Mountain City, Tennessee

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Coordinates: 36°28′6″N 81°48′14″W / 36.46833, -81.80389
Mountain City, Tennessee
Location of Mountain City, Tennessee
Country	United States
State	Tennessee
County	Johnson
Area
- Total	3.3 sq mi (8.6 km²)
- Land	3.3 sq mi (8.6 km²)
- Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km²)
Elevation	2,418 ft (737 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	2,383
- Density	720.8/sq mi (278.3/km²)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	37683
Area code(s)	423
FIPS code	47-50400^[1]
GNIS feature ID	1328969^[2]

Mountain City is a town in Johnson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 2,383 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Johnson County^[3].

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 References
5 External links

[edit] History

Mountain City is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains on the Daniel Boone Heritage Trail, one of several trails used by Daniel Boone on his excursions into the Kentucky wilderness from North Carolina[1]. The first permanent settlers arrived in the area in the late 1700's. Mountain City, originally known as Taylorsville until the name of the post office was changed on January 8, 1886[2], was platted upon the creation of Johnson County in 1836. According to legend, the name change was prompted by Roderick R. Butler, a prominent citizen and postmaster, because the town was located in one of the highest valleys in Tennessee. Taylorsville was named after Col. James P. Taylor, a leading citizen from nearby Carter County, Tennessee [3]. Tennessee's lowest temperature on record was reported in Mountain City on Dec. 30, 1917, at -32 degrees fahrenheit. Clyde Shoun who pitched a no-hitter for the Cincinnati Reds in 1944 was born and also died in Mountain City. Famous songwriter/musician Dave Loggins (Please Come To Boston) was also born in Mountain City. Another interesting fact is that the song "Copperhead Road", by Steve Earle was written about an event that occurred in the county (Johnson County near present day "Dry Run"/Neva).

[edit] Geography

Mountain City is located at 36°28′6″N, 81°48′14″W (36.468444, -81.803856)^[4].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 3.3 square miles (8.6 km²), all of it land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 2,383 people, 1,136 households, and 664 families residing in the town. The population density was 720.8 people per square mile (278.0/km²). There were 1,250 housing units at an average density of 378.1/sq mi (145.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.86% White, 0.92% African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.25% Asian, 0.29% from other races, and 0.42% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.80% of the population.

There were 1,136 households out of which 22.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.3% were married couples living together, 12.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.5% were non-families. 38.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.05 and the average family size was 2.71.

In the town the population was spread out with 19.2% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 26.7% from 45 to 64, and 20.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 89.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.9 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $16,587, and the median income for a family was $31,406. Males had a median income of $26,042 versus $19,145 for females. The per capita income for the town was $17,202. About 21.6% of families and 27.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 37.4% of those under age 18 and 20.6% of those age 65 or over.