GREENBACK, TENNESSEE

'Greenback' is a city in Loudon County, Tennessee, United States. Its population was 954 at the 2000 U.S. census. It is included in the Knoxville, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Contents

Geography

Demographics

History

External links

Notes

Geography

Greenback is located at (35.655751, -84.164898). The town is centered around the junction of TN-95 and Morganton Road, with the greater community extending to roughly U.S. Route 411 to the south and to U.S. Route 321 to the north.[1]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 18.7 km² (7.2 mi²). 18.3 km² (7.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (1.80%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 954 people, 380 households, and 289 families residing in the city. The population density was 52.0/km² (134.7/mi²). There were 416 housing units at an average density of 22.7/km² (58.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.59% White, 0.94% African American, 0.21% Native American, 0.52% from other races, and 0.73% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.94% of the population.
There were 380 households out of which 30.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.1% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.9% were non-families. 22.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 2.92.
In the city the population was spread out with 23.8% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 25.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 96.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $31,042, and the median income for a family was $40,000. Males had a median income of $27,222 versus $23,393 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,914. About 11.1% of families and 8.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.6% of those under age 18 and 11.8% of those age 65 or over.

History

In the late 1700s, various villages of the Overhill Cherokee dotted the Little Tennessee River between what is now Chilhowee Dam in the south and Fort Loudoun in the north. Most of these villages were situated in present-day Monroe County, the northernmost being the now-submerged Mialoquo,^[1] opposite Wildcat Point (a walking trail now connects Wildcat Point to Tellico Parkway). With the construction of the Tellico Blockhouse in 1794, trade and travel in the area led to the growth of Maryville to the east and Knoxville to the north. As there were no major bridges spanning the Little Tennessee at the time, ferries became an important means of getting across the river. Among the earliest and most important of these ferries was the one at Morganton.^[2]
Morganton Ferry— initially called "Wear's Ferry"— was established in the late 1700s, and had grown into a small community known as "Portville" by 1810. It was officially chartered as "Morganton" in 1813, named after Revolutionary War veteran and local merchant, Gideon Morgan. Along with the ferry, Morganton was a key stop for flatboats trading up and down the Little Tennessee.^[3] These flatboats, which typically traded salt, spices, and finished products for whiskey and raw materials, would travel downstream to Knoxville, and sometimes all the way to New Orleans via the Tennessee and Mississippi Rivers. Morganton Road, which connected Morganton to Maryville, was among the region's busiest throroughfares in the mid-19th century. The Norwood Inn, which stood on the site of what is now Greenback Industries, was the main stopover along this road.^[4] There is also a strong oral tradition that a cave in Greenback was a stop on the Underground Railroad.[2]
While Morganton flourished throughout the 1800s as a ferry and flatboat (and later steamboat) port, the arrival of railroads in the region shortly after the U.S. Civil War began to slowly chip away at the riverboat shipping industry.^[4] In 1876, Lorenzo Thompson established Thompson's Stand, the first store in the town now known as Greenback. The store initially served farmers living in the border area between Blount County and the recently-created Loudon County. Hoping to draw traffic to his store, Thompson submitted a request to establish a post office at Thompson's Stand in 1882. The Postal Service rejected his initial name for the town of Thompson Station, as well as subsequent submissions Pine Grove and Alleghany Station, all of which were already taken. The town finally settled on the name "Greenback", which was inspired by a local politician and member of the Greenback Party named Jonathan Tipton.^[6]
Greenback began to grow with the arrival of a passenger train service to Knoxville in 1890. Within a year, the town had its own grist mill, blacksmith, physician, shoemaker, and general store. By 1898, the Alleghany Hotel had been established, offering a stopover for people headed to a nearby health resort at Sulphur Spring.^[7]
In the early 1900s, the L&N Railroad constructed a second line through the town, opening a depot in 1914. By 1920, the town had its own bank and several industries, including the Greenback Motor Company. Several fires throughout the 1920s and the Great Depression, however, halted the town's rapid growth.^[7]
Greenback was officially incorporated in 1957, with Glenn McTeer as its first mayor. A community center— built by the town's residents with no outside help or outside funding— was completed in 1978. It now houses a library, the city hall, and recreational facilities.^[7] Greenback's current mayor is Tom Peeler, and Vice-Mayor is Emma Louise Coada.

External links

★ Greenback City Government

★ About Greenback - A short history of Greenback compiled by the Greenback First Presbyterian Church

★ Greenback Public Library

★ Underground Railroad in Tennessee

Notes

1. James Mooney,
''Myths of the Cherokee and Sacred Formulas of the Cherokee'' (Nashville: Charles Elder, 1972),
414.
2. Alberta and Carson Brewer, ''Valley So Wild'' (Knoxville: East Tennessee Historical Society, 1975), 92.
3. Alberta and Carson Brewer, ''Valley So Wild'' (Knoxville: East Tennessee Historical Society, 1975), 92-95.
4. Alberta and Carson Brewer, ''Valley So Wild'' (Knoxville: East Tennessee Historical Society, 1975), 94-96.
5. Alberta and Carson Brewer, ''Valley So Wild'' (Knoxville: East Tennessee Historical Society, 1975), 94-96.
6. Linda Albert, "About Greenback," ''The Maryville-Alcoa Daily Times'', 19 February 2000.
7. Albert, 2000.
8. Albert, 2000.
9. Albert, 2000.