Maynardville, Tennessee

For the South African open-air theatre, see Maynardville Open-Air Theatre.
Maynardville, Tennessee
City

Union County Courthouse in Maynardville

Location of Maynardville, Tennessee
Coordinates: 36°14′45″N 83°48′26″W / 36.24583°N 83.80722°WCoordinates: 36°14′45″N 83°48′26″W / 36.24583°N 83.80722°W
Country United States
State Tennessee
County Union
Incorporated 1870[1]
Named for Horace Maynard
Area
 • Total 5.4 sq mi (14.0 km2)
 • Land 5.4 sq mi (14.0 km2)
 • Water 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation 1,207 ft (368 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 2,413
 • Density 330.1/sq mi (127.4/km2)
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code 37807
Area code(s) 865
FIPS code 47-46700[2]
GNIS feature ID 1293022[3]

Maynardville is a city in and the county seat of Union County, Tennessee, United States.[4] Its population was 1,782 at the 2000 census and 2,413 at the 2010 census. It is included in the Knoxville, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Maynardville was the birthplace of country music singers Roy Acuff and Carl Smith.

History

What is now Maynardville began in the early 19th century as a small community known as Liberty. When Union County was created in the 1850s, Liberty, being nearest the center of the county, was chosen as the county seat. The land for the courthouse square was donated by Marcus Monroe (1793–1870), a local minister.[5]

Maynardville State Bank building

Shortly after the Tennessee General Assembly passed legislation authorizing the creation of Union County, Knox County secured an injunction blocking the creation of the new county, which would take some of its area from Knox County. To defend the new county, its supporters retained the services of Horace Maynard (1814–1882), a Knoxville-area attorney and later U.S. Postmaster General. After Maynard successfully defended the new county in litigation proceedings, Liberty was renamed "Maynardville" in his honor.[6][7] Union County was formally recognized in 1856.[8]

Country music singer Roy Acuff was born in Maynardville in 1903. The Acuff family had been well-established in Union County since the mid-19th century. When Goodspeed published its History of Tennessee in 1887, the Union County section included a brief biography of Roy's grandfather, Coram Acuff (1846–1931), who represented Union County in the state legislature.[9][10] Other notable country musicians born in the Maynardville vicinity include Carl Smith, Chet Atkins, and Kenny Chesney, the latter two having been born in nearby Luttrell.

Geography

Maynardville is located at 36°14′45″N 83°48′26″W / 36.24583°N 83.80722°W (36.245932, -83.807214).[11] The city is situated near the center of Raccoon Valley, a narrow valley stretching for roughly 15 miles (24 km) between Copper Ridge on the south and Hinds Ridge on the north. Like most mountains in the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, these two ridges are long and narrow, and often fractured into smaller hills and knobs. The Norris Lake impoundment of the Clinch River is located approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) north of Maynardville.

Maynardville is centered around a stretch of TN 33, which connects the city to the suburbs of north Knoxville to the southwest and Tazewell to the northeast. TN 61 intersects (and briefly merges with) TN-33 approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) east of Maynardville, and TN 144 intersects TN 33 to the west.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.4 square miles (14 km2), all land.

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
1960620—
197070213.2%
198092431.6%
19901,29840.5%
20001,78237.3%
20102,41335.4%
Est. 20122,390−1.0%
Sources:[12][13]

As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 1,782 people, 683 households, and 463 families residing in the city. The population density was 330.1 people per square mile (127.4/km²). There were 769 housing units at an average density of 142.4 per square mile (55.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.37% White, 0.17% African American, 0.06% Native American, 0.11% Asian, and 1.29% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.34% of the population.

Tennessee Historical Commission marker along Maynardville Highway (TN-33) recalls the area as the birthplace of Roy Acuff.

There were 683 households out of which 37.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.9% were married couples living together, 14.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.1% were non-families. 28.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.03.

In the city the population was spread out with 26.9% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 32.7% from 25 to 44, 18.6% from 45 to 64, and 13.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 93.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $23,077, and the median income for a family was $30,398. Males had a median income of $25,278 versus $18,603 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,168. About 20.2% of families and 26.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 34.8% of those under age 18 and 32.9% of those age 65 or over.

In popular culture

In the 2009 film Inglourious Basterds, the character of 1 SSF First Lieutenant Aldo Raine, portrayed by Brad Pitt, is said to be a moonshiner from Maynardville.[14]

In the 1958 film Thunder Road, the theme song "The Ballad of Thunder Road" says star Robert Mitchum "screamed by Maynardville."[15] Sections of old Highway 33 in Maynardville have historical signs marking "The Original Thunder Road".

In Iron Man 3, Tony's suit crash lands near Rose Hill, four miles from downtown Maynardville. He enlists the aid of a young boy and works on fixing the suit while fighting off several agents before heading to Chattanooga.

References

  1. ↑ Tennessee Blue Book, 2005-2006, pp. 618-625.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  3. ↑ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  4. ↑ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  5. ↑ "Goodspeed's History of Union County, Tennessee." Originally published in the History of Tennessee (Chicago and Nashville: Goodspeed Publishing Company, 1887), 850-853. Retrieved: 20 February 2008.
  6. ↑ Kathleen Zebley, "Horace Maynard." The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, 2002. Retrieved: 20 February 2008.
  7. ↑ Jim Matheny, Why do they call it that? Maynardville in Union County, WBIR.com, 4 June 2011. Retrieved: 8 June 2011.
  8. ↑ Bonnie Heiskell Peters, "Union County." The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, 2002. Retrieved: 20 February 2008.
  9. ↑ "Goodspeed's Union County, Tennessee Biographies." Originally published in the History of Tennessee (Chicago and Nashville: Goodspeed Publishing Company, 1887), 1146-1152. Retrieved: 20 February 2008.
  10. ↑ "Acuff-Ecoff Family Archives." Retrieved: 20 February 2008.
  11. ↑ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
  12. ↑ "Census of Population and Housing: Decennial Censuses". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
  13. ↑ "Incorporated Places and Minor Civil Divisions Datasets: Subcounty Resident Population Estimates: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2012". Population Estimates. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  14. ↑ Betsy Pickle, Movie review: Tarantino, crew create a cool classic with 'Inglourious Basterds', Knoxville News Sentinel, August 20, 2009
  15. ↑ The Ballad of Thunder Road lyrics. CMT.com. Retrieved: 12 August 2010.

External links