Editing Pittman Center, Tennessee (section)

==History==
[[File:Burnettchapel1.jpg|thumb|right|Burnett Memorial Chapel]]

Like much of Sevier County, Emert's Cove was a [[Cherokee]] hunting ground before the [[European colonization of the Americas|colonization of the area]]. After the Battle of [[Boyds Creek, Tennessee|Boyds Creek]] and several violent incidents between the Cherokee and the settlers to the west in what is now [[Cocke County, Tennessee|Cocke County]], the Cherokee were induced to sign the [[Cherokee treaties|Treaty of Dumplin Creek]] in 1785, ceding what is now Sevier County to the [[State of Franklin]].<ref>[https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=33197 Treaty of Dumplin Creek], hmdb.org</ref><ref>[https://loststate.weebly.com/treaty-of-dumplin-creek.html The Treaty of Dumplin Creek], loststate.weebly.com</ref>  Among the first Euro-American settlers to move into the newly gained territory was Frederick Emert (1754–1829), who arrived with his family sometime between 1785 and 1793.<ref>Charles Elder and Randy Elder (editors), "Sevier County," ''Goodspeed's History of East Tennessee'' (Nashville: Elder Book Publishers, 1972).</ref>

Emert was born in Pennsylvania to German immigrants. He fought in the [[American Revolutionary War|American Revolution]] for the Continental Army, and probably saw action at the [[Battle of Brandywine Creek]]. In 2000, the residents of Pittman Center erected the Emert's Cove Covered Bridge in his honor.<ref>Historical marker at the west end of Emert's Cove Covered Bridge</ref>

Other settlers arrived in Emert's Cove with Emert in 1785. Among them was [[Johan Martin Shultz]] (1740–1787), a Revolutionary War surgeon that had served alongside Emert and John Sevier in the "Overmountain Men" in the [[Battle of Kings Mountain|Battle of King's Mountain]]. Shultz's son, Martin S.E. Shultz, would go on to marry Emert's daughter, Barbara Ann.<ref>H. Michael Shultz Jr., "From Brandenburg to Appalachia: The Shultz Family Story" {{ISBN|9781976296185}}</ref>

Another important settler was Daniel Wesley Reagan (1803–1892), whose parents and grandparents were among the first settlers in what is now [[Gatlinburg, Tennessee|Gatlinburg]]. Many residents of Pittman Center are descended from these early settlers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home Page: Smoky Mountain Ancestral Quest |url=https://www.smokykin.com/tng/ |access-date=April 24, 2023 |website=www.smokykin.com}}</ref>

===The Pittman Community Center===
[[File:Pittman-community-center-tn1.gif|thumb|right|Pittman Community Center in 1938]]

In 1910, a survey of Tennessee found Sevier County to be most in need of educational facilities.<ref>Pearl Cashell Jackson, ''Pi Beta Phi Settlement School'' (University of Texas, 1927), 14.</ref>  In spite of the establishment of a [[settlement school]] in Gatlinburg by the [[Pi Beta Phi]] fraternity in 1912, education in the region was still appallingly lacking. To help remedy this situation, Dr. John Burnett, a [[Methodist]] minister who visited the Smokies in 1919, envisioned the establishment a large-scale school in the area that would operate with virtually no tuition rates. Later that year, the [[Methodist Episcopal Church]] endorsed Burnett's plan at its annual meeting, and with the help of Reverend Eli Pittman of [[Elmira, New York]], Burnett secured $15,000 for the project. In 1920, Burnett purchased Garfield Scott's farm just above the confluence of Webb Creek and the Middle Fork of the Little Pigeon River. This {{convert|135|acre|km2|adj=on}} plot of land would become the core of the new school's campus.<ref name="Margaret Ann Roth 1977">Margaret Ann Roth, "Pittman Center," ''Smoky Mountain Historical Society Newsletter'' 3, no. 4 (September 1977): 5.</ref>

In late 1920, Burnett's new settlement school, which he named "Pittman Community Center" in honor of Reverend Pittman, opened with an enrollment of 100.<ref name="Brief History of Pittman Center">[http://www.pittmancentertn.com/history.html Brief History of Pittman Center]. Pittman Center Official Website. Retrieved: August 10, 2007.</ref>  The school eventually expanded to include {{convert|1500|acre|km2}}, 15 buildings, and 240 students operating on an annual budget of $9,000. The buildings included a general store, post office, and a small hospital. The Pittman School supported itself by canning tomatoes and growing apples, with students doing all the maintenance work.<ref name="Margaret Ann Roth 1977"/>

In 1955, the Sevier County Board of Education purchased the Pittman School, and the school was combined with the [[Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts|Pi Beta Phi High School]] in Gatlinburg to form Gatlinburg-Pittman High School in 1963.   The only building remaining from the Pittman school is the Home Economics building, which the Methodist Episcopal Church gave to the town after its incorporation for use as its city hall.<ref name="Margaret Ann Roth 1977"/><ref name="Brief History of Pittman Center"/>  In 1996, the building was placed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].

===Municipal incorporation===
In 1974 the community [[municipal corporation|incorporated]] as the town of Pittman Center, which includes both the former Pittman Community Center campus and Emert's Cove.

The Town of Pittman Center provides police services with a police department consisting of a Chief of Police and three full time patrol officers.