Rogersville, Tennessee

Rogersville, Tennessee
Town

Sunset over Downtown Rogersville

Location of Rogersville in Hawkins County, Tennessee.
Coordinates: 36°25′N 83°0′W / 36.417°N 83.000°W / 36.417; -83.000Coordinates: 36°25′N 83°0′W / 36.417°N 83.000°W / 36.417; -83.000
Country United States
State Tennessee
County Hawkins
Settled 1775
Founded 1789
Incorporated 1903[1]
Named for Joseph Rogers
Government
 • Type Board of Mayor and Aldermen
 • Mayor Jim Sells (R)
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 1,286 ft (392 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 4,420
 • Estimate (2016)[2] 4,375
 • Density 1,277.0/sq mi (493.1/km2)
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC−5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC−4)
ZIP code 37857
Area code(s) 423
FIPS code 47-64820[3]
GNIS feature ID 1300024[4]
Website www.rogersville-tn.com

Rogersville is a town in, and the county seat of, Hawkins County, Tennessee, United States. It was settled in 1775 by the grandparents of Davy Crockett, and is the second-oldest town in the state. It is named for its founder, Joseph Rogers. Tennessee's second oldest courthouse, the Hawkins County Courthouse, first newspaper The Knoxville Gazette, and first post office are all located in Rogersville. The Rogersville Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Rogersville is part of the Kingsport–Bristol (TN)–Bristol (VA) Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Johnson City–Kingsport–Bristol, TN-VA Combined Statistical Area – commonly known as the "Tri-Cities" region.

The population living within the town's corporate limits was 5,240 at the 2010 census; the same census found 11,507 people living within 4 miles (6.4 km) of the town's center.

History

Settlement background

Hawkins County Courthouse, ca. 1835-36, is situated at the center of Rogersville; still in use, it is the second oldest courthouse in Tennessee.[5]

In 1775, the grandparents of Davy Crockett, a future member of the United States Congress from Tennessee and hero of the Alamo, settled in the Watauga colony in the area in what is today Rogersville near the spring that today bears their name.[6] After an American Indian attack and massacre, the remaining Crocketts sold the property to a Huguenot named Colonel Thomas Amis.[7]

In 1780, Colonel Amis built a fort at Big Creek, on the outskirts of the present-day town, with the assistance of fellow Scots-Irish settler, John Carter.[6] That same year, about three and one-half miles above downtown Rogersville, Amis erected a fortress-like stone house around which he built a palisade for protection against Native American attack.[6] The next year, Amis opened a store; erected a blacksmith shop; and built a distillery.[8] He also eventually established a sawmill and a gristmill. From the first he kept a house of entertainment.[6]

Founding of the town

In 1785, the State of Franklin organized Spencer County (which includes the area of present-day Hawkins County, Tennessee) and declared the seat of county government to be located at what is today Rogersville.[6] Thomas Henderson was chosen county court clerk and colonel of the militia. William Cocke and Thomas King were elected representatives to the Franklin General Assembly.[6] The remaining county officers are unknown.[6]

In November 1786, North Carolina began once more to contend with the Franklin government for control over the area, and that State's General Assembly passed an act creating Hawkins County.[6] It included within its limits all the territory between Bays Mountain and the Holston and Tennessee Rivers on the east to the Cumberland Mountains on the west.[6] The county court was organized at the house of Thomas Gibbons.[6] As with Franklin, North Carolina set the new county seat about the property of Joseph Rogers.[9]

Joseph Rogers

Joseph Rogers founded Rogersville on land granted to him by his father-in-law after his marriage to Mary

Joseph Rogers (August 21, 1764 – November 6, 1833) was born near Cook's Town, Ireland, the son of James Rogers and his wife, Elizabeth Brown. He traveled to the area, by then known as the State of Franklin (which had been carved out of far west North Carolina), by 1785. During a stay at a tavern adjacent to Colonel Thomas Amis' home, Rogers met the colonel's daughter, Mary Amis, whom he wed, on October 24, 1786. Her father ceded the lands near Crockett Spring to his son-in-law— the same land that Colonel Amis had purchased from the heirs of David Crockett.[7]

When North Carolina considered where to establish the county seat for its new Hawkins County, Rogers successfully lobbied to have the government located near his home. He volunteered his tavern, which had been established about 1784-85, as the first county courthouse, where it was finally established in 1787. With the help of other local settlers, Rogers laid out a plan for the town, and the town of Rogersville was chartered by the North Carolina General Assembly in 1789. The plan included a public square, deeded to the town government, which would host the town's public well and a county courthouse.

In November 1792, Rogers was appointed the first postmaster at Rogersville. The town's second post office, built by Rogers c. 1815, still stands at the corner of east Main Street and south Hasson Street.

