Jasper, Tennessee facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jasper, Tennessee
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Town
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Jasper City Hall
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| Nickname(s):
"Gateway to the beautiful Sequatchie Valley"
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| Motto(s):
"The friendly city on the move!"
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Location of Jasper in Marion County, Tennessee.
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 Jasper, Tennessee
Location in Tennessee
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| Country | United States |
| State | Tennessee |
| County | Marion |
| Founded | 1820 |
| Incorporated | 1959 |
| Named for | William Jasper |
| Area | |
| • Total | 9.96 sq mi (25.78 km2) |
| • Land | 9.85 sq mi (25.50 km2) |
| • Water | 0.11 sq mi (0.28 km2) |
| Elevation | 825 ft (251 m) |
| Population
(2010)
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| • Total | 3,279 |
| • Estimate
(2019)
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3,447 |
| • Density | 350.09/sq mi (135.17/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP code |
37347
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| Area code(s) | 423 |
| FIPS code | 47-37820 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1289309 |
Jasper is a town in Marion County, Tennessee, United States. It is the county seat of Marion County. The population was 3,279 at the 2010 census. The town was formed in 1820 from lands acquired from Betsy Pack (1770–1851), daughter of Cherokee Chief John Lowery. Jasper is part of the Chattanooga, TN–GA Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Jasper is named for William Jasper, a Revolutionary War hero from South Carolina.
Jasper was formed from land leased for $1 from Elizabeth aka "Betsy" Pack, daughter of Chief John Lowery and beloved Cherokee Woman Nannie Watts. Her descendants and friends of the family gather on a semi-annual basis to place flowers at the courthouse marker. The town's primary north-south street, which follows a section of Tennessee State Route 150, has been named in honor of Pack.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 9.2 square miles (24 km2), of which 9.0 square miles (23 km2) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km2) (1.42%) is water. The town lies in the southwestern Sequatchie Valley in a relatively flat area surrounded by steep escarpments of the Cumberland Plateau on the north and west, low hills on the east, and Guntersville Lake (part of the Tennessee River) on the south. The Sequatchie River flows just east of the town, and empties into the Tennessee River at the town's southeastern boundary. Kimball borders Jasper to the southwest.
Jasper's courthouse square lies at the intersection of U.S. Route 72 (Main Street) and Tennessee State Route 150 (Betsy Pack Drive). US-72 (which runs concurrently with U.S. Route 64 and U.S. Route 41 in Jasper) connects the town with Chattanooga to the southeast and Kimball, South Pittsburg, and Alabama to the southwest. State Route 150 connects Jasper with the Grundy County area atop the Plateau to the northwest. Tennessee State Route 28, part of the primary north-south corridor in the Sequatchie Valley, intersects US-72 in southeastern Jasper. Interstate 24 passes through Jasper's southern outskirts.
Demographics
| Historical population | |||
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| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1860 | 249 | — | |
| 1870 | 375 | 50.6% | |
| 1880 | 541 | 44.3% | |
| 1890 | 902 | 66.7% | |
| 1920 | 728 | — | |
| 1930 | 1,251 | 71.8% | |
| 1960 | 1,450 | — | |
| 1970 | 2,009 | 38.6% | |
| 1980 | 2,633 | 31.1% | |
| 1990 | 2,780 | 5.6% | |
| 2000 | 3,214 | 15.6% | |
| 2010 | 3,279 | 2.0% | |
| 2019 (est.) | 3,447 | 5.1% | |
| Sources: | |||
2020 census
| Race | Number | Percentage |
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| White (non-Hispanic) | 3,066 | 84.88% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 245 | 6.78% |
| Native American | 7 | 0.19% |
| Asian | 16 | 0.44% |
| Other/Mixed | 187 | 5.18% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 91 | 2.52% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 3,612 people, 1,376 households, and 906 families residing in the town.
Transportation
Marion County Airport, also known as Brown Field, is a county-owned, public-use airport located just over four and a half miles (7.2 km) southeast of the central business district of Jasper.
Notable people
- Bob Long, professional baseball player
- Eric Westmoreland, former member of the University of Tennessee Volunteers football team; former National Football League (NFL) linebacker for the Jacksonville Jaguars and Cleveland Browns
See also
In Spanish: Jasper (Tennessee) para niños
