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Coordinates: 35°08′N 85°37′W / 35.13°N 85.61°W / 35.13; -85.61
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==External links==
==External links==
* [http://www.tngenweb.org/marion Marion County, TNGenWeb] - free genealogy resources for the county
*{{dmoz|Regional/North_America/United_States/Tennessee/Counties/Marion/|Marion County}}
*{{dmoz|Regional/North_America/United_States/Tennessee/Counties/Marion/|Marion County}}


Revision as of 08:43, 17 March 2012

For counties with a similar name, see Marion County (disambiguation).

35°08′N 85°37′W / 35.13°N 85.61°W / 35.13; -85.61

Marion County
County
Marion County Courthouse in Jasper
Marion County Courthouse in Jasper
Map of Tennessee highlighting Marion County
Location within the U.S. state of Tennessee
Map of the United States highlighting Tennessee
Tennessee's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 35°08′N 85°37′W / 35.13°N 85.61°W / 35.13; -85.61
Country United States
State Tennessee
SeatJasper
Largest cityJasper
Area
 • Total512 sq mi (1,327 km2)
 • Land498 sq mi (1,291 km2)
 • Water14 sq mi (36 km2)  2.72%
Population
 (2010)
 • Total28,237
 • Density57/sq mi (22/km2)
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)

Marion County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2010, the population was 28,237. Its county seat is Jasper.Template:GR

Marion County is part of the Chattanooga, TN–GA Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 512 square miles (1,327 km²), of which 498 square miles (1,291 km²) is land and 14 square miles (36 km²) (2.72%) is water.

Adjacent counties

History

In 1779 Cherokee chief Dragging Canoe moved down the Tennessee River from Chickamauga Creek to Running Water creek, and helped establish the associated town of Nickajack downriver in front of the entrance to Nickajack Cave. In 1794, this town was attacked and burned. This attack was led by Colonel James Orr of Nashville, Tennessee. The town was rebuilt and the Chickamauga Band of Indians continued to live here until 1838, when all remaining Indians were removed from Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia.[1]

In the spring of 1861, Robert Cravens of Chattanooga began mining saltpeter, the main ingredient of gunpowder, at Nickajack Cave. Later this operation was taken over by the Confederate Niter Bureau. At one point, Nickajack Cave was one of the main sources of saltpeter for the Confederate States of America. Nickajack Cave was visited by thousands of Civil War troops, who moved up and down the Tennessee River on boats.[1]

Another important saltpeter mine during the Civil War was Monteagle Saltpeter Cave, located in Cave Cove, approximately 4 miles southeast of Monteagle. During the Civil War, it was referred to as Battle Creek Cave. A 1917 visitor to the cave reported 25 or 30 old hoppers remaining in the cave. (Marion O. Smith, "Confederate Niter District Eight: Middle Tennesse & Northwest Georgia, 2011, 56 pages.)


Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2010, there were 28,237 people, 11,403 households, and 8,030 families residing in the county. The population density was 57 people per square mile (22/km²). There were 12,954 housing units at an average density of 26 per square mile (10/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 93.9% White, 3.6% Black or African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.27% from other races, and 1.2% from two or more races. 1.3% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Age pyramid Marion County[2]

There were 11,403 households out of which 25.3% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.1% were married couples living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.6% were non-families. 29.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the county, the population was spread out with 22.80% under the age of 18 and 8.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43.9 years. The female population was 50.9%.

As of 2000, the median income for a household in the county was $31,419, and the median income for a family was $36,351. Males had a median income of $30,236 versus $21,778 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,419. About 10.80% of families and 14.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.00% of those under age 18 and 14.30% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

Municipalities

Unincorporated communities

Transportation

Airport

Marion County Airport, also known as Brown Field, is a county-owned, public-use airport located four nautical miles (7 km) southeast of the central business district of Jasper.[3]

Education

The schools in Marion County are:

Parks and natural features

Nickajack Cave in Marion County, located 0.6 miles south of Shellmound Station on the west side of the Tennessee River, is one of the most historical caves in Tennessee.[4] It is currently part of a park run by the city of New Hope. A paved hiking trail leads to an observation deck at the entrance to the cave where visitors can watch the bats leave the cave at dusk. (Larry E. Matthews, Caves of Chattanooga, 2007, Published by the National Speleological Society, ISBN 978-1-879961-27-2.) The cave was used by tourists and as a show cave, but in 1968 the cave was flooded by the Tennessee Valley Authority. TVA spent two decades trying to fix a leakage problem that had plagued Hales Bar since its construction, but after continued leakage, and after it was determined that expanding the dam's navigation lock would be too expensive, TVA decided to replace the dam by building Nickajack Dam 6 miles (9.7 km) downstream in 1968, flooding the Nickajack Cave.

