Maryville

Maryville, Tennessee
—  City  —
Maryville, Tennessee
Location of Maryville, Tennessee
U.S. Census Map
Coordinates: 35°44′59″N 83°58′33″W / 35.74972°N 83.97583°W / 35.74972; -83.97583
Country	United States
State	Tennessee
County	Blount
Area
- Total	15.9 sq mi (41.2 km2)
- Land	15.9 sq mi (41.2 km2)
- Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	935 ft (285 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	23,120
- Density	1,452.4/sq mi (560.8/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes	37801-37804
Area code(s)	865
FIPS code	47-46380[1]
GNIS feature ID	1292868[2]

Maryville is a city in and the county seat of Blount County, Tennessee,^[3] in the Southeastern United States. The city is located 20 miles south of Knoxville. Maryville's population was 23,120 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Knoxville Metropolitan Area. Maryville College is located in the city.

Geography

Maryville is located at 35°44′59″N 83°58′33″W / 35.74972°N 83.97583°W / 35.74972; -83.97583 (35.749857, -83.975805)^[4].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 15.9 square miles (41.2 km²), all of it land.

Maryville lies in the Foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. Chilhowee Mountain, the outermost ridge of the Western Smokies, rises prominently to the south. Chilhowee's eastern flank— known locally as "The Three Sisters"— is visible from almost anywhere in the city, and dominates the southern horizon along US-321 between Maryville and Walland. Maryville is bordered on the north by Maryville's twin city, Alcoa, Tennessee. A number of small suburbs— including Wildwood, Ellejoy, and Clover Hill— surround Maryville to the east and west.

Major streets

• Broadway, the main street of the downtown area, is an alignment of U.S. Route 411 and partly of U.S. Route 129. It continues to Sevierville to the east and Monroe County to the west.
• Lamar Alexander Parkway, an alignment of U.S. Route 321, continues to Lenoir City to the west and Townsend and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to the east.
• Maryville-Alcoa Bypass, an alignment of U.S. Route 129 and part of the primary route between Maryville and Knoxville
• Montvale Road (State Route 336)
• Morganton Road, which runs parallel to US-411, connects Maryville to Greenback and the old Morganton area to west.
• Cusick Street crosses Broadway at the center of the downtown area. It extends north through Alcoa toward Louisville.
• Washington Street (State Route 35)

Parks

Greenbelt Park

• Maryville Alcoa Greenway
• Bicentennial Park (Greenbelt)
• Amerine Park
• Eagleton Park
• Everett Park
• John Sevier Park
• Pearson Springs Park
• Sandy Springs Park

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 23,120 people, 9,050 households, and 6,045 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,452.4 people per square mile (560.7/km²). There were 9,795 housing units at an average density of 615.3/sq mi (237.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.59% White, 2.95% African American, 0.22% Native American, 1.55% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.53% from other races, and 1.14% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.38% of the population.

There were 9,050 households out of which 32.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.3% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.2% were non-families. 29.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.9% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 17.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 85.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $40,143, and the median income for a family was $49,182. Males had a median income of $35,434 versus $23,444 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,556. About 7.8% of families and 10.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.3% of those under age 18 and 9.6% of those age 65 or over.

History

Monument marking the spring which once supplied water to Fort Craig

The Great Indian Warpath, which ran roughly parallel to the modern US-411, passed through what is now Maryville when the first Euro-American explorers arrived in the area. A Cherokee village known as Elajay was situated at the confluence of Ellejoy Creek (named after the village) and Little River, near modern Heritage High School. Ensign Henry Timberlake passed through the village in 1762 while returning from his expedition to the Overhill villages to the west, but reported that it had been abandoned.^[5]

In 1785, Revolutionary War veteran John Craig founded a wooden palisade known as Fort Craig at what is now Maryville in order to defend settlers against attacks from Native American tribes. Craig donated 50 acres (200,000 m²) next to his fort for the founding of a new town. Maryville was incorporated as a city on July 11, 1795 and named in honor of Mary Grainger Blount, wife of territorial governor William Blount, for whom Blount County is named.^[6]

The family of Sam Houston moved to Maryville in 1808, when Houston was 15. He taught school in a one-room schoolhouse in Maryville before he began his military and political career. The schoolhouse still stands just off US-411 near the community of Wildwood.

Sam Houston Schoolhouse in Maryville

Maryville was a center of abolitionist activity throughout the early 19th-century, due in large part to the influence of the Society of Friends— which had a relatively large presence in Blount County— and anti-slavery advocates such as Isaac Anderson, the founder of Maryville College.^[7] When Tennessee voted on the Ordinance of Secession in 1861, only 24% of Blount Countians voted in favor seceding from the Union.^[8]

Although staunchly pro-Union throughout the Civil War, Maryville was not liberated by federal troops until May 1864. In August of that year, a Confederate cavalry raid, under the command of General Joseph Wheeler, attacked the courthouse where the Union troops had barricaded themselves. In an attempt to dislodge the federal soldiers, rebels set fire to several buildings, including a store where the city's records were being kept. Polly Tool, an African-American slave, rescued most of the records. She is now honored by a statue in the Blount County courthouse.

U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander was born in Maryville in 1940. Alexander served as Governor of Tennessee from 1979-1987 and Secretary of Education under the first President Bush 1991-1993. He ran unsuccessful campaigns for president in 1996 and 2000, both times announcing his candidacy for the Republican Party from his hometown of Maryville. In 2002, he was elected to the U.S. Senate, replacing Fred Thompson. The Blount County section of US-321, which connects Maryville to I-40 to the west and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to the south, has been named "Lamar Alexander Parkway."

Schools

City

• Foothills Elementary School
• Fort Craig School of Dynamic Learning
• John Sevier Elementary School
• Maryville High School
• Maryville Intermediate School
• Maryville Middle School
• Sam Houston Elementary School

County

See Blount County Schools for a complete list.

• William Blount High School
• Heritage High School
• Heritage Middle School
• Union Grove Middle School
• Union Grove Elementary School
• Porter Elementary
• Middlesettlements Elementary
• Carpenters Middle School
• Carpenters Elementary School
• Montvale Elementary School
• Friendsville Elementary School
• Eagleton Elementary
• Eagleton Middle School
• Walland Elementary School

Private/parochial

• Maryville Christian School

Colleges

• Maryville College
• Satellite campus of Pellissippi State Technical Community College

Famous Maryvillians

• Lamar Alexander - Senior Senator of Tennessee
• Nicole Alexander - competitor on Flavor of Love
• Mike Cross - musician
• Jack Greene - Country music singer, famous for his #1 hit, "There Goes My Everything".
• Sam Houston - Texas revolutionary, politician and governors of Tennessee and Texas
• Lee Humphrey - college basketball player
• Melanie Hutsell - television and movie actress
• Steve Kaufman - musician
• Otto Pflanze - historian and authority on German history
• Polly Tool - enslaved African American who saved city records during Civil War, honored with statue in County Courthouse

References

External links

• City of Maryville
• Maryville City Schools

• Maryville, Tennessee is at coordinates 35°44′59″N 83°58′33″W / 35.749857°N 83.975805°W / 35.749857; -83.975805 (Maryville, Tennessee)Coordinates: 35°44′59″N 83°58′33″W / 35.749857°N 83.975805°W / 35.749857; -83.975805 (Maryville, Tennessee)

v • d • e Municipalities and communities of Blount County, Tennessee County seat: Maryville Cities Alcoa | Friendsville | Louisville | Maryville | Rockford | Townsend Town Vonore‡ CDPs Eagleton Village | Seymour‡ Unincorporated communities Happy Valley | Walland Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties