Blount County, Tennessee

Infobox U.S. County
county = Blount County
state = Tennessee


founded = 1795
seat = Maryville | area_total_sq_mi =567
area_land_sq_mi =559
area_water_sq_mi =8
area percentage = 1.43%
census yr = 2000
pop = 105823
density_km2 =73
time zone=Eastern | UTC offset=-5 | DST offset=-4
web = www.blounttn.org
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Blount County is a U.S. county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Its population was 105,823 at the United States Census, 2000. The 2006 Census Estimate placed the population at 118,186 [ [http://www.census.gov/popest/counties/tables/CO-EST2005-01-47.xls U.S. Census Bureau data] ] . The county seat is at MaryvilleGR|6, which is also the county's largest city.

It is included in the Knoxville, Tennessee, Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

What is today Blount County was for many thousands of years Indian territory, passed down to the Cherokee tribe that claimed the land upon the arrival of white settlers in the late 18th century. Shortly thereafter, On July 11, 1795, Blount County became the tenth county established in Tennessee, when the Territorial Legislature voted to split adjacent Knox and Jefferson counties. The new county was named for the governor of the state of Tennessee, William Blount, and its county seat, Maryville, was named for his wife Mary Grainger Blount. This establishment, however, did little to settle the differences between white immigrants and Cherokee natives, which was, for the most part, not accomplished until an 1819 treaty [ [http://www.blounttn.org/about.htm About Blount County] Blount County official website] .

Throughout its history the boundaries of Blount County have been altered numerous times, most notably in 1870 when a large swath of western Blount was split into Loudon and portions of other counties. Also, the establishment of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 1936, while not affecting the territory of Blount County, has significantly impacted the use of southeastern Blount County [Lansford, D., and D. Waterworth. "Blount County History," [http://www.tngenweb.org/blount/blouhist.htm TNGenWeb Project] ] .

Economy

Most of the early settlers were of very little means, existing on subsistence-based agriculture throughout the early years of the county's establishment. The first industry to make its mark on Blount County, as in other neighboring counties, was that of lumber. It was the massive development of this industry in the mountains of east Blount that, in part, led to the creation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which includes the southeastern portion of the county. Today manufacturing has replaced lumber in importance, with over 100 manufacturing plants located in the county [ [http://www.blounttn.org/about.htm About Blount County] Blount County official website] .

[http://www.densocorp-na-dmtn.com/ Denso Manufacturing Tennessee Inc.] , a division of Denso Global, is the county's largest employer, with about 3,000 employers ["DENSO Plant 203 is a key marker in 20-year history," [http://www.thedailytimes.com/article/20080407/OP01/475180054 The Maryville-Alcoa Daily Times] , April 7, 2008] [ "Denso Tennessee names new president," [http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/Apr/01/denso-tennessee-names-new-president/ The Knoxville News-Sentinel] , April 1, 2008] .

Government

The following list consists of the current elected members of the Blount County government [ [http://www.naco.org/Template.cfm?Section=Find_a_County&Template=/cffiles/counties/county.cfm&id=47009 Blount County] , National Association of Counties website] :
*Commissioners: David Ballard, Tonya Burchfield, Gary Farmer, Ronald French, David Graham, Steve Hargis, Brad Harrison, Mark Hasty, Scott Helton, John Keeble, Gerald Kirby, Holden Lail, Mike Lewis, Joe McCulley, Kenneth Melton, Monika Murrell, Bob Profitt, Robert Ramsey, Wendy Pitts Reeves, Steve Samples, and Mike Walker

Infobox county govt
county = Blount
cty_exec = Jerry Cunningham
assessor = Mike Morton
clerk_courts = Thomas Hatcher
clerk_master = James Carroll
clerk_county = Roy Crawford Jr
da = Mike Flynn
deeds = Penny Whaley
hwy_exec = Bill Dunlap
sheriff = James Berrong
trustee = Scott Graves
state_rep = 2 Representatives:Joe McCord (R-Tennessee District 8), Douglas Overbey (R-Tennessee District 20)
state_sen = 1 Senators:Raymond Finney (R-Tennessee District 8)
gov_councilors =
fed_rep = John Duncan (R-2nd District)
fed_sen = Lamar Alexander (R)
Bob Corker (R)

The office of Constable was abolished in the 1990s.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 567 square miles (1,468 km²), of which, 559 square miles (1,447 km²) is land and 8 square miles (21 km²) (1.43%) is water.

The foothills of the Appalachian Mountains determine much of Blount County's landscape, with a segment of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park extending into southeastern Blount County. In addition to the dominant mountains, the Little Tennessee River flows through the county and forms several man-made lakes created by the Tennessee Valley Authority.

Adjacent counties

*Knox County, Tennessee - north
*Sevier County, Tennessee - east
*Swain County, North Carolina - south
*Graham County, North Carolina - southwest
*Monroe County, Tennessee - southwest
*Loudon County, Tennessee - west

Geographical features

*Appalachian Mountains
*Great Smoky Mountains
*Thunderhead Mountain
*Gregory Bald
*Look Rock
*Fort Loudon Lake
*Chilhowee Lake
*Little River
*Little Tennessee River

National protected area

* Great Smoky Mountains National Park (part)

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 105,823 people, 42,667 households, and 30,634 families residing in the county. The population density was 190 people per square mile (73/km²). There were 47,059 housing units at an average density of 84 per square mile (33/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 94.73% White, 2.91% Black or African American, 0.29% Native American, 0.72% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.34% from other races, and 0.99% from two or more races. 1.06% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 42,667 households out of which 30.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.40% were married couples living together, 10.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.20% are classified as non-families by the United States Census Bureau. Of the 42,667 households, 1,384 are unmarried partner households: 1,147 heterosexual, 107 same-sex male, 130 same-sex female. 24.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.88.