Notable people

  • Cherokee scholar Sequoyah (b. 1776 (?), d. 1843 ) lived in the Marion County area. Sequoyah is famous for developing a Cherokee alphabet, making the Cherokee Nation literate in their own language. A bust honoring Sequoyah is in the town of South Pittsburgh in front of the Beene Pearson Public Library.

.

Media and communications

Marion County is served by numerous local, regional and national media outlets which reach approximately one million people in four states including: Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia and North Carolina.

Newspapers

The Chattanooga Times Free Press headquarters

The Chattanooga Times Free Press, the area's only daily newspaper, is published every morning. It was effectively formed in 1999 from two papers that had been bitter rivals for half a century, the Times and the News-Free Press. The Times was once owned by Adolph Ochs, who later bought the New York Times. The Times had been the morning paper and had a generally more liberal editorial page. The News-Free Press, whose name was the result of an earlier merger, was an afternoon daily and its editorials were more conservative than those in the Times. In 1999, the Free Press was bought by an Arkansas company, WEHCO Media, publisher of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, which then bought The Times from the Ochs heirs. The Times Free Press is the only known newspaper in the United States to have 2 editorial pages, each reflecting opposite ends of the political spectrum. The Times' editorial page, which is liberal, is on the left page and the Free Press' editorial page, which is conservative, is on the right page.[5]


The Jasper Journal is a weekly news publication that covers news from in and around the county including a community calendar. The Journal features stories from around the county and features such as the "Whitwell Progress" which covers happenings specific to Whitwell, Tennessee. The Jasper Journal is published by Marion County Newspapers, Inc. located in South Pittsburg, TN. Online


The South Pittsburg Hustler is also a weekly news publication that is also published by Marion County Newspapers, Inc. "The Hustler," as it's commonly called by local residents, covers stories from around Marion County, but is more specific to South Pittsburg, TN.

Online media

MarionCountyMessenger the website "MarionCountyMessenger.com" is an online media outlet that concentrates on news from in and around Marion County and the Sequatchie Valley. The publisher is Carmichael Media, headed by Logan Carmichael who previously was a news writer and reporter for WPLZ radio in Chattanooga, TN and has been a longtime radio news director in Marion County. Launched in December of 2010, MarionCountyMessenger.com, which is updated daily, has proven to be a pace-setter in the rapidly-developing field of Internet news publishing or web-only newspapers and has drawn a wide following and readership.


MarionCountyNews.net the website "MarionCountyNews.net" is the online site for Marion County Newspapers, Inc. Stories from both the Jasper Journal and South Pittsburg Hustler are featured on the website. The website is updated several times weekly with local news and information.

Radio

Marion County is part of the Chattanooga, TN Arbitron radio market. The following radio stations are licensed to cities within Marion County:

AM
  • WEPG 910 AM – Contemporary Country (Licensed to South Pittsburg, TN)
  • WWAM 820 AM – Southern Gospel (Licensed to Jasper, TN)
FM
  • WUUQ 97.3 – Classic Country Q-97.3/99.3 (Licensed to South Pittsburg, TN)
  • WJCR-LP-94.9 - Jasper Christ-Centered Radio (Licensed to Jasper, TN)

Television

Marion County is part of the Chattanooga, TN DMA. Cable TV companies in Marion County include Charter Communications and Trinity Cable

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Caves of Chattanooga" by Larry E. Matthews, 2007, Published by the National Speleological Society, ISBN 978-1-879961-27-2
  2. ^ Based on 2000 census data
  3. ^ FAA Airport Form 5010 for APT PDF. Federal Aviation Administration. Effective 11 February 2010.
  4. ^ Thomas C. Barr, Jr. (Caves of Tennessee, 1961)
  5. ^ "Our unique editorial variety". timesfreepress.com. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
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