Sweetwater, Tennessee

Sweetwater is a city in Monroe and McMinn counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the most populous city in Monroe County. The population was 5,586 at the 2000 census and 5,764 at the 2010 census. Sweetwater is the home of the Craighead Caverns which contains the Lost Sea, the United States' largest underground lake.

Sweetwater was established in the 1850s on a series of lots sold by Isaac Lenoir (1807–1875), a local politician and son of the founder of Lenoir City (located a few miles to the northeast in Loudon County). Sweetwater was officially incorporated in 1875.[1]

Sweetwater is located at 35°36′9″N 84°28′1″W / 35.60250°N 84.46694°W / 35.60250; -84.46694 (35.602604, -84.466992).[6] The city lies along Sweetwater Creek, which flows northeast for several miles before emptying into the Watts Bar Lake impoundment of the Tennessee River. The creek's drainage has created a lowland area known as Sweetwater Valley, which is surrounded by low hills.

Wartburg, Tennessee

Wartburg was founded in the mid-1840s by George Gerding, a land speculator who bought up large tracts of land in what is now Morgan County and organized the East Tennessee Colonization Company with plans to establish a series of German colonies in the Cumberland region. German and Swiss immigrants, seeking to escape poor economic conditions in their home counties, arrived at the site by traveling from New Orleans up the Mississippi and Cumberland rivers to Nashville, and then by ox cart to the Cumberland Plateau. The first of these settlers arrived in the area in 1845, and new groups of immigrants would continue trickling in until 1855.[8]

The new settlement, which had already been platted by East Tennessee Colonization Company agent Friedrich Guenther, was named after Wartburg Castle in Germany. The first six streets were initially named for European cities, but the names were changed within a few years to Rose, Church, Maidenland (now Maiden), Kingston, Mill, and Cumberland. As most immigrants lived on farms outside the town, Wartburg grew slowly. By 1850, the town consisted of Gerding's house and store, a church and school building, a doctor's office, and a few small houses. Early residents included a number of professionals trained in Europe, including architect Carl Rothe, musician Gustav Knabe, painter George Dury,[9] and physicians Rudolf Knaffl and F. A. Sienknecht.[8][10][2]

While Morgan County was generally pro-Union during the Civil War, Wartburg was bitterly divided over the secession issue. Gerding, the city's founder, supported the Confederacy. John Wilken, a prominent Lutheran pastor in the city, supported the Union. F.A. Sienknecht supported the Union, though two of his sons fought for the Confederacy.[11] On January 2, 1862, a Confederate cavalry unit under Colonel J.W. White clashed with the Union Home Guard near Wartburg. In late March 1862, Confederate General Kirby Smith reported that all Confederate citizens had been expelled from the Wartburg area. In June 1863, Union General William P. Sanders marched through Wartburg and captured 104 Confederate soldiers in the vicinity.[12]

Talbott, Tennessee

Waverly, Tennessee

Waverly was established by Steven Pavatt as a stop along the stagecoach road between Nashville and Memphis in the early 19th century. Pavatt was a fan of the author Sir Walter Scott, and named the community after Scott's Waverley Novels. When Humphreys County was created in 1803, Reynoldsburg, located northwest of Waverly along the Tennessee River, was chosen as the county seat. However, when county lands on the west bank of the Tennessee split off to become part of the newly created Benton County in 1835, the Humphreys County seat was moved to Waverly, which had become the more central location in the county. A courthouse was built in 1836, and the town was officially incorporated in 1838.[1]

Like most of Middle and West Tennessee, Waverly was staunchly pro-Confederacy during the American Civil War. Humphreys County voted unanimously in favor of secession in 1861. Union troops occupied the town in 1863 to guard the railroad between White Bluff and Johnsonville (now Old Johnsonville), the latter being a Federal supply depot and transfer station. The Union troops managed to build a fort at the courthouse square, although they were constantly harassed by Confederate guerillas. On November 4, 1864, Confederate troops under Nathan Bedford Forrest attacked and destroyed the Federal depot in what became known as the Battle of Johnsonville.[1] The battle occurred approximately 10 miles (16 km) west of Waverly at the mouth of Trace Creek.

Hurricane Mills, located a few miles south of Waverly along TN-13, was the site of a substantial mill and carding factory in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A Mississippian-era prehistoric village (known as the Duck River Temple Mounds or Link Farm Site)[7] and a farm owned by Jesse James were both located near the Link farm site in the vicinity of Hurricane Mills.[1]

Tazewell, Tennessee

Tazewell is a town in and the county seat of Claiborne County, Tennessee, United States.[5] The population was 2,165 at the 2000 census and 2,218 at the 2010 census. The town is named for Henry Tazewell (1753–1799), a U.S. senator from Virginia.[6]

In 1750, Dr. Thomas Walker 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.[7] The land at the time was part of Cherokee and Shawano hunting grounds,[8] 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.[9]

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.[10] The original courthouse was a wooden structure which had hitching posts for horses in front.

