Johnson City, Tennessee

Johnson City is a city in Washington County, Tennessee; however a small part of the city is located within Carter County, Tennessee. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 55,469.

Johnson City is the home of East Tennessee State University, which is a public school with an enrollment of over 12,000 students. The university features the James H. Quillen College of Medicine, which is nationally known as a top-quality medical school for primary care physicians. Not surprisingly given the medical college's importance in the area, Johnson City is also known for its large medical community. In 2005, a new College of Pharmacy was approved at ETSU by the State of Tennessee, with classes scheduled to begin in January 2007.

History

Founded in 1856 by Henry Johnson as a railroad station called "Johnson's Depot," Johnson City became a major railway center for the southeast, as three railway lines crossed in the downtown area. Johnson City served as headquarters for the legendary narrow gauge East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad (ET&WNC) (also known as "Tweetsie Railroad") built in the 1880s and the Carolina, Clinchfield, and Ohio Railway. Both rail systems featured excursion trips through scenic portions of the Blue Ridge Mountains and were engineering marvels of railway construction. The Southern Railway (Now Norfolk Southern) also passes through the city.

During the Civil War, before it was formally incorporated in 1869, the name of the town was briefly changed to Haynesville in honor of Confederate Senator Landon Carter Haynes. Henry Johnson's name was quickly restored following the war, with Johnson elected as the city's first Mayor on January 3, 1870. The town grew rapidly from 1870 until 1890 as railroad and mining interests flourished. However, the national depression of 1893, which caused many railway failures and a resulting financial panic, halted Johnson City's boom town momentum in its tracks.

In 1901, the Mountain Branch of the National Soldiers Home (now the Veterans Affairs Medical Center) was created by an Act of the US Congress introduced by Walter P. Brownlow. Construction on this 450 acre campus, designed to serve disabled Civil War veterans, was completed in 1903 at a cost of $3 million. Prior to building of this facility, the assessed value of the entire town was listed at $750,000. The East Tennessee State Normal School was authorized in 1911 and the new college campus located directly across from the National Soldiers Home. Johnson City again entered a rapid growth phase becoming the fifth largest city in Tennessee by 1930.

Johnson City along with neighboring Bristol, Tennessee was noted as a hotbed for old-time music (precursor to country music) and hosted noteworthy Columbia Records recording sessions in 1928 known as the "Johnson City Sessions." Native son "Fiddlin' Charlie" Bowman became a national recording star via these sessions.

During the 1920s, Johnson City's ties to Appalachian Mountains bootlegging activity gave the city the nickname of "Little Chicago." Stories persist that the town was the southern headquarters for Al Capone who was a part-time resident of Montrose Court, a luxury apartment complex now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Capone had a well organized distribution network for alcohol smuggling that shipped his products from the mountain distillers to northern cities. An annual "Little Chicago Blues Festival" is held commemorating the legends surrounding the Prohibition-era speakeasies and railroad glory days of Johnson City.

The city is featured in a song and video by Travis Tritt called "Modern Day Bonnie and Clyde," although the line "rollin' north on 95," is fictionalized, as Interstate 81 and Interstate 26 intersect near Johnson City. A milestone was achieved in 2003 when Interstate 26 was extended from Asheville, North Carolina to Johnson City completing a 20-year half-billion dollar construction project through the Blue Ridge Mountains.

The city is also considered the hometown of football coaching legend Steve Spurrier.

Geography

Johnson City is located at (36.335399, -82.372760).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 102.5 km² (39.6 mi²). 101.7 km² (39.3 mi²) of it is land and 0.8 km² (0.3 mi²) of it (0.78%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 55,469 people, 23,720 households, and 14,018 families residing in the city. The population density was 545.4/km² (1,412.4/mi²). There were 25,730 housing units at an average density of 253.0/km² (655.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 90.09% White, 6.40% African American, 0.26% Native American, 1.22% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.69% from other races, and 1.32% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.89% of the population.

There were 23,720 households out of which 25.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.1% were married couples living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.9% were non-families. 33.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.82.

In the city the population was spread out with 19.8% under the age of 18, 13.7% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 91.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,835, and the median income for a family was $40,977. Males had a median income of $31,326 versus $22,150 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,364. About 11.4% of families and 15.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.9% of those under age 18 and 12.7% of those age 65 or over.

Famous Residents

Steve Spurrier Coach of the University of South Carolina Gamecocks. Spurrier lived in Johnson City during his high school years where he was a multi-talented athlete for Science Hill High School in Johnson City. He still has family in the area.
Mike Potter, NASCAR driver
Kenny Chesney
Johnny Miller, NASCAR driver
Mike Brown, AMA rider

Points of interest

Television Stations

WJHL-TV CBS, News Channel 11

External links

Cities in Tennessee | Washington County, Tennessee | Carter County, Tennessee

Johnson City, Tennessee | Johnson City

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