Chuckey, Tennessee facts for kids
Chuckey is a small, unincorporated community located in Greene County, Tennessee. It sits right by the Nolichucky River, which is where its name comes from! Chuckey has its own post office and uses the zip code 37641.
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Chuckey's History
Chuckey has a cool history, especially with trains! A long time ago, the East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad had a train station here. The brick train depot you can see today was built in 1906 by the Southern Railway. It's so important that it's listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which means it's a special historical landmark.
Many of the farms in Chuckey have been around since the 1700s! These old farms are part of the Earnest Farms Historic District, another place listed on the National Register. Near these farms is a large brick house called "Glaze Hall." It was built between 1843 and 1849 by Lawrence Glaze, Jr. The bricks for this big house were all made right there on the farm!
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Chuckey was home to an amazing aviation pioneer named Edward C. Huffaker. He was an engineer who studied how curved surfaces help things fly. His ideas caught the attention of Octave Chanute, another aviation fan, who helped Huffaker get a job at the Smithsonian Institution. Huffaker even worked with the famous Wright brothers in 1901 at Kitty Hawk, where they made history with the first successful airplane flight!
Growing Truffles in Chuckey
Did you know Chuckey is famous for growing fancy truffles? Truffles are a type of mushroom that grows underground and are very expensive because they are hard to find and delicious!
The very first place in the U.S. to successfully grow a lot of black Périgord truffles (a super tasty kind!) for sale is right here in Chuckey. A scientist named Tom Michaels, who studied how to grow truffles, started his truffle farm in 2000. He noticed that the soil in Chuckey, which has a lot of limestone, was very similar to the soil in the Périgord region of France, where these black truffles naturally grow.
In 2007, the farm harvested its first truffles. At that time, the farm had 2,500 hazelnut trees growing on about 20 acres of land. That first year, they produced about 30 pounds of truffles!
Schools in Chuckey
Chuckey has its own school for younger students, called Chuckey Elementary School.
Older students from Chuckey usually go to Chuckey-Doak Middle School and Chuckey-Doak High School. Both of these schools are located in the nearby town of Afton.
Famous People from Chuckey
- Glenn D. Broyles: He was a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives from 1969 to 1972 and lived in Chuckey.
- Ricky Morton: A well-known American professional wrestler, he runs a wrestling academy right here in Chuckey.
