Eva, Tennessee
Encyclopedia
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
in Benton County, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, on the western shore of the Kentucky Lake
Kentucky Lake
Kentucky Lake is a major navigable reservoir along the Tennessee River in Kentucky and Tennessee. Created in 1944 by the Tennessee Valley Authority's impounding of the Tennessee River by Kentucky Dam, the lake is the largest artificial lake by surface area in the United States east of the...
impoundment of the Tennessee River
Tennessee River
The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately 652 miles long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names...
. It is the site of Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park
Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park
Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park is a state park in Benton County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. The park is situated on the western shore of the Kentucky Lake impoundment of the Tennessee River, just north of the community of Eva...
. Although not a census-designated place
Census-designated place
A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...
, the ZIP Code Tabulation Area
ZIP Code Tabulation Area
ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are statistical entities developed by the United States Census Bureau for tabulating summary statistics from Census 2000. This new entity was developed to overcome the difficulties in precisely defining the land area covered by each ZIP code...
for the ZIP code (38333) that serves Eva had a population of 574 as of the 2000 U.S. Census. Eva is centered around the junction of State Route 191, which connects the community to Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park to the north and the town of Camden
Camden, Tennessee
Camden is a city in Benton County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 3,828 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Benton County.-Geography:Camden is positioned at...
to the south, and Eva Beach Road, which stretches from the center of the community to its beach along Kentucky Lake.
According to local lore, Eva was named after a friend of the daughter of Benton County land speculator A.W. Lucas. In 1913, Lucas donated land for a church and school that became the core of the community.
In 1940, before the Tennessee River
Tennessee River
The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately 652 miles long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names...
was dam
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
med to form Kentucky Lake, University of Tennessee
University of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
archaeologists excavated a rich archaeological site at Eva
Eva (archaeological site)
The Eva site is a prehistoric Native American site in Benton County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. Located along an ancient channel of the Tennessee River, the Eva site saw extensive periods of occupation during the Middle and Late Archaic period...
, containing the remains of a series of prehistoric Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native 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...
encampments dating from the Archaic Period. The earliest remains at the site, with a radiocarbon date of 5,200 B.C., contained artifacts from a group of hunting and gathering people who were named the Eva culture after the site, which is now under the water of the reservoir.