Johnson County, Tennessee

History

Johnson County was created in 1836 from parts of Carter County. This followed several years of bickering over the location of Carter County's seat, with residents of what is now Johnson County arguing that travel to Elizabethton was too lengthy and difficult. When their petition to move the seat to a more central location was rejected, they petitioned the state legislature for the creation of a new county. The new county was named after Thomas Johnson, an early settler. The county seat was initially named "Taylorsville" in honor of Colonel James P. Taylor (it was changed to "Mountain City" in the 1880s).

Most Johnson Countians supported the Union during the Civil War. The county's residents rejected secession by a margin of 788 to 111 in Tennessee's secession referendum on June 8, 1861. The county sent a sizable delegation to the Greeneville session of the pro-Union East Tennessee Convention in June 1861.

Due in large part to the county's remoteness, the railroads did not reach Johnson until the early 20th century. The arrival of the railroads during this period aided the development of the timber and manganese mining industries.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 303 sqmi, of which 298 sqmi is land and 4.2 sqmi (1.4%) is water.

Situated entirely within the Blue Ridge Mountains, Johnson County is relatively rugged and hilly. The county's boundary with Sullivan County to the northwest is defined as the ridgeline of Holston Mountain, while the Iron Mountains provide the county's boundary with Carter County to the southwest. Snake Mountain, at 5574 ft, is the county's highest point.

Unlike most of Tennessee, part of northern Johnson County is outside of the Sun Belt due to a past error surveying the northern border of Middle and East Tennessee; Laurel Bloomery in particular is north of the Sun Belt. The Sun Belt is defined by the Kinder Institute as being south of 36°30'N latitude, which was intended to be the northern border of Tennessee and is the actual northern border of West Tennessee.

High elevation

In terms of average elevation, Johnson County is one of the highest counties (if not the highest) in Tennessee. The county is home to the two highest communities in the state: Trade, at 3,133 ft, and Shady Valley, at 2,785 ft. Mountain City is the highest incorporated city in Tennessee, at 2,418 ft. The highest place in Johnson County is Snake Mountain's lower peak, (near the North Carolina state line), at 5,518 ft. The lowest point in the county is Watauga Lake, at an elevation of 1,959 ft.

Lake

• Watauga Lake

Adjacent counties

• Washington County, Virginia (north)
• Grayson County, Virginia (northeast)
• Ashe County, North Carolina (east)
• Watauga County, North Carolina (southeast)
• Avery County, North Carolina (south)
• Carter County (southwest)
• Sullivan County (west)

National protected areas

• Appalachian Trail (part)
• Cherokee National Forest (part)

Demographics

|align-fn=center 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2014

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 17,948 people, 7,205 households, and 4,635 families residing in the county. The median age was 47.6 years; 17.5% of residents were under the age of 18 and 23.9% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 118.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 119.7 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 90.4% White, 4.1% Black or African American, 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 1.4% from some other race, and 3.6% from two or more races; Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.9% of the population.

There were 7,205 households in the county, of which 23.6% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 45.1% were married-couple households, 20.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 27.9% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 32.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 8,723 housing units, of which 17.4% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 75.0% were owner-occupied and 25.0% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.6% and the rental vacancy rate was 6.9%.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 17,499 people, 6,827 households, and 4,751 families residing in the county. The population density was 59 /mi2. There were 7,879 housing units at an average density of 26 /mi2. The racial makeup of the county was 96.40% White, 2.42% Black or African American, 0.34% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.23% from other races, and 0.46% from two or more races. 0.86% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 6,827 households, out of which 26.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.40% were married couples living together, 10.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.40% were non-families. 26.40% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.81.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 19.70% under the age of 18, 7.40% from 18 to 24, 30.80% from 25 to 44, 27.10% from 45 to 64, and 15.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 114.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 114.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $23,067, and the median income for a family was $28,400. Males had a median income of $24,018 versus $18,817 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,388. About 18.70% of families and 22.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.80% of those under age 18 and 21.50% of those age 65 or over.

Male inmates in the Northeast Correctional Complex, southwest of Mountain City, account for 1,299 (7.4%) of the county's population.

