Editing Norris, Tennessee (section)

==History==

TVA chairman [[Arthur Ernest Morgan|Arthur Morgan]] envisioned Norris as a model of cooperative, egalitarian living.<ref name=TVAideal>[http://www.tva.gov/heritage/norris/index.htm An American Ideal], TVA Heritage, TVA website, accessed September 27, 2011</ref> The city design was developed by TVA staff,<ref name=MTSU>[http://frank.mtsu.edu/~tah/sites/norris.pdf Norris Historic District], Cumberland River Valley Consortium Project website, Middle Tennessee State University, accessed June 12, 2009</ref> who loosely based their design on the English [[garden city movement]] of the 1890s. Winding roads followed the contour of the terrain.  Houses did not always face the street. A central [[village green|common green]] and a belt of rural land around the town were reserved for use by residents. The houses, which were some of the first all-electric homes, were built using local wood and stone, according to twelve basic house designs that each included a porch and fireplace. Different exterior materials were used for visual variety.<ref name=MTSU/><ref>[http://www.tngenweb.org/tva/NorrisDam/norris.php History and Facts on Norris Dam], Tennessee GenWeb Project (accessed November 11, 2007)</ref>

[[File:Norris-laboratory-building-tva1.jpg|left|210px|thumb|Hydraulics laboratory building in the 1930s]]

Norris represents the first use of [[Green belt|greenbelt]] design principles in a self-contained town in the United States. The town was the first in Tennessee to have a complete system of [[rotary dial|dial telephone]]s. Norris Creamery was the first [[dairy|milk-producing plant]] in the world to be powered solely by electricity.<ref name=MTSU/>

During the 1930s, TVA officials excluded [[African American|black]] families from the city, effectively making it a [[sundown town]], purportedly to conform to the customs and traditions of the area. However, black leaders said that poor whites and blacks had lived and worked together in the area long before the TVA came into existence. The [[National Association for the Advancement of Colored People]] (NAACP) complained repeatedly (in 1934, 1935 and 1938) about [[racial discrimination]] by the TVA in the hiring, housing and training of blacks.<ref name="TVA FERI">New Deal Network, [http://newdeal.feri.org/tva/tva08.htm The Planned Community of Norris, Tennessee]</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism|first=James W.|last=Loewen|author-link=James W. Loewen|publisher=[[The New Press]]|location=New York City|date=2018|pages=103, 112–113|isbn=978-1-62097-454-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=abhIDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT89|via=Google Books}}</ref>

In 1948 the [[U.S. Congress]] directed that the city be sold at public [[auction]]. It was purchased for $2.1 million (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|2,100,000|1948}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars {{inflation-fn|US}}) by a [[Philadelphia]] investment group headed by Henry D. Epstein, which then sold individual homes to their residents.  The city was officially [[municipal corporation|incorporated]] in 1949. In 1953 the Epstein group sold its remaining Norris real estate to a corporation formed by Norris residents and known as the Norris Corporation.<ref name=MTSU/>

The town, including 340 buildings and an area of about {{convert|4000|acre|km2}}, was added to the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1975 as an [[Historic district (United States)|historic district]], designated the '''Norris District'''.<ref name=nrhpdotcom>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/TN/Anderson/districts.html |title= Tennessee – Anderson County – Historic Districts |publisher=NationalRegisterOfHistoricPlaces.Com, a private website mirroring public domain National Register data}}</ref><ref>[http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/ National Register of Historic Places Focus]</ref>

Today Norris primarily serves as a [[bedroom community]] for [[Knoxville, Tennessee|Knoxville]] and [[Oak Ridge, Tennessee|Oak Ridge]].<ref name="TVA FERI" /> Services available within the community include one [[elementary school]] serving grades K-5, one [[middle school]] serving grades 6–8, a small grocer, and many other small businesses. The community's high school students attend [[Anderson County High School (Tennessee)|Anderson County High School]].

The [[Museum of Appalachia]], founded by [[John Rice Irwin]],<ref>{{cite journal| title=Happy 80th Birthday, John Rice Irwin!| journal=The Norris Bulletin| date=December 8, 2010| volume=64| issue=49| pages=1, 6}}</ref> is a popular attraction in Norris. Norris is a short distance from [[Norris Dam State Park]], part of which is in the city, and [[Big Ridge State Park]], which include popular [[camping]] areas.