Rogers was the father of fourteen children with Mary. He died on November 6, 1833, at Rogersville, and is buried in Rogers Cemetery. His wife, Mary, died a month later.

A town divided

In November 1863, during the Civil War, Rogersville was the site of a battle between occupying Federal forces and invading Confederate troops. Union forces had encamped just outside the town. The Confederates, led by Brigadier General William E. Jones, were able to surprise the Union forces and pursue them across the Holston River and into Greene County. The Confederates held the town for the remainder of the war.

Sentiment in Rogersville was divided. Many supported the efforts of twenty-six East Tennessee counties seceding from the state (much as the State of Scott had done) and re-joining the Union. Others saw President Lincoln's invasion of Tennessee as an unprecedented invasion of their homes and an incursion by Federal power; these people became strong Confederates. Rogersville was spared destruction during the war. In fact, structures such as the Hale Springs Inn were used by the different occupying armies.

Cradle of Tennessee journalism

Downtown Rogersville has been home to many of the town's numerous newspapers and publications.

George Roulstone was Tennessee's first printer. He was encouraged to settle in Rogersville by the new governor of the Southwest Territory, William Blount. Roulston printed Tennessee's first newspaper on November 5, 1791. Because Knoxville, the intended seat of the new territorial government, had not yet been established, Roulstone published the first year of his paper near the Rogers' family tavern. Roulstone called the newspaper The Knoxville Gazette, and in October 1792, he moved his press to Knoxville, where he continued to publish the Gazette as well as other papers until his death in 1804. After the Gazette was moved, there was no newspaper in the area until 1813, when John B. Hood began publishing The East Tennessee Gazette at Rogersville. Other papers shortly followed, including The Western Pilot, c. 1815, and The Rogersville Gazette from the same era.

Speciality publications emerged during these early days, including The Rail-Road Advocate, The Calvinistic Magazine, and The Holston Watchman. Numerous other newspapers have been published in Rogersville over the years, most surviving only a short time and having modest circulation. Among them were The Independent, The Rogersville Spectator, The Weekly Reporter, The Rogersville Gazette, Rogersville Press and Times, Holston Journal, Hawkins County Republican, Hawkins County Telephone, and The Rogersville Herald.

Rogersville's longest-lasting newspaper is The Rogersville Review, which began publication as The Holston Review in 1885 by William T. Robertson. A year later, Robertson changed the name to the present banner. The Review's closest competitor was The Rogersville Herald, which was published from 1886 to 1932. The town's printing heritage is chronicled by the Tennessee Newspaper and Printing Museum, located in its historic Southern Railway train depot, c. 1890.[10]

Other Rogersville firsts

Overton Lodge No. 5, F & AM, circa 1840, is the oldest continuously-active Masonic Lodge in Tennessee.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 3.3 square miles (8.5 km2), all land. The town is drained by Crockett's Creek, which flows through the central depression of the valley in which the town lies.[12] The elevation of Rogersville is 1,286 ft.

Transportation

Major highways

Airports

The Hawkins County Airport is a county-owned public-use airport located six nautical miles (7 mi, 11 km) northeast of the central business district of Rogersville.[13]

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
1870657—
188074012.6%
18901,15355.8%
19001,38620.2%
19101,242−10.4%
19201,40212.9%
19301,59013.4%
19402,01826.9%
19502,54526.1%
19603,12122.6%
19704,07630.6%
19804,3687.2%
19904,149−5.0%
20004,2402.2%
20104,4204.2%
Est. 20164,375[2]−1.0%
Sources:[14][15]

Population

As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 4,240 people, 2,060 households, and 1,155 families residing in the town. The census also found that in the six civil precincts[16] which make up the Rogersville area, there are 11,507 people. In 2004, the Chamber of Commerce estimated there were 5,100 people living within the corporate limits of Rogersville.

The population density of Rogersville according to the 2000 U.S. Census was 1,277 inhabitants per square mile (493/km2). There were 2,268 housing units at an average density of 683.1 per square mile (263.7/km2).[17]

Ethnicity

The racial makeup of the town was 94.13% White, 4.06% African American, 0.14% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.66% from other races, and 0.68% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.06% of the population.

Age distribution

There were 2,060 households out of which 21.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.9% were married couples living together, 14.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.9% were non-families. 40.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 21.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.97 and the average family size was 2.63.

In the town, the age distribution of the population shows 17.8% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 23.2% from 25 to 44, 24.8% from 45 to 64, and 26.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females there were 76.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 72.1 males.

