Editing Blount County, Tennessee (section)

==Economy==
Most of the early European-American settlers were of little means; they were subsistence farmers throughout the early years of the county's establishment. The first industry to make its mark on Blount County, as in other neighboring counties, was that of lumber.

It was the massive development of this industry in the mountains of east Blount that, in part, led to the creation of the [[Great Smoky Mountains National Park]]. It includes the southeastern portion of the county. Today, manufacturing has replaced lumber in importance, with over 100 manufacturing plants located in the county.<ref name="About Blount County"/>

Denso Manufacturing Tennessee Inc., a division of [[Denso| Denso Global]], is the county's largest employer, with about 3,000 employees.<ref>"DENSO Plant 203 is a key marker in 20-year history," [https://web.archive.org/web/20110523225953/http://www.thedailytimes.com/article/20080407/OP01/475180054 The Maryville-Alcoa Daily Times], April 7, 2008</ref><ref>"Denso Tennessee names new president," [http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/Apr/01/denso-tennessee-names-new-president/ The Knoxville News-Sentinel] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090415172421/http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/Apr/01/denso-tennessee-names-new-president/ |date=April 15, 2009 }}, April 1, 2008</ref>