Communities

Town

• Mountain City (county seat)

Census-designated place

• Butler

Unincorporated communities

• Crandull
• Doe Valley
• Doeville
• Laurel Bloomery
• Midway
• Shady Valley
• Sutherland
• Trade

Politics

Johnson County is a long-term Republican stronghold and is located within Tennessee's 1st congressional district, which has not been represented by a Democrat since 1881. Johnson County has never been carried by a Democratic presidential nominee. Since a Republican Party presidential nominee first appeared on the ballot in Tennessee in 1868, there has only been one occasion when Johnson County's voters didn't vote for the official Republican Party candidate, and that was in 1912, when voters voted for the official Bull Moose Progressive Party candidate, Theodore Roosevelt, the former Republican president of the United States from 1901 to 1909. Johnson County's voters chose Roosevelt in 1912 rather than the man who was then the incumbent Republican president of the United States, William Howard Taft (president of the United States from 1909 to 1913).

Johnson County was reportedly the strongest county in the US for Republican candidates Calvin Coolidge in 1924, Herbert Hoover in 1932 and the second strongest behind Jackson County, Kentucky for Alf Landon in 1936. The Republican candidate has consistently won since 1916, during which period no Republican candidate has received less than 56 percent of the county's vote. In 2012, Mitt Romney received 74.4 percent, while Donald Trump received 82.2 percent in 2016, 82.9 percent in 2020, and then 84.3 percent in 2024.

In popular culture

Steve Earle's song "Copperhead Road" is about a family of moonshiners from Johnson County – where, until 2018, alcohol was prohibited ever since the Twenty-First Amendment. The second verse contains the line "Johnson County Sheriff painted on the side".

The childhood home of Valene Ewing, a character in the TV series Dallas and Knots Landing, is in Johnson County, in the fictional community of Shula.

References

References

1. Jewell Hamm, "[http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=713 Johnson County]," ''Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture''. Retrieved: October 18, 2013.
2. "Census - Geography Profile: Johnson County, Tennessee". [[United States Census Bureau]].
3. "Find a County". National Association of Counties.
4. "[http://www.mce.k12tn.net/johnson/history/forming/forming_johnson_county.htm The Forming of Johnson County]{{Dead link. (November 2024)
5. Oliver Perry Temple, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=g8xYAAAAMAAJ&dq=%22The+detailed+vote+of+the+several+counties+was+as+follows%22&pg=PA199 East Tennessee and the Civil War]'' (R. Clarke Company, 1899), p. 199.
6. Charles F. Bryan, Jr., "[https://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/42626043?uid=14937480&uid=3739912&uid=2&uid=3&uid=67&uid=14937416&uid=62&uid=3739256&sid=21104662885971 A Gathering of Tories: The East Tennessee Conventions of 1861]," ''Tennessee Historical Quarterly'', Vol. 39, No. 1 (Spring 1980), pp. 27-48.
7. (August 22, 2012). "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
8. Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, et al., "[https://web.archive.org/web/20150402112754/http://www.epa.gov/ttnamti1/files/networkplans/TNPlan2010.pdf Ambient Air Monitoring Plan]," Environmental Protection Agency website, July 1, 2010. Accessed: March 18, 2015.
9. https://www.williamsonherald.com/features/w_life/tennessee-history-a-closer-look-at-why-state-s-northern-border-is-askew/article_fa390acc-5383-11ea-ab72-9bfcdc4177a8.html
10. https://kinder.rice.edu/urbanedge/large-young-and-fast-growing-sun-belt-metros-need-urban-policy-innovation#:~:text=The%20Kinder%20Institute%20defines%20the,degrees%2030%20minutes%20north%20latitude
11. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau.
12. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library.
13. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau.
14. (April 2, 2001). "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000". United States Census Bureau.
15. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau.
16. (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)".
17. (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)".
18. (2023). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)".
19. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
20. link. (February 12, 2020 The Correctional Complex comprises census block 1020, block group 1, census tract 9561. Use table P37 on the SF 1 data set.)
21. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections".
22. [http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/stats.php?year=1924&f=1&off=0&elect=0 David Leip's Presidential Atlas: Statistics for 1924]
23. [http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/stats.php?year=1932&f=1&off=0&elect=0 David Leip's Presidential Atlas: Statistics for 1932]
24. [http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/stats.php?year=1936&f=1&off=0&elect=0 David Leip's Presidential Atlas: Statistics for 1936]
25. [http://www.uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/stats.php?year=1956&f=1&off=0&elect=0 David Leip's Presidential Atlas: Statistics for 1956]
26. [http://www.uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/comparemaps.php?year=2008&fips=47&f=1&off=0&elect=0 David Leip's Presidential Election Atlas (Election maps for Tennessee)]
27. [http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/results/president/map.html?scp=1&sq=%22election%20map&st=cse The New York Times electoral map (Zoom in on Tennessee)]