Economic statistics

The median income for a household in the town was $23,275, and the median income for a family was $32,236. Males had a median income of $30,226 versus $22,482 for females. The per capita income for the town was $16,940. About 14.9% of families and 21.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.0% of those under age 18 and 15.8% of those age 65 or over.

Culture

Notable people

Listed chronologically by date of birth:

Events

Downtown Rogersville during Heritage Days.

Religion

There are no non-Christian congregations in Rogersville. Among Christian churches, congregations are predominantly Baptist. Denominations with congregations currently in Rogersville include:

Media from Rogersville

The following media originates from within or nearby the Town:

Media available to Rogersville

Recreation

Rogersville City Park

Located in the eastern part of the town, the Rogersville City Park is owned and operated by the Town of Rogersville. It is bounded by U.S. Route 11W on the northwest, Park Boulevard on the northeast, and East Main Street on the south.

The park has four children's playgrounds, two outdoor basketball courts, four outdoor tennis courts, numerous picnic shelters, three large, lighted pavilions (two with restroom facilities), an amphitheatre, a lighted stage area, six lighted baseball/softball fields, the town's soccer fields, a duck pond, a fitness trail, and two walking trails. It is home to the Rogersville City Pool, the home pool of the Rogersville Flying Fish Swim Association, which is open to the public from Memorial Day to the start of classes in the City school system in August.

The Park is the site of a traveling midway carnival in the late spring and early fall and hosts more than fifty-thousand people annually during the Rogersville Fourth of July Celebration.

The Town-sponsored festival of lights is hosted at the Park, where the Department of Parks & Recreation illuminates several thousand holiday lights and exhibits.

Crockett Spring Park

Located in downtown Rogersville, the Crockett Spring Park is a joint project of the Town and the Rogersville Heritage Association. The park is the site of Rogersville's first settlement, and the tavern and home built by founder Joseph Rogers is preserved on the site. The Park encompasses the Rogers Cemetery, where Joseph and Mary Rogers, and the grandparents of Davy Crockett are buried.

The site of Rogersville's first public swimming pool is here, as is the gazebo built to commemorate the bicentennials of both the town (1989) and the state (1996). This public Park is maintained by the Rogersville Parks and Recreation Department and the auspices of the Rogersville Tree Board.

Swift Memorial Park

Rogersville was home to an African-American college, Swift College, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and the Swift Park, located off of North Hasson Street in the central part of the town, commemorates the legacy of that institution. In addition, the park boasts picnic shelters, two playgrounds, and basketball courts.

Education

High schools

Intermediate schools

Elementary schools

References

  1. ↑ Tennessee Blue Book, 2005–2006, pp. 618-625.
  2. 1 2 "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  3. 1 2 "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  4. ↑ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  5. ↑ The Dickson County Courthouse in Charlotte, Tennessee was built and completed in 1835.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Price, Henry, Old Rogersville: An Illustrated History of Rogersville, Tennessee. Vol. I. (Rogersville: 2001) chs. 1-2.
  7. 1 2 Price, Henry, Old Rogersville: An Illustrated History of Rogersville, Tennessee. Vol. I. (Rogersville: 2001) ch. 2.
  8. ↑ Price, Henry, Old Rogersville: An Illustrated History of Rogersville, Tennessee. Vol. I. (Rogersville: 2001) ch. 1.
  9. ↑ Price, Henry, Old Rogersville: An Illustrated History of Rogersville, Tennessee. Vol. I. (Rogersville: 2001) ch. 4.
  10. ↑ Tennessee Newspaper and Printing Museum
  11. ↑ Note: During a period of 2 hours and 47 minutes, the flow ranges from an indiscernible trickle to 500 US gallons (1,900 l; 420 imp gal) per minute. Unlike thermal springs that produce warm water, the water in Ebbing and Flowing Spring maintains a constant temperature of 34 °F (1 °C).
  12. ↑ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  13. ↑ FAA Airport Master Record for RVN (Form 5010 PDF). Federal Aviation Administration. Effective August 25, 2011.
  14. ↑ "Census of Population and Housing: Decennial Censuses". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
  15. ↑ "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.
  16. ↑ The U.S. Census measured population in Tennessee using Tennessee's civil precinct numbering system. Precincts 3904 (Rogersville North Outside) and 3897 (Rogersville South Outside) are immediately adjacent corporate limits of Rogersville. Immediately adjacent to those two precincts are precincts number 3864 (Choptack) and 3860 (Cherokee). These areas are within a 4 miles (6.4 km) radius of Rogersville's Courthouse Square at the intersection of Main Street and Depot Street. See http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/QTTable?_bm=n&_lang=en&qr_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U_DP1&ds_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U&geo_id=05000US47073.
  17. ↑ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
  18. ↑ "Rogersville Fourth of July Celebration".
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