Waynesboro, Tennessee

Waynesboro was founded in 1821 as a county seat for the newly created Wayne County. The city initially consisted of a 40-acre (16 ha) plot that included the courthouse and jail. A school, Ashland Academy, was established in 1843.[10] The city incorporated in 1850.[3]

Waynesboro is concentrated around the junction of State Route 13 and U.S. Route 64, 105 miles (169 km) south of Nashville, and 135 miles (217 km) east Memphis. State Route 99, which intersects US 64 in eastern Waynesboro, connects the city with Hohenwald to the northeast. The Natchez Trace Parkway intersects US 64 a few miles east of Waynesboro.

Waynesboro lies along the banks of the Green River, which slices a narrow valley oriented north-to-south en route to its mouth along the Buffalo River to the north. Hurricane Creek, which approaches from the southeast, empties into the Green River just north of the city. Much of the forest northwest of Waynesboro is part of the Eagle Creek Wildlife Management Area.

Tellico Plains, Tennessee

The area along the Tellico River was inhabited for thousands of years by indigenous peoples. The historic Muscogee settled here, before moving further south. In the late 18th century, the Cherokee settled in this area, displaced from the east and north by European colonial encroachment.

Tellico Plains occupies the former site of the Cherokee town of Great Tellico, which was one of the more important towns of the Overhill Cherokee during the late 18th century and before Indian Removal of the 1830s. Two important Native American trails met at Great Tellico, the Trading Path and the Warrior Path, which connected farflung communities.[5]

European Americans moved into the area and developed the land for agriculture, chiefly subsistence farming. During the 1840s, Elisha Johnson, a former mayor of Rochester, New York, purchased a plantation here and built the Tellico River Mansion on his property. With his brother Ebenezer, the former mayor of Buffalo, New York, he purchased the Tellico Iron and Manufacturing Company.

Westmoreland, Tennessee

Westmoreland is a town in Sumner County, Tennessee. The population was 2,093 at the 2000 census and 2,206 at the 2010 census. The town name originates from the historic English county Westmorland, now part of Cumbria.[6]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 3.8 square miles (9.8 km2), of which 3.8 square miles (9.8 km2) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km2) (0.52%) is water.

As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 2,093 people, 804 households, and 561 families residing in the town. The population density was 547.5 people per square mile (211.5/km2). There were 874 housing units at an average density of 228.6 per square mile (88.3/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 98.85% White, 0.55% African American, 0.24% Native American, 0.05% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.29% from other races, and 0.48% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.13% of the population.

Tennessee Ridge, Tennessee

As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 1,334 people, 533 households, and 412 families residing in the town. The population density was 360.3 people per square mile (139.2/km²). There were 573 housing units at an average density of 154.7 per square mile (59.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.80% White, 0.22% African American, 0.15% Asian, 0.30% Pacific Islander, 0.37% from other races, and 0.15% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.05% of the population.

There were 533 households out of which 29.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.5% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.7% were non-families. 20.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.82.

In the town, the population was spread out with 23.1% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 26.0% from 45 to 64, and 18.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.1 males.

White House, Tennessee

White House is a city in Robertson and Sumner counties in the United States state of Tennessee. The population was 7,220 at the 2000 census. It is approximately twenty-two miles north of downtown Nashville. According to the city website a special census was conducted in 2008 that placed the city population at 9,891 residents, with 3,587 households within the city limits. The population was 10,255 at the 2010 census which showed growth of 3,000 people from 2000 to 2010. The 2013 population was 10,752.

The area that is now White House was purchased around 1828 by Richard Stone Wilks, a settler from Virginia. A trail running from Kentucky to Nashville, originally created by Native Americans, cut through the area. This trail was originally known as the Louisville & Nashville Turnpike during the mid-19th century. In 1928, the trail was renamed US Highway 31W.

In the mid-19th century, the Carter, Thomas, and Hough Stagecoach Company traveled the L&N Turnpike carrying passengers. A typical stop along the way was a white, two-story house built by Richard Wilks in 1829. The house was a popular stop for lodging, food, and changing out horses. President Andrew Jackson was even heard to have stayed here during his travels between his home and the White House. During this time, houses were rarely painted white, particularly in this underdeveloped area. The stage coach drivers began to call this stop and the surrounding area White House.[7]