Editing Niota, Tennessee (section)

==History==
The community was originally called "Mouse Creek," but was renamed in 1897 to avoid confusion with a railroad stop in [[Jefferson City, Tennessee|Jefferson City]] that was named "Mossy Creek." The name "Niota" was based on the name of a fictional character in a [[dime novel]], a [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] chief named "Nee-o-tah."<ref name=matheny>{{cite news |first=Jim |last=Matheny |url=http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=133660 |series=Why do they call it that? |title=Niota in McMinn County |website=WBIR-TV |date=September 10, 2010 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130209170007/http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=133660 |archive-date=February 9, 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The Niota Depot, built in 1854 for the [[East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad]], is the oldest standing railroad depot in Tennessee. It currently serves as Niota City Hall.<ref>{{cite report |first1=Carroll |last1=van West |first2=Martin T. |last2=Gavin |display-authors=etal |date=December 2007 |title=Niota Train Depot Preservation Needs Report |page=4 |publisher=Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area |url=http://www.sitemason.com/files/iO9hv2/Niota%20Train%20Depot%20Preservation%20Needs%20Report%202007.pdf}}</ref>

In 1988, a group of women, later dubbed the “Golden Girls of Niota”, led a successful city council election campaign and became one of the first all-female city councils in the United States and the only one at the time. The group ran as the People’s Choice Party and was led by 78-year old Mayor Effie Lones, the oldest elected female official in the country at the time of her election. Every member of the Golden Girls was a grandmother. 4 of the candidates were elected via write-in votes, and they handed out sample ballots prior to Election Day to familiarize voters with the write-in process.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 19, 1989 |title=THE GOLDEN GIRLS SEIZE CONTROL OF TENNESSEE TOWN |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1989-03-19-8903270988-story.html |access-date=August 27, 2023 |website=Chicago Tribune}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Niota, Nigh Onto Heaven |url=https://wellholler.tripod.com/niota.htm |access-date=August 27, 2023 |website=wellholler.tripod.com}}</ref>