Carter County, Tennessee facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Carter County
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County of Carter | ||
Carter County Courthouse in Elizabethton
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Location within the U.S. state of Tennessee
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Tennessee's location within the U.S. |
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Country | United States | |
State | Tennessee | |
Founded | 1796 | |
Named for | Landon Carter | |
Seat | Elizabethton | |
Largest city | Elizabethton | |
Area | ||
• Total | 348 sq mi (900 km2) | |
• Land | 341 sq mi (880 km2) | |
• Water | 6.4 sq mi (17 km2) 1.8%% | |
Population
(2020)
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• Total | 56,356 | |
• Density | 168/sq mi (65/km2) | |
Time zone | UTC−5 (Eastern) | |
• Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) | |
Congressional district | 1st |
Carter County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2010 census, the population was 57,424. Its county seat is Elizabethton. The county is named in honor of Landon Carter (1760-1800), an early settler active in the "Lost State of Franklin" 1784-1788 secession from the State of North Carolina. Carter County is part of the Johnson City, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Johnson City–Kingsport–Bristol, TN-VA Combined Statistical Area, located in northeastern Tennessee.
History
The area was originally claimed by Britain as part of the Clarendon settlements of the Province of Carolina, although actually populated at the time by the Cherokee.
The area was part of (though seldom actually administered by) the following jurisdictions in its early history:
- New Hanover Precinct (1729-1734)
- Bladen County (1734-1749)
- Anson County (1749-1753)
- Rowan County (1753-1775)
Watauga Association
The county is named for General Landon Carter, the son of John Carter of Virginia, who was "chairman of the court" of the first majority-rule system of American democracy, known as the Watauga Association of 1772. The association was the first permanent settlement established outside the original thirteen American colonies and included the area that is today's Carter County. In 1775, the Association was absorbed into North Carolina by petition, becoming known thereafter as the Washington District.
As Wayne County in the State of Franklin
J. G. M. Ramsey records within his 1853 Annals of Tennessee that the State of Franklin established Wayne County from sections of both Washington County and a part of Wilkes County "lying west of the extreme heights of the Apalachian or Alleghany Mountains, into a separate and distinct county by the name of Wayne... This new county covered the same territory now embraced in the limits of Carter and Johnson counties."
The county seat, Elizabethton, is named for Carter's wife, Elizabeth MacLin Carter.
Civil War
Like most East Tennessee counties, Carter Countians opposed secession on the eve of the Civil War. In Tennessee's Ordinance of Secession referendum on June 8, 1861, Carter Countians rejected secession by a vote of 1,343 to 86. A railroad bridge at Carter's Depot (modern Watauga) was among those targeted by the East Tennessee bridge-burning conspiracy in November 1861.
Early railroad
Carter County was served by the narrow gauge East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad (The ET&WNC, nicknamed "Tweetsie") until the line ceased operations in 1950.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 348 square miles (900 km2), of which 341 square miles (880 km2) is land and 6.4 square miles (17 km2) (1.8%) is water.
Carter County is situated entirely within the Blue Ridge Mountains, specifically the Unaka Range and the Iron Mountains. Roan Mountain, which at 6,285 feet (1,916 m) is the highest point in Tennessee outside the Great Smoky Mountains, straddles the county's eastern border with North Carolina. The county's boundary with Sullivan County is defined as the ridgeline of Holston Mountain.
