Whitwell, Tennessee facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Whitwell, Tennessee
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View of Whitwell with the Cumberland Plateau in the background
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| Nickname(s):
Home of the Children's Holocaust Memorial
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Location of Whitwell in Marion County, Tennessee.
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| Country | United States |
| State | Tennessee |
| County | Marion |
| Incorporated | 1956 |
| Named for | Thomas Whitwell, inventor and mining entrepreneur |
| Area | |
| • Total | 3.51 sq mi (9.09 km2) |
| • Land | 3.51 sq mi (9.09 km2) |
| • Water | 0.00 sq mi (0.01 km2) |
| Elevation | 679 ft (207 m) |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 1,641 |
| • Density | 467.65/sq mi (180.57/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP code |
37397
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| Area code(s) | 423 |
| FIPS code | 47-80620 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1304575 |
| Website | cityofwhitwell.com |
Whitwell is a small city in Marion County, Tennessee. It is about 24 miles northwest of Chattanooga. In 2020, about 1,641 people lived there. Whitwell is known as the "Home of the Children's Holocaust Memorial." It is part of the larger Chattanooga Metropolitan Area.
Contents
Whitwell's Story
The area that is now Whitwell was first called Cheekville. Later, it was renamed "Whitwell" after Thomas Whitwell. He was a British inventor and businessman who helped start a coal and iron company. The city officially became Whitwell in 1956. It grew as a mining town because there was a lot of coal in the nearby mountains.
In 1981, a sad event happened when 13 coal miners died in an explosion. There is a monument at Whitwell High School that lists the names of those who were lost. Whitwell also has a fun annual Labor Day celebration. This event has been held for over 50 years in a row!
Where is Whitwell?
Whitwell is located at 35°11′51″N 85°31′9″W / 35.19750°N 85.51917°W. It sits in the southwestern part of the Sequatchie Valley. This valley is at the bottom of a steep hill that leads up to the Cumberland Plateau. The Sequatchie River flows just east of the city. It forms part of Whitwell's southeastern border.
Several main roads connect Whitwell to other towns. Tennessee State Route 28 (Hudson Street) runs north and south. It links Whitwell to Dunlap in the north and Jasper in the south. State Route 283 connects Whitwell to Powells Crossroads across the Sequatchie River. Also, State Route 108 (South Main Street) goes from Whitwell up to Grundy County on top of the Plateau.
The city covers about 3.3 square miles (9.09 square kilometers) of land. Only a very small part of it is water.
People of Whitwell
| Historical population | |||
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| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1890 | 906 | — | |
| 1960 | 1,857 | — | |
| 1970 | 1,669 | −10.1% | |
| 1980 | 1,783 | 6.8% | |
| 1990 | 1,622 | −9.0% | |
| 2000 | 1,660 | 2.3% | |
| 2010 | 1,699 | 2.3% | |
| 2020 | 1,641 | −3.4% | |
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In 2020, there were 1,641 people living in Whitwell. There were 784 households and 536 families. Most of the people living in Whitwell are White (about 90.74%). Other groups include Black or African American (1.22%), Native American (0.18%), Asian (0.37%), and people of two or more races (3.96%). About 3.53% of the population was Hispanic or Latino.
Schools in Whitwell
Whitwell has three schools for its students:
- Whitwell Elementary School
- Whitwell Middle School
- Whitwell High School
In 2018, the Whitwell High School football team, called the Whitwell Tigers, had an amazing season. They won all 15 of their games! They also won the 1-A State Championship by beating Cornersville 7–6.
The Paper Clips Project
Whitwell is famous for something very special called the Paper Clips Project. This project was a Holocaust memorial and educational effort. It was started by students at the local middle school in 1998. A movie was even made about what these students achieved!
The project began because the students wanted to truly understand how big the number six million was. This number represents the six million Jewish people who were killed during the Holocaust in World War II. The students decided to collect one paper clip for every Jewish person murdered.
This idea quickly got attention from the news and people all over the world. Many important Jewish people sent paper clips to represent family members they had lost. The students ended up collecting way more paper clips than they first planned. They collected over 11 million paper clips. This number represents all the non-military people, both Jewish and non-Jewish, who were killed by the Nazis. The total number of paper clips collected is now between ten and fifty million. This is about the same as the total number of war deaths between 1939 and 1945.
A real train car that was used to transport Jewish people to concentration camps is now at Whitwell Middle School. The school often invites Holocaust survivors and other speakers to share their stories about the Holocaust.
Famous People from Whitwell
- Jon Coffelt (born 1963), an artist
- Hillis Layne (1918–2010), a former Major League Baseball player
- Bennie Tate (1901–1973), a former Major League Baseball player
See also
In Spanish: Whitwell (Tennessee) para niños
