Calhoun, Tennessee facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Calhoun, Tennessee
Town
Location of Calhoun in McMinn County, Tennessee.
Country	United States
State	Tennessee
County	McMinn
Founded	1820
Incorporated	1961
Named for	John C. Calhoun
Area
• Total	1.25 sq mi (3.23 km2)
• Land	1.19 sq mi (3.08 km2)
• Water	0.06 sq mi (0.15 km2)
Elevation	712 ft (217 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	536
• Estimate  (2021)	541
• Density	421.23/sq mi (162.58/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code	37309
Area code(s)	423
FIPS code	47-10440
GNIS feature ID	1279325

Calhoun is a town in McMinn County, Tennessee, United States. It is part of the Chattanooga–Cleveland–Athens combined statistical area. The population was estimated at 536 in 2020.

History

The Calhoun area was settled by John Walker (c. 1770-1834), a part-Cherokee grandson of Nancy Ward and a prominent figure in the formation of McMinn County. Walker operated a ferry along the Hiwassee River and helped contract the Cherokee Turnpike Company in 1806, which maintained the road between Knoxville and Georgia. In 1819, Walker helped negotiate the Calhoun Treaty, in which the Cherokee ceded the remaining lands between the Little Tennessee River and the Hiwassee River, including what is now McMinn County. McMinn County was organized at Walker's house that same year. In 1820, Walker laid out the town of Calhoun, which he named for the Calhoun Treaty's chief U.S. negotiator, John C. Calhoun. Walker would eventually be assassinated by two anti-removal Cherokees, who felt he had betrayed the Cherokee nation.

Calhoun in 1939

Joseph McMinn, governor of Tennessee from 1815 to 1821, spent the last few years of his life in Calhoun, and is buried in the Shiloh Presbyterian Cemetery, which is located in Calhoun.

In 1954, the pulp and paper giant Bowater (now Resolute Forest Products) established a plant in Calhoun that soon grew to become one of the largest newsprint mills in North America. The mill, which dominates the western half of Calhoun, produces 750,000 metric tons of newsprint and specialty paper per year.

There is one government building in the city which functions as the town's library, courthouse, police station, and fire station. Directly across the road from this building is a baseball field where Little League games are held.

On December 11, 1990, a heavy fog led to a crash involving 99 vehicles along Interstate 75 near Calhoun, killing 12 and injuring 42. As a result, the National Transportation Safety Board has installed electronic speed limit signs equipped with fog sensors along the Calhoun section of the interstate.

Geography

Calhoun is situated along the north bank of the Hiwassee River, which flows from the Appalachian Mountains to the east and empties into the Chickamauga Lake impoundment of the Tennessee River a few miles to the west. The river forms the boundary between McMinn County and Bradley County. The town of Charleston is located across the river to the south, on the Bradley County side.

Calhoun is situated around the junction of U.S. Route 11, which connects the town to Athens to the north and Charleston and Cleveland to the south, and State Route 163 (Bowater Road), which connects Calhoun to U.S. Route 411 in Delano to the east and Interstate 75 and Meigs County to the west.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.1 square miles (2.8 km²), of which 1.0 square mile (2.6 km²) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km²) (4.67%) is water.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 536 people, 230 households, and 144 families residing in the town.

Education

McMinn County Schools operates public schools, including Calhoun Elementary School. Calhoun had its own high school that shut down in 1980

See also

In Spanish: Calhoun (Tennessee) para niños