Lakes
- Watauga Lake
- Wilbur Reservoir (immediately below the TVA Watauga Dam Lat: 36.3408 Lon: -82.1203]
- Ripshin Lake (6 km southwest of Roan Mountain Lat: 36.1838646 Lon: -82.1356583)
Rivers
Waterfalls
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Adjacent counties
- Sullivan County (north)
- Johnson County (northeast)
- Avery County, North Carolina (southeast)
- Mitchell County, North Carolina (south)
- Unicoi County (southwest)
- Washington County (west)
National protected areas
- Appalachian Trail (part)
- Cherokee National Forest (part)
State protected areas
- Hampton Creek Cove State Natural Area
- Roan Mountain State Park
- Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area
- Watauga River Bluffs State Natural Area
Major highways
- US 19E
- US 321
- SR 37
- SR 67
- SR 91
- SR 143
- SR 159
- SR 173
- SR 359
- SR 361
- SR 362
- SR 400
Climate
Climate data for Carter County, Tennessee (Bristol-Johnson City) | |||||||||||||
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Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Average high °F (°C) | 43.7 (6.5) |
48.0 (8.9) |
58.9 (14.9) |
67.4 (19.7) |
75.2 (24.0) |
82.2 (27.9) |
84.6 (29.2) |
84.1 (28.9) |
79.1 (26.2) |
69.1 (20.6) |
58.2 (14.6) |
48.1 (8.9) |
66.6 (19.2) |
Daily mean °F (°C) | 34.0 (1.1) |
37.4 (3.0) |
47.2 (8.4) |
55.2 (12.9) |
63.4 (17.4) |
71.1 (21.7) |
74.4 (23.6) |
73.6 (23.1) |
67.9 (19.9) |
56.7 (13.7) |
47.0 (8.3) |
38.2 (3.4) |
55.5 (13.1) |
Average low °F (°C) | 24.3 (−4.3) |
26.8 (−2.9) |
35.4 (1.9) |
43.0 (6.1) |
51.6 (10.9) |
59.9 (15.5) |
64.1 (17.8) |
63.1 (17.3) |
56.6 (13.7) |
44.2 (6.8) |
35.9 (2.2) |
28.2 (−2.1) |
44.4 (6.9) |
Average rainfall inches (mm) | 3.2 (81) |
3.4 (86) |
3.7 (94) |
3.3 (84) |
3.8 (97) |
3.5 (89) |
4.3 (110) |
3.2 (81) |
3.3 (84) |
2.6 (66) |
2.9 (74) |
3.4 (86) |
40.7 (1,030) |
Average snowfall inches (cm) | 5.2 (13) |
4.2 (11) |
2.3 (5.8) |
0.4 (1.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.9 (2.3) |
2.6 (6.6) |
15.6 (40) |
Average relative humidity (%) | 59.0 | 71.5 | 69.0 | 67.0 | 69.5 | 73.0 | 75.0 | 76.5 | 76.5 | 74.0 | 68.5 | 69.5 | 74.0 |
Source: Climate-zone.com |
Demographics
Historical population | |||
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Census | Pop. | %± | |
1800 | 4,813 | — | |
1810 | 4,190 | −12.9% | |
1820 | 4,835 | 15.4% | |
1830 | 6,414 | 32.7% | |
1840 | 5,372 | −16.2% | |
1850 | 6,296 | 17.2% | |
1860 | 7,124 | 13.2% | |
1870 | 7,909 | 11.0% | |
1880 | 10,019 | 26.7% | |
1890 | 13,389 | 33.6% | |
1900 | 16,688 | 24.6% | |
1910 | 19,838 | 18.9% | |
1920 | 21,488 | 8.3% | |
1930 | 29,223 | 36.0% | |
1940 | 35,127 | 20.2% | |
1950 | 42,432 | 20.8% | |
1960 | 41,578 | −2.0% | |
1970 | 42,575 | 2.4% | |
1980 | 50,205 | 17.9% | |
1990 | 51,505 | 2.6% | |
2000 | 56,742 | 10.2% | |
2010 | 57,424 | 1.2% | |
2020 | 56,356 | −1.9% | |
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2014 |
2020 census
Race | Number | Percentage |
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White (non-Hispanic) | 51,790 | 91.9% |
Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 702 | 1.25% |
Native American | 153 | 0.27% |
Asian | 231 | 0.41% |
Pacific Islander | 7 | 0.01% |
Other/Mixed | 2,292 | 4.07% |
Hispanic or Latino | 1,181 | 2.1% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 56,356 people, 23,784 households, and 15,256 families residing in the county.
Communities
Cities
- Elizabethton (county seat)
- Johnson City (mostly in Washington County and a small portion in Sullivan County)
- Watauga (small part in Washington County)
Census-designated places
Unincorporated communities
- Big Spring
- Bitter End
- Butler
- Fish Springs
- Hampton
- Milligan College
- Stoney Creek
- Tiger Valley
- Valley Forge
Education
- Central Elementary School
- Cloudland Elementary School
- Cloudland High School
- East Side Elementary School (city)
- Elizabethton High School (city)
- Hampton Elementary School
- Hampton High School
- Happy Valley Elementary School
- Happy Valley Middle School
- Happy Valley High School
- Harold McCormick Elementary School (city)
- Hunter Elementary School
- Keenburg Elementary School
- Little Milligan Elementary School
- T.A. Dugger Junior High School (city)
- Unaka Elementary School
- Unaka High School
- Valley Forge Elementary
- West Side Elementary School (city)
Colleges
- Northeast State Community College and the Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology have satellite campuses in Elizabethton.
- Milligan College's main campus and Emmanuel Christian Seminary are located in the community of Milligan College, part of Elizabethton.
See also
In Spanish: Condado de Carter (Tennessee) para niños