of [electric] power, specifically the Muscle Shoals (Alabama) issue: "There are local instances where the Government must enter the business field as a by-product to some great major purpose such as an improvement in navigation, flood control, irrigation, scientific research or national defense."
Ironically, it was the succession of Republican presidents in the White House at the time leading up to the
Great DepressionThe Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
— first
PresidentThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
CoolidgeJohn Calvin Coolidge, Jr. was the 30th President of the United States . A Republican lawyer from Vermont, Coolidge worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming governor of that state...
in 1928, and then later followed by President Hoover later in 1931 — choosing to veto the federal legislation passed by the U.S. Congress that would have created a water power development agency of the federal government.
It was
U.S. Senator George W. Norris of NebraskaGeorge William Norris was a U.S. politician from the state of Nebraska and a leader of progressive and liberal causes in Congress...
who sponsored the Tennessee Valley Authority Act of 1933, water power development legislation which was finally enacted during the administration of President
Franklin D. RooseveltFranklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
that created the
Tennessee Valley AuthorityThe 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...
. Norris was later an important proponent of the
Rural Electrification Act of 1936The Rural Electrification Act of 1936 provided federal loans for the installation of electrical distribution systems to serve rural areas of the United States....
.
Following the end of World War II, the TVA
Watauga Dam and ReservoirWatauga Lake, located southeast of Elizabethton, Tennessee, was created by the Tennessee Valley Authority with the completion of the TVA Watauga Dam and Reservoir....
were completed three miles (5 km) upstream of the Wilbur Dam in 1948.
The TVA Wilbur Dam has four hydroelectric generating turbines with a production capacity of 10,700 kilowatts of electricity.
U.S. Bicentennial - Overmountain Victory Trail
Liberty: The Saga of Sycamore Shoals (formerly known as The Wataugans)The Wataugans is an outdoor historical drama that takes place in Elizabethton, Tennessee, at the Sycamore Shoals Historic Area. It is presented by the Watauga Historical Association every July on the last three Thursday-Friday-Saturday weekends of the month...
is the official outdoor historical drama of the state of
TennesseeTennessee 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...
. It is presented by the Watauga Historical Association and the Sycamore Shoals Historic Area in Elizabethton every July on the last three Thursday-Friday-Saturday weekends of the month. Employing a mixed cast of volunteer professional and amateur local actors and re-enactors engaged through an open casting call,
Liberty: The Saga of Sycamore Shoals depicts the early history of the area that is now Northeast Tennessee.
Elizabethton is one of several cities now under consideration by the U.S. National Park Service as a new permanent location for the USNPS Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail Headquarters/Visitor Center.
Hikers, military reenactors, and scouts have followed within segments of the famous overmountain victory trail, and in 1975 three Elizabethton
boy scoutsA Scout is a boy or a girl, usually 11 to 18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split this age group into a junior and a senior section...
were among those who completed the first re-enactment of the overmountain march (approximately 214 miles (344.4 km) in one direction) from Elizabethton at
Sycamore ShoalsThe Sycamore Shoals of the Watauga River, usually shortened to Sycamore Shoals, is a rocky stretch of river rapids along the Watauga River in Elizabethton, in the U.S. state of Tennessee...
to the
Kings Mountain National Military ParkKings Mountain National Military Park is a National Military Park near Blacksburg, South Carolina, along the North Carolina/South Carolina border...
. In 1980, President
Jimmy CarterJames Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
— recognizing the historical significance of the frontier patriots marching over the
Appalachian mountainsThe 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...
to fight the British Army at the Battle of King's Mountain — signed federal law designating the historical overmountain route as the
Overmountain Victory National Historic TrailThe Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail is part of the U.S. National Trails System. It recognizes the Revolutionary War Overmountain Men, Patriots from what is now East Tennessee who crossed the Great Smoky Mountains and then fought in the Battle of Kings Mountain in South...
, the first
National Historic TrailNational Historic Trail is a designation for a protected area in the United States containing historic trails and surrounding areas. They are part of the National Trails System....
established within the eastern United States.
Notable natives and residents
- Paul Edward Anderson
Paul Edward Anderson was a weightlifter, strongman, and powerlifter.- Biography :Anderson was born in Toccoa, Georgia, United States of America....
— 1956 Olympic gold medalist in weightlifting
- William Gannaway Brownlow
William Gannaway "Parson" Brownlow was an American newspaper editor, minister, and politician who served as Governor of the state of Tennessee from 1865 to 1869 and as a United States Senator from Tennessee from 1869 to 1875...
— Governor of and U.S. Senator from Tennessee
- Samuel P. Carter
Samuel Perry "Powhatan" Carter was a United States naval officer who served in the Union Army as a brevet major general during the American Civil War and became a rear admiral in the postbellum United States Navy. He was the first and thusfar only United States officer to have been commissioned...
— U.S. Army general and U.S. Navy admiral
- Dayton E. Phillips
Dayton E. Phillips was an American politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives for the 1st congressional district of Tennessee.-Biography:...
— U.S. Representative from Tennessee
- Jeff Reed — Major League Baseball catcher
- Alfred A. Taylor
Alfred Alexander Taylor, nickname Alf Taylor , was a lawyer and politician, serving as United States Congressman from 1889–1895, and later elected the Governor of Tennessee, serving from 1921 to 1923. Notably, in 1886 he lost the gubernatorial race to his younger brother Robert, a Democrat.- Early...
— Tennessee politician (August 6, 1848 - November 23, 1931).
- Robert Love Taylor
Robert Love Taylor was a U.S. Representative from Tennessee from 1879 to 1881, Governor of Tennessee from 1887 to 1891 and from 1897 to 1899, and subsequently a United States Senator from that state from 1907 until his death. He is notable for winning the governor's office in an election against...
— politician
- Jason Witten
Christopher Jason Witten is an American football tight end who plays for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League. He played college football at the University of Tennessee....
— National Football League tight end
Places
Persons
Events
- Chickamauga Wars
- Textile workers strike (1934)
The textile workers' strike of 1934 was the largest strike in the labor history of the United States at the time, involving 400,000 textile workers from New England, the Mid-Atlantic states and the U.S. Southern states, lasting twenty-two days...
Other
- A.Y. McDonald Manufacturing Company
The A.Y. McDonald Manufacturing Company is a corporation headquartered in Dubuque, Iowa. A.Y. McDonald Mfg. Co. is a leading manufacturer of Waterworks Brass, Plumbing Valves, Pumps and Water Systems and High Pressure Gas Valves and Meter Bars....
- Milligan College
Milligan College is a Christian liberal arts college founded in 1866 and located immediately outside of Elizabethton in Carter County, Tennessee, United States. The school has a student population of just over 1,100 students as well as a campus that is located just minutes from downtown Johnson City...
- Scottish Indian trade
The trans-Atlantic trade in deerskins was a significant commercial activity in Colonial America that was greatly influenced, and at least partially dominated, by Scottish traders and their firms. This trade, primarily in deerskins but also in beaver and other animal pelts, was carried on with...
External links