Spring City, Tennessee facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Spring City, Tennessee
|
|
|---|---|
| Town of Spring City | |
 |
|
Location of Spring City in Rhea County, Tennessee.
|
|
| Country | United States |
| State | Tennessee |
| County | Rhea |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2.80 sq mi (7.25 km2) |
| • Land | 2.76 sq mi (7.16 km2) |
| • Water | 0.04 sq mi (0.09 km2) |
| Elevation | 768 ft (234 m) |
| Population
(2020)
|
|
| • Total | 1,949 |
| • Density | 705.14/sq mi (272.27/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| ZIP codes |
37337, 37381
|
| Area code(s) | 423 |
| FIPS code | 47-70400 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1303755 |
Spring City is a town located in Rhea County, Tennessee, in the United States. In 2020, about 1,949 people lived there. The town is right next to Watts Bar Lake. You can also find the Watts Bar Dam and the Watts Bar Nuclear Generating Station nearby.
Contents
History of Spring City
Spring City started as a stop along the Cincinnati Southern Railroad in the 1870s. It was first called Sulphur Springs because of the natural sulphur in its water. Later, its name changed to "Rheaville."
From Rhea Springs to Spring City
The town then joined with a nearby place called Rhea Springs and took on that name. However, a big explosion caused much of the town to flood or burn down. Because of this, the town moved to its current spot. It was then renamed Spring City, honoring its first name, Sulphur Springs. The original location of the town is now underwater in a part of Watts Bar Lake.
Railroad and Growth
Spring City became a busy place for shipping goods by train in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Its first train station, built in 1879, was a simple wooden building. It burned down in 1892 and was replaced by a bigger one. The current train station was finished in 1909 by the Southern Railway.
Watts Bar Projects
In 1942, the town got a big economic boost. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) finished building the Watts Bar Dam and its lake southeast of Spring City. That same year, the Watts Bar Fossil Plant was completed. This was TVA's first power plant that used coal.
In 1973, TVA began building the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant. Its first reactor, Watts Bar Unit 1, started working in 1996. The second reactor, Watts Bar Unit 2, was put on hold in 1985 but construction started again in 2007. It began operating in October 2016.
Past Events
On August 22, 1955, a very sad accident happened when a school bus was hit by a train at a track crossing in Spring City, leading to the loss of young lives. Many others were also injured.
More recently, on July 28, 2016, a train carrying coal went off its tracks near the train station and museum. This happened because of a problem with one of the coal cars. Luckily, no one was hurt. The cleanup took a long time, and both train crossings in town had to be closed for repairs.
Geography
Spring City is located at coordinates 35°41′22″N 84°51′50″W / 35.68944°N 84.86389°W.
The town covers a total area of about 2.5 square miles (6.5 square kilometers). Most of this area, about 2.4 square miles (6.2 square kilometers), is land. The rest, about 0.04 square miles (0.1 square kilometers), is water.
