KNOX COUNTY, TENNESSEE

'Knox County' is a county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Its 2005 population was estimated at 404,972 by the United States Census Bureau. Its county seat is Knoxville⁶. The county is at the geographical center of the Great
Valley of East Tennessee and is the origination point of the Tennessee River.
It is included in the Knoxville, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Contents

History

The Civil War

County Government Controversies

Geography

Major highways

Interstate highways

U.S. Highways

State Routes

Adjacent counties

Demographics

Cities, communities, and places

Cities and towns

Unincorporated communities

See also

References

External links

History

Knox County was created on June 11, 1792 by Governor William Blount from parts of Greene and Hawkins counties. It is one of nine United States counties named for Revolutionary War general and first United States Secretary of War Henry Knox. Parts of Knox County later became Blount, Anderson, Roane, and Union counties between 1795 and 1850.

The Civil War

Knox County's strategic location along important railroad lines made it an area coveted by both Union and Confederate forces throughout the Civil War. Since the mountainous terrain of East Tennessee was mostly unsuitable for plantation crops such as cotton, slavery was not as prevalent as it was in Middle and West Tennessee - an 1860 census of Knox County showed a population of 20,020 white citizens and just 2,370 slaves. ^[1] The lack of established slavery and a strong abolitionist movement in the region were two of the reasons Knox County, along with much of East Tennessee, was a bastion of pro-Union sentiment.
Prior to secession, Unionists from Knox County collaborated with other East Tennessee Unionists in an attempt to secede from Tennessee itself and remain part of the Union. O.P. Temple of Knox County was named to a 3-person commission that was to appear before the General Assembly in Nashville and request the secession of East Tennessee and pro-Union Middle Tennessee counties from the state^[2]. The attempt failed, and Knox County joined the Confederacy along with the rest of Tennessee after the second referendum for secession in 1861^[3].
Knox County remained under Confederate control until September 3, 1863, when General Ambrose Burnside and the Union army marched into Knoxville unopposed. Union Colonel William Harris, son of New York Senator Ira Harris, sent his father this message^[1] in regards to Knox County's capture:
With the success of Burnside's troops during the Knoxville Campaign, and especially during the decisive Battle of Fort Sanders, Knox County remained under Union control for the duration of the Civil War.

County Government Controversies

Groups of city and county residents have tried unsuccessfully to form a consolidated city-county with Knoxville. Despite the defeat of consolidation when brought before the voters in a referendum, an important first step was taken in the early 1980s when Knoxville City Schools were absorbed into the Knox County School System under the leadership of Knox County School Superintendent Earl F. Hoffmeister.
The county administrator is called the County Mayor, formerly known as the County Executive. It is an elected position and Mike Ragsdale is the current county mayor. There is also an elected county commission. The county officials' districts do not overlap with the city of Knoxville, which has its own mayor and city council, as well as a separate police department.
In 1994, Knox County voters passed term limits on Knox County officeholders, including County Commission, Sheriff, Register of Deeds, the County Clerk, and the County Trustee’s office.
For thirteen years, these officeholders did not abide by term limits. On January 12, 2007, the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled the term limited officeholders would not be able to serve again once their terms expired. (source: ''Knoxville News Sentinel'', “A Dozen Done,” January 13, 2007)
On January 31, 2007, the County Commission voted to appoint 12 replacements for these officeholders,^[5] but not in what many observers in Knoxville considered a forthright, public process. Appointees included relatives and associates of outgoing commissioners.^[6]
Some of the other activities that occurred during the January 31 commission meeting include:

★ Outgoing commissioner Diane Jordan nominated her son, Josh to replace her, and voted for him. Two days after the appointment, it was revealed that Josh Jordan was an admitted drug dealer, in 1992.^[7] He had worked as a lawn mower before being county commissioner.

★ Commissioner Mark Cawood's wife replaced him.

★ Commissioner Billy Tindell was immediately appointed to the position of County Clerk.


★ Commissioner Craig Leuthold's father, Frank, was appointed to represent his district.

★ Commission chairman Scott "Scoobie" Moore nominated and successfully pushed through his campaign treasurer for a seat that was not in his district.

★ Outgoing sheriff Tim Hutchison nominated his chief deputy, J. J. Jones, to replace him who then hired Hutchison back as his chief deputy.

★ During this meeting, Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale allegedly had his aides try to convince commissioners to change their votes, raising accusations of the mayor's attempts to circumvent Tennessee's Open Meetings Law.^[8]

★ The commissioners swore in one of the newly appointed commissioners, but not the other six newly appointed commissioners, to break a tie vote.

★ Second District nominee Jonathan Wimmer said later that Commissioner Greg "Lumpy" Lambert asked him to vote for 4th District nominee Lee Tramel in exchange for a seat.^[9]
In an op-ed, ''Knoxville News-Sentinel'' columnist Sam Venable said "Boss Hogg, the king of corruption in the old 'Dukes of Hazzard' TV series, couldn't hold a flame to this group. He'd be way out of his league in Knoxville."^[10] and ''Knoxville News-Sentinel'' op-ed columnist Greg Johnson said this about the affair:^[11]
In June 2007, the county ethics panel met and agreed to encourage the commission to institute ethics rules due to "nepotism and cronyism."^[12]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,362 km² (526 mi²). 1,317 km² (508 mi²) of it is land and 45 km² (17 mi²) of it (3.29%) is water.