In the county, the population was spread out with 22.80% under the age of 18, 8.30% from 18 to 24, 29.40% from 25 to 44, 25.40% from 45 to 64, and 14.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 93.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $37,862, and the median income for a family was $45,038. Males had a median income of $31,877 versus $23,007 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,416. About 7.30% of families and 9.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.30% of those under age 18 and 9.10% of those age 65 or over.

Infrastructure

Parks

In addition to the federally operated Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which draws many visitors to the county each year, Blount County operates numerous smaller community parks and recreation centers, primarily in the cities of Alcoa and Maryville. Some of these facilities include [ [http://www.parksrec.com Maryville-Alcoa-Blount County Parks & Rec website] ] :
*Amerine Park (Maryville)
*Bassell Courts (Alcoa)
*Bicentennial Park (Greenbelt)(Maryville)
*Eagleton Park (Maryville)
*Everett Athletic Complex (Maryville)
*Everett Park/Everett Senior Center (Maryville)
*Howe Street Park (Alcoa)
*John Sevier Park/Pool (Maryville)
*Louisville Point Park (Louisville)
*Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center (Alcoa)
*Oldfield Mini Park (Alcoa)
*Pearson Springs Park (Maryville)
*Pole Climbers Athletic Fields (Alcoa)
*Richard Williams Park (Alcoa)
*Rock Garden Park (Alcoa)
*Sandy Springs Park (Maryville)
*Springbrook Park/Pool (Alcoa)

chools, Colleges and Universities

See Blount County Schools for a full list of public schools in the county system. The cities of Maryville and Alcoa operate separate, independent school systems. Private schools located in the county include: Maryville Christian School [ [http://www.maryvillechristianschool.org/ Maryville Christian School website] ] [Millard, B. "Maryville Christian welcomes record class," [http://www.thedailytimes.com/article/20060917/NEWS/609170302 The Maryville-Alcoa Daily Times] , Sept. 17, 2006] ; Montessori Middle School (opening August 2008 [Tucker, M. "New Montessori Middle construction progressing," [http://www.thedailytimes.com/article/20080415/LIFE/2285394 The Maryville-Alcoa Daily Times] , April 15, 2008] ); and New Horizon Montessori School.

Blount County is home to two post-secondary educational institutions: Maryville College, in downtown Maryville, and a satellite campus of Knoxville-based Pellissippi State Technical Community College, referred to as Pellissippi State Technical Community College, Blount County Campus.

Transportation

Paratransit

Blount County is served by the East Tennessee Human Resource Agency's Public Transit system. ETHRA, as it is commonly referred to, operates over sixteen counties in eastern Tennessee, and is headquartered in the nearby city of Loudon. The service offers residents of any of the counties covered by ETHRA door-to-door pickup transportation across its service area by request only [ [http://www.ethrapublictransit.org/programs.html ETHRA homepage] ] .

Airports

TYS, McGhee Tyson Airport

Highways

*Interstate highways
**Interstate 140 Pellissippi Parkway

*U.S. highways
**U.S. Route 129 Airport Hwy/Alcoa Hwy, Hwy 411 South & Calderwood Hwy
**U.S. Route 321 Lamar Alexander Pkwy & Wears Valley Road
**U.S. Route 411 Broadway & Sevierville Road

*State highways
**TN State Primary Route 33 Old Knoxville Hwy, Broadway & Hwy 411 South
**TN State Primary Route 35 Sevierville Road, Washington Street & North Hall Road
**TN State Primary Route 72 Calderwood Hwy
**TN State Primary Route 73 Lamar Alexander Pkwy & Wears Valley Road
**TN State Primary Route 115 Airport Hwy/Alcoa Hwy, Hwy 411 South & Calderwood Hwy
**TN State Primary Route 162 Pellissippi Pkwy

*Secondary Routes
**TN Secondary Route 333 Topside Road, Louisville Road, Quarry Rd & Miser Station Road
**TN Secondary Route 334 Louisville Road
**TN Secondary Route 335 William Blount Drive, Hunt Road & Old Glory Road
**TN Secondary Route 336 Montvale Road, Six Mile Road, Brick Mill Road
**TN Secondary Route 337 Wears Valley Road
**TN Secondary Route 429 Airbase Road
**TN Secondary Route 446
**TN Secondary Route 447

*US Park Service Roads
**Foothills Parkway
**Little River Road
**Laurel Creek Road
**Wears Valley Loop Road

Cities, Towns & Communities

*Alcoa
* Alnwick
* Binfield
* Clover Hill
* Cold Springs
* Dry Valley
*Eagleton Village (unincorporated)
*Friendsville
*Happy Valley (unincorporated)
* Kinsel Springs
* Laws Chapel
*Louisville
*Maryville
* Melrose
* Mentor
* Mint
*Rockford
*Seymour (unincorporated)
* Six Mile
* Sunshine
*Townsend
*Walland (unincorporated)
* Wildwood

References

*Inez Burns (1995). "History of Blount County, Tennessee". Windmill Publications.

External links

* [http://www.blountchamber.com/ Blount County Chamber of Commerce]
* [http://www.blounttn.org/ Blount County Government]
* [http://www.tdot.state.tn.us/Maps/county/co05.pdf Tennessee Department of Transportation Map of Blount County]
* [http://www.BlountDaily.com/ Blount Daily]
* [http://BlountLocal.com/ Blount Local]
* [http://www.thedailytimes.com/ The Daily Times]
* [http://blountlocal.com/ Blount Today]
*dmoz|Regional/North_America/United_States/Tennessee/Counties/Blount/|Blount County