Climate
| Climate data for Spring City, Tennessee, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 2003–present | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 75 (24) |
81 (27) |
85 (29) |
88 (31) |
92 (33) |
103 (39) |
104 (40) |
103 (39) |
96 (36) |
96 (36) |
85 (29) |
76 (24) |
104 (40) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 65.7 (18.7) |
71.1 (21.7) |
79.5 (26.4) |
84.5 (29.2) |
87.3 (30.7) |
92.5 (33.6) |
94.1 (34.5) |
94.0 (34.4) |
90.5 (32.5) |
84.3 (29.1) |
73.4 (23.0) |
67.9 (19.9) |
95.8 (35.4) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 47.5 (8.6) |
51.7 (10.9) |
60.4 (15.8) |
70.6 (21.4) |
77.2 (25.1) |
83.9 (28.8) |
86.9 (30.5) |
86.7 (30.4) |
81.0 (27.2) |
70.8 (21.6) |
58.8 (14.9) |
50.3 (10.2) |
68.8 (20.5) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 36.9 (2.7) |
40.5 (4.7) |
47.8 (8.8) |
57.0 (13.9) |
65.3 (18.5) |
73.0 (22.8) |
76.7 (24.8) |
75.9 (24.4) |
69.7 (20.9) |
58.2 (14.6) |
46.8 (8.2) |
39.9 (4.4) |
57.3 (14.1) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 26.2 (−3.2) |
29.2 (−1.6) |
35.2 (1.8) |
43.5 (6.4) |
53.5 (11.9) |
62.2 (16.8) |
66.5 (19.2) |
65.2 (18.4) |
58.4 (14.7) |
45.5 (7.5) |
34.8 (1.6) |
29.5 (−1.4) |
45.8 (7.7) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | 9.9 (−12.3) |
14.9 (−9.5) |
20.0 (−6.7) |
29.2 (−1.6) |
37.1 (2.8) |
53.0 (11.7) |
58.2 (14.6) |
57.3 (14.1) |
46.5 (8.1) |
31.0 (−0.6) |
21.3 (−5.9) |
16.8 (−8.4) |
8.1 (−13.3) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −5 (−21) |
0 (−18) |
15 (−9) |
20 (−7) |
24 (−4) |
47 (8) |
51 (11) |
47 (8) |
40 (4) |
25 (−4) |
12 (−11) |
3 (−16) |
−5 (−21) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 5.71 (145) |
5.24 (133) |
5.46 (139) |
5.60 (142) |
4.13 (105) |
5.06 (129) |
5.61 (142) |
3.07 (78) |
4.77 (121) |
3.63 (92) |
5.11 (130) |
6.01 (153) |
59.40 (1,509) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 0.4 (1.0) |
0.7 (1.8) |
0.1 (0.25) |
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 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.1 (0.25) |
1.3 (3.3) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 11.5 | 12.6 | 10.6 | 10.1 | 11.4 | 11.3 | 13.1 | 9.6 | 7.9 | 8.2 | 8.9 | 11.9 | 127.1 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 1.3 |
| Source 1: NOAA | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: National Weather Service (mean maxima/minima 2006–2020) | |||||||||||||
Population of Spring City
| Historical population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1890 | 598 | — | |
| 1900 | 640 | 7.0% | |
| 1910 | 1,039 | 62.3% | |
| 1920 | 1,001 | −3.7% | |
| 1930 | 1,090 | 8.9% | |
| 1940 | 1,569 | 43.9% | |
| 1950 | 1,725 | 9.9% | |
| 1960 | 1,800 | 4.3% | |
| 1970 | 1,756 | −2.4% | |
| 1980 | 1,951 | 11.1% | |
| 1990 | 2,199 | 12.7% | |
| 2000 | 2,025 | −7.9% | |
| 2010 | 1,981 | −2.2% | |
| 2020 | 1,949 | −1.6% | |
| Sources: | |||
2020 Census Information
| Race | Number | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| White (non-Hispanic) | 1,745 | 89.53% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 53 | 2.72% |
| Native American | 5 | 0.26% |
| Asian | 13 | 0.67% |
| Other/Mixed | 80 | 4.1% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 53 | 2.72% |
According to the 2020 United States census, there were 1,949 people living in Spring City. There were 935 households and 537 families.
2000 Census Information
In the census of 2000, Spring City had 2,025 people. There were 861 households and 533 families. The town had about 829.9 people per square mile (320.4 people per square kilometer).
Most of the people in Spring City were White (94.52%). About 4.49% were African American. A small number were Native American (0.40%) or Asian (0.05%). About 0.54% were from two or more races. People who identified as Hispanic or Latino made up 0.49% of the population.
Education
Rhea County Schools is the school district for Spring City. The elementary school is Spring City Elementary School. The middle school is Spring City Middle School. Students in high school attend Rhea County High School.
Images for kids
-
View of Watts Bar Lake