Major highways

Interstate highways

★ Interstate 40

★
★ Interstate 140

★
★ Interstate 640

★ Interstate 75

★
★ Interstate 275

U.S. Highways

★ U.S. Routes 11, 11E, and 11W

★ U.S. Route 25W

★ U.S. Route 70 (Kingston Pike)

★ U.S. Route 129

★ U.S. Route 441

State Routes

★ State Route 1 (Kingston Pike, Cumberland Avenue, Magnolia Avenue, and Rutledge Pike) – follows United States Routes 70 and 11 (11W when it splits in the east part of the county)

★ State Route 9 (Clinton Highway, Asheville Highway) – follows United States Routes 25W, and additionally in the eastern part of the county, U.S. Routes 70 and 11E

★ State Route 33 (Maryville Pike, Chapman Highway, Henley Street, Broadway, Maynardville Highway)

★ State Route 34 (Andrew Johnson Highway)

★ State Route 61 (Washington Pike and East Emory Road)

★ State Route 62 (Oak Ridge Highway and Western Avenue)

★ State Route 71 (Chapman Highway, Henley Street, Broadway, Norris Freeway) – follows U.S. Route 441

★ State Route 115 (Alcoa Highway) – follows U.S. Route 129

★ State Route 131 (Lovell Road, Ball Camp-Byington Road, Beaver Ridge Road, Emory Road, and Tazewell Pike)

★ State Route 158 (Neyland Drive and James White Parkway)

★ State Route 162 (Pellissippi Parkway)

★ State Route 168 (Gov. John Sevier Highway)

★ State Route 169 (Middlebrook Pike)

★ State Route 170 (Raccoon Valley Road)

★ State Route 331 (Tazewell Pike and Emory Road)

★ State Route 332 (Concord Road and Northshore Drive)

★ State Route 475 (a proposed bypass for I-75)

Adjacent counties

★ Union County (north)

★ Grainger County (northeast)

★ Jefferson County (east)

★ Sevier County (southeast)

★ Blount County (south)

★ Loudon County (southwest)

★ Roane County (west)

★ Anderson County (northwest)

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 382,032 people, 157,872 households, and 100,722 families residing in the county. The population density was 290/km² (751/mi²). There were 171,439 housing units at an average density of 130/km² (337/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 88.10% White, 8.63% Black or African American, 0.26% Native American, 1.29% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.50% from other races, and 1.18% from two or more races. 1.26% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 157,872 households out of which 28.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.80% were married couples living together, 10.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.20% were non-families. 29.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.92.
In the county, the population was spread out with 22.30% under the age of 18, 11.60% from 18 to 24, 30.40% from 25 to 44, 23.10% from 45 to 64, and 12.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 93.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.10 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $37,454, and the median income for a family was $49,182. Males had a median income of $35,755 versus $25,140 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,875. About 8.40% of families and 12.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.50% of those under age 18 and 9.70% of those age 65 or over.

Cities, communities, and places

Cities and towns

★ Farragut

★ Knoxville

Unincorporated communities

★ Ball Camp

★ Bearden

★ Bluegrass

★ Byington

★ Carter

★ Cedar Bluff

★ Concord

★ Corryton

★ ((Fountain City, Tennessee

★ ((Inskip, Tennessee

★ Gibbs

★ Halls Crossroads

★ Hardin Valley

★ Heiskell

★ Karns

★ Kimberlin Heights

★ Mascot

★ Mt. Olive

★ Pedigo

★ Powell

★ Ramsey

★ Ritta

★ Riverdale

★ Skaggston

★ Solway

★ Thorn Grove

★ Vestal

See also

★ National Register of Historic Places, Knox County, Tennessee

References

1. Knoxville in the Civil War
2. Furman:East Tennessee Anti-Secession Resolutions
3. Ordinance of Secession of Tennessee
4. Knoxville in the Civil War
5. ''Knoxville News Sentinel'', “Backroom Deals,” January 31, 2007 [1]
6. ''Knoxville News Sentinel'', “Backroom Deals,” January 31, 2007 [2]
7. ''Knoxville News Sentinel'', "Jordan admits drug dealing past" [3]
8. ''Knoxville News Sentinel'', "And now, accusations fly" [4]
9. ''Knoxville News Sentinel'', “Wimmer Says He Refused to Trade His Vote for Appointment,” February 2, 2007 [5]
10. ''Knoxville News Sentinel'', "Venable: Coming to a theater near you" [6]
11. ''Knoxville News Sentinel'', "The good, the bad and phew," Feb 2, 2007 [7]
12. ''Knoxville News Sentinel'', "Nepotism focus of panel" [8]
13. Based on 2000 census data


★ ''History of Tennessee From the Earliest Time to the Present: Together With an Historical and a Biographical Sketch of From Twenty-five to Thirty Counties of East Tennessee''. (The Goodspeed Publishing Co., Chicago & Nashville), 1887.

★ Rothrock, Mary U., editor. ''The French Broad-Holston Country: A History of Knox County, Tennessee.'' (Knox County Historical Committee; East Tennessee Historical Society, 1946).

External links

★ Knox County Government Official Site

★

★ Knox County Charter and Terms Limits Controversy