Estill Springs, Tennessee

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Estill Springs is a town in Franklin County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 2,152 at the 2000 census. It is the fourth largest in the county, and is usually referred to as simply "Estill" by its inhabitants.

1 History and development
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 External links

[edit] History and development

[edit] Founding

The town dates from about 1840, when the Estill family, which owned considerable property in the area, donated a right-of-way for railroad construction. Mineral springs in the area had long been known to the Native Americans. The combination of mineral water, which was much in vogue as a health remedy at the time, and convenient rail access caused the settlement to develop as a small-scale spa town and eventually gave it its name.

[edit] Civil War era

During the Civil War, however, it was generally known as Allisonia, for another family which had settled in the area. It was the site of a Confederate training camp, Camp Harris, named for Isham G. Harris, the Confederate governor of Tennessee, who was a native of the county. Southern forces retreated through the town during the 1863 Tullahoma campaign, named for the nearby community which served as Confederate headquarters.

[edit] Twentieth century

The fad for bathing in and drinking spring waters eventually passed, and local lore has it that the long-awaited construction of United States Highway 41A through the town in 1940 caused the springs to substantially dry up. Whatever the cause, the spa era passed by midcentury, and the hotels were torn down.

The community did not wither away, though. The new highway connected it to sources of employment in neighboring communities, and gave it a strategic position on the main road artery between Nashville and Chattanooga. The development of local lakes by the Tennessee Valley Authority generated recreational business as well.

The Yellowhammer's Nest, which at the turn of the century was the home of noted local author Will Allen Dromgoole, was destroyed by fire in 1972.

Estill Springs was bypassed by the interstate construction of the 1960s, but did not suffer too badly as a result.

In 1987, national fame of a sort came to the town when a resident noticed what she took to be an image of Jesus appearing on an upright freezer on the porch of her trailer, although other witnesses believed it more closely resembled Willie Nelson. The artifact became known as the Freezer Jesus and briefly became a topic of journalism and tourist attraction. In 1998, author John Dufresne published a short story by that name, which he later adapted as a screenplay which has been made into a short film.

[edit] Recent history

Today Highway 41A is being upgraded to nearly interstate quality and is expected to provide a new economic boost to the town.

[edit] Geography

Estill Springs is located at 35°16′13″N, 86°7′58″W (35.270394, -86.132783)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 12.9 km² (5.0 mi²). 12.2 km² (4.7 mi²) of it is land and 0.7 km² (0.3 mi²) of it (5.61%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 2,152 people, 827 households, and 654 families residing in the town. The population density was 176.4/km² (456.8/mi²). There were 917 housing units at an average density of 75.2/km² (194.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.77% White, 0.79% African American, 0.23% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 0.74% from other races, and 0.33% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.35% of the population.

There were 827 households out of which 35.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.6% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.8% were non-families. 17.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the town the population was spread out with 25.1% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 29.1% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 98.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.5 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $40,365, and the median income for a family was $44,527. Males had a median income of $31,632 versus $20,994 for females. The per capita income for the town was $18,757. About 8.8% of families and 10.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.1% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over.