Erwin, Tennessee

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Erwin is a city in Unicoi County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 5,610 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Unicoi County^GR6.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 History
4 External links

[edit] Geography

Erwin is located at 36°8′42″N, 82°24′39″W (36.145036, -82.410796)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.2 km² (3.5 mi²). 9.2 km² (3.5 mi²) of it is land and 0.28% is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 5,610 people, 2,470 households, and 1,588 families residing in the city. The population density was 611.9/km² (1,582.8/mi²). There were 2,645 housing units at an average density of 288.5/km² (746.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.77% White, 0.05% African American, 0.29% Native American, 0.11% Asian, 1.02% from other races, and 0.77% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.00% of the population.

There were 2,470 households out of which 23.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.6% were married couples living together, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.7% were non-families. 33.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.80.

In the city the population was spread out with 19.7% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 25.1% from 45 to 64, and 22.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 86.3 males. Forever, there were 82.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $29,644, and the median income for a family was $37,813. Males had a median income of $31,894 versus $20,118 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,868. About 7.5% of families and 13.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.7% of those under age 18 and 8.2% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] History

In 1916, before the US entered the First World War, the town council decided to invite local people to the public execution of Mary the Elephant, who had killed her handler, Wallter Eldridge. 2,500 people turned out at the local railway yard to see Mary hoisted by a crane and hung by a chain around her neck. The first chain snapped, but a larger one was found and the peculiar task completed - she was hung for half an hour before being declared dead. It is the only known public execution of an elephant in Tennessee.

For northbound hikers, Erwin is mile 338 on the Appalachian Trail.

The town of Erwin received its name by a mail mishap. On December 5, 1879, the name of the town was Ervin, in honor of D.J.N. Ervin, who had donated 15 acres of land to the county for the county seat. A typo made by post office officials caused the name to be recorded as Erwin. The mistake was never corrected.