Grundy County, Tennessee

Grundy County, Tennessee
Grundy County Courthouse in Altamont
Location in the state of Tennessee
Tennessee's location in the U.S.
Founded	1844
Named for	Felix Grundy
Seat	Altamont
Largest city	Gruetli-Laager
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	361 sq mi (935 km²) 361 sq mi (934 km²) 1 sq mi (2 km²), .16%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	13,703 40/sq mi (15/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5

Grundy County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is named in honor of Felix Grundy. As of 2010, the population was 13,703. Its county seat is Altamont.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 361 square miles (935.0 km²), of which 0.16% is water.

Adjacent Counties

• Warren County (north)
• Sequatchie County (east)
• Marion County (south)
• Franklin County (southwest)
• Coffee County (west)

Demographics

Age pyramid Grundy County

As of the census of 2000, there were 14,332 people, 5,562 households, and 4,054 families residing in the county. The population density was 40 people per square mile (15/km²). There were 6,282 housing units at an average density of 17 per square mile (7/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.33% White, 0.14% Black or African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.35% from other races, and 0.71% from two or more races. 0.98% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 5,562 households out of which 33.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.60% were married couples living together, 12.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.10% were non-families. 24.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the county, the population was spread out with 25.10% under the age of 18, 9.00% from 18 to 24, 27.80% from 25 to 44, 24.10% from 45 to 64, and 14.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 96.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $22,959, and the median income for a family was $27,691. Males had a median income of $27,063 versus $17,447 for females. The per capita income for the county was $12,039. About 22.60% of families and 25.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.50% of those under age 18 and 23.60% of those age 65 or over.

History

Grundy County was the site of several saltpeter mines. Saltpeter is the main ingredient of gunpowder and was obtained by leaching the earth from several local caves. Fultz Saltpeter Cave, located in Fultz Cove, and Hubbard Saltpeter Cave, located in Hubbard Cove, were both significant operations. Woodlee Cave, located in Northcutts Cove, was also mined for saltpeter. Saltpeter was mined during both the War of 1812 and the Civil War, so these caves may have been mined during either, or both, time periods.

Natural features

Grundy County contains much of the Fiery Gizzard Trail, renowned for scenic beauty and diversity.

Wonder Cave is located on the north side of Layne's Cove at the foot of the Cumberland Plateau. It was discovered in 1897 by Robert A. Nelson, Melville Anderson, and Will Fitzgerald, who crawled into a small opening next to a large, well-known spring. In 1898 the cave was purchased by R. M. Payne who enlarged the small opening, built trails, and opened the cave to the public as a commercial cave. Wonder Cave was a major tourist attraction for nearly 80 years, but construction of the Interstate Highway system diverted tourists away from the old, main highway, Highway 41, and the cave eventually closed.

Notable people

• Right Rev. William Millsaps was the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Missionary Church, a former chaplain of the University of the South.
• Agnes Roberts Coffelt (1922–1992) of Palmer, Tennessee, wife of John Ervin Coffelt, had a noted art gallery named for her in Birmingham, Alabama, from 1993-2001. Agnes was a gallery devoted to socially aware photography, short film/video and book arts. The gallery exhibited artists from around the world. Agnes Coffelt is buried in Fall Creek Cemetery beside her husband.
• Ernst Leonhardt was born in Tracy City in 1885 to Swiss emigrants. While living in Switzerland, he became a National Front supporter and Nazi politician and propagandist. He died in an Allied air raid is southwestern Germany in March 1945.

Cities and towns

• Altamont
• Beersheba Springs
• Coalmont
• Gruetli-Laager
• Monteagle (also in Franklin and Marion Counties)
• Palmer
• Tracy City

Communities

• Barkertown (Barker's Cove)
• Collins
• Cumberland Heights
• Dogtown
• Elk River Valley
  • Elkhead
  • Mountain View
  • Pelham
  • Piedmont
  • Providence
  • Valley Home
• Flat Branch
• Hixon
• Hobbs Hill
• Mount Olive
• Purdon
• Sanders Crossing
• Sweeton Hill
• Summerfield
• Tarlton
• Tatesville
• Torbet
• White City

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Grundy County, Tennessee

References

6. Caves of Chattanooga by Larry E. Matthews, April 2007, Published by the National Speleological Society, ISBN 978-1-879961-27-2. See Chapter 9, "Wonder Cave", pages 161-178 for a complete history of the cave, including numerous photographs and a location map.

External links

• Grundy County, TNGenWeb - free genealogy resources for the county
• Grundy County at the Open Directory Project