Editing Calhoun, Tennessee (section)

==History==
The area where Calhoun is located was settled by John Walker (c. 1770-1834), a part-[[Cherokee]] grandson of [[Nancy Ward]] and a prominent figure in the formation of McMinn County. Walker helped contract the Cherokee Turnpike Company in 1808 to maintain a road between [[Knoxville, Tennessee|Knoxville]] and [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]. What is now Cahoun began around 1808, when Walker established a ferry across the Hiwassee River between the present locations of Calhoun and [[Charleston, Tennessee|Charleston]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Lillard|first=Roy G.|date=June 8, 1986|title=Charleston is One of Oldest Places in Southeast Tennessee|work=Cleveland Daily Banner}}</ref> In 1819, Walker helped negotiate the Calhoun Treaty, where the Cherokee ceded the remaining lands between the Hiwassee River and the [[Little Tennessee River]] to the U.S. government. That same year McMinn County was organized at Walker's home in Calhoun.<ref>C. Stephen Byrum, ''McMinn County'' (Memphis, Tenn.: Memphis State University Press, 1984), 9-20.</ref> In 1820, Walker laid out the town of Calhoun, which he named for [[John C. Calhoun]], the Calhoun Treaty's chief U.S. negotiator.<ref>"[http://www.rootsweb.com/~tnmcminn/Goodspd1.html Goodspeed's History of McMinn County, Tennessee]," 1887.  Transcribed for web content by Harold Mitchell. Retrieved: December 31, 2007.</ref> Walker's son, John "Jack" Walker Jr., would eventually be assassinated by two anti-removal Cherokees, who felt he had betrayed the Cherokee Nation.<ref>{{cite news|last=Denton|first=Colby|date=May 5, 2019|title=Calhoun celebrates 200th year|url=http://clevelandbanner.com/stories/calhoun-celebrates-200th-year,98109|work=Cleveland Daily Banner|access-date=November 2, 2020}}</ref>

[[File:View of town - NARA - 281015.jpg|left|210px|thumb|Calhoun in 1939]]

[[Joseph McMinn]], governor of Tennessee from 1815 to 1821, spent the last few years of his life in Calhoun, and is buried in the Shiloh Presbyterian Cemetery, which is located in Calhoun.

In 1954, the pulp and paper giant [[Bowater]] (now [[Resolute Forest Products]]) established a plant in Calhoun that soon grew to become one of the largest newsprint mills in North America.  The mill, which dominates the western half of Calhoun, produces 750,000 metric tons of newsprint and specialty paper per year.<ref>"[http://www.bowater.com/en/locations_calhoun.shtml Bowater &mdash; Calhoun, Tennessee Operations]," 2007.  Retrieved: December 31, 2007.</ref>

There is one government building in the city which functions as the town's library, courthouse, police station, and fire station.  Directly across the road from this building is a baseball field where Little League games are held.

Calhoun  had its own high school that shut down in 1980. They had some very successful baseball teams. They also had basketball teams. Their cross river rivals were   the Charleston panthers who also later  closed their high school in 2001. 

On December 11, 1990, a heavy fog led to a [[1990 Interstate 75 fog disaster|crash involving 99 vehicles]] along [[Interstate 75]] near Calhoun, killing 12 and injuring 42.  As a result, electronic speed limit signs equipped with fog sensors have been installed along the Calhoun section of the interstate.<ref>The National Transportation Safety Board, "[https://web.archive.org/web/20071111233118/http://www.sactaqc.org/Resources/Literature/Transportation/Fog_warning2.htm Highway Accident Report HAR-92/02]."  Adopted: September 28, 1992.  Retrieved: December 31, 2007.</ref><ref>Matthew Wald, "[https://web.archive.org/web/20071111233118/http://www.sactaqc.org/Resources/Literature/Transportation/Fog_warning2.htm War on Road Fog Lacks Easy Solution]."  ''The New York Times'', June 18, 2003.  Retrieved:  December 31, 2007.</ref>