Editing Gruetli-Laager, Tennessee

{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name            = Gruetli-Laager, Tennessee
|settlement_type          = [[City]]
|nickname                 = 
|motto                    =

<!-- Images -->
|image_skyline            =  Gruetli-Laager-TN108-tn2.jpg 
|imagesize                = 250px
|image_caption            = [[Tennessee State Route 108|SR 108]] in Gruetli-Laager
|image_flag               = 
|image_seal               =

<!-- Maps -->
|pushpin_map              = Tennessee#USA
|pushpin_label            = Gruetli-Laager
|pushpin_label_position   = left<!-- the position of the pushpin label: left, right, top, bottom, none -->
|pushpin_map_caption      = 
|pushpin_mapsize          = 
|image_map                = File:Grundy County Tennessee Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Gruetli-Laager Highlighted 4731490.svg
|mapsize                  = 
|map_caption              = Location of Gruetli-Laager in Grundy County, Tennessee.
|image_map1               = 
|mapsize1                 = 
|map_caption1             =

<!-- Location -->
|subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
|subdivision_name         = United States
|subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_name1        = [[Tennessee]]
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Tennessee|County]]
|subdivision_name2        = [[Grundy County, Tennessee|Grundy]]

<!-- Government -->
|government_footnotes     = 
|government_type          = 
|leader_title             = 
|leader_name              = 
|leader_title1            = 
|leader_name1             = 
|established_title        = Settled
|established_date         = 1869
|established_title2       = Incorporated
|established_date2        = 1980<ref>''[http://www.state.tn.us/sos/bluebook/05-06/48-data.pdf Tennessee Blue Book]'', 2005-2006, pp. 618-625.</ref>

<!-- Area -->
|unit_pref  = Imperial
|area_footnotes           = <ref name="TigerWebMapServer">{{cite web|title=ArcGIS REST Services Directory|url=https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/5/query?where=STATE='47'&outFields=NAME,STATE,PLACE,AREALAND,AREAWATER,LSADC,CENTLAT,CENTLON&orderByFields=PLACE&returnGeometry=false&returnTrueCurves=false&f=json|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=October 15, 2022}}</ref>
|area_magnitude           = 
|area_total_km2           = 32.83
|area_land_km2            = 32.83
|area_water_km2           = 0.00
|area_total_sq_mi         = 12.68
|area_land_sq_mi          = 12.68
|area_water_sq_mi         = 0.00

<!-- Population -->
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States Census|2020]]
|population_footnotes     = <ref name="USCensusDecennial2020CenPopScriptOnly"/>
|population_total         = 1742
|population_density_km2   = 53.06
|population_density_sq_mi = 137.43

<!-- General information -->
|timezone                 = [[North American Central Time Zone|Central (CST)]]
|utc_offset               = -6
|timezone_DST             = CDT
|utc_offset_DST           = -5
|elevation_footnotes      = <ref name=gnis/>
|elevation_m              = 
|elevation_ft             = 1919
|coordinates              = {{coord|35|22|23|N|85|37|25|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]
|postal_code              = 37339
|area_code                = [[Area code 931|931]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 47-31490<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |accessdate=January 31, 2008 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref>
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 1648587<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|1648587}}</ref>
|website                  = 
|footnotes                = 
|pop_est_as_of = 
|pop_est_footnotes = 
|population_est = 
}}
'''Gruetli-Laager''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɡ|r|uː|t|l|i|_|ˈ|l|ɑː|ɡ|ər}} {{respell|GROOT|lee|_|LAH|gər}})<ref>{{cite news|last=Crisman|first=Emily|date=November 1, 2018|url=https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/chatter/story/2018/nov/01/we-bet-youre-saying-these-local-names-wrong/481612/|title=We bet you're saying these Chattanooga names wrong|work=Chattanooga Times Free Press|access-date=June 24, 2021}}</ref> is a city in [[Grundy County, Tennessee|Grundy County]], [[Tennessee]], United States. The population was 1,813 at the [[2010 United States Census|2010 census]].<ref name="Census 2010">{{Cite web| url=http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/G001/1600000US4731490| title=Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Gruetli-Laager city, Tennessee| publisher=U.S. Census Bureau| work=American Factfinder| accessdate=February 23, 2017}}{{dead link|bot=medic|date=April 2020}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> As its name implies, Gruetli-Laager consists of two communities&mdash; Gruetli and Laager&mdash; incorporated as a single city.

==History==
Gruetli was founded by German-speaking [[Switzerland|Swiss]] immigrants in 1869. The town was part of a greater initiative&mdash; conducted by an organization known as the Tennessee Kolonisation Gesellschaft&mdash; to establish Swiss colonies atop the [[Cumberland Plateau]] in Tennessee.<ref name=tehc>Claudette Stager, "[http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=574 Gruetli]." ''The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture'', 2009. Retrieved February 9, 2013.</ref> Gruetli was probably named after a commune in the Swiss [[canton of Glarus]].<ref>Tennessee Historical Commission marker 2E 43 on State Route 108. Information obtained November 30, 2008.</ref> [[Peter Staub]], a member of [[Knoxville, Tennessee|Knoxville's]] thriving Swiss community, helped purchase the initial tract of land for Gruetli. The land was advertised in Switzerland, where the opportunity for a new start appealed to many families struggling with difficult economic conditions in Europe.<ref name=tehc />

[[File:Gruetli-laager-thc-tn1.jpg|left|210px|thumb|Tennessee Historical Commission marker along State Route 108]]

Although over 100 Swiss families moved to the Gruetli area in the 1870s, many were disappointed by the land's poor quality and relative isolation, and thus relocated to nearby cities. Nevertheless, by 1880, Grundy County had the largest Swiss population of any county in Tennessee. Prominent early settlers at Gruetli included Christian Marugg, who operated an inn along the stagecoach road between [[Chattanooga, Tennessee|Chattanooga]] and [[McMinnville, Tennessee|McMinnville]], and Melchior Thoni, Jr. (1849–1926), a woodcarver whose work was displayed in the old Governor's Mansion and the Christ Church in [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]].<ref name=tehc /><ref>Tennessee Historical Commission marker 2E 71 on TN-108. Information obtained November 30, 2008.</ref>

Throughout the early 1900s, railroads were constructed in the hills east of Gruetli to accommodate various [[coal mining]] operations in the area. Laager was established as a railroad stopover (initially known as "Henley's Switch") in 1918. Gruetli and Laager merged and incorporated in 1980.<ref name=tehc /><ref>William Ray Turner, "[http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=576 Grundy County]." ''The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture'', 2009. Retrieved February 9, 2013.</ref>

==Geography==
Gruetli-Laager is located southeast of the center of Grundy County at {{Coord|35|22|23|N|85|37|25|W|type:city}} (35.373152, -85.623617).<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|accessdate=April 23, 2011|date=February 12, 2011|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}}</ref> The city is situated atop the southern [[Cumberland Plateau]], roughly halfway between the plateau's [[Sequatchie Valley]] escarpment to the east and its [[Highland Rim]] escarpment to the west. Just north of the city, the [[Collins River]] and its upper watershed slice a gorge known as "Savage Gulf" as the river descends the plateau en route to its confluence with the [[Caney Fork]] at [[Rock Island State Park (Tennessee)|Rock Island]].

Gruetli-Laager stretches for several miles along [[Tennessee State Route 108]] (SR 108). The highway connects the area with the Sequatchie Valley and [[Chattanooga, Tennessee|Chattanooga]] area to the southeast. Just west of Gruetli-Laager, SR 108 intersects [[Tennessee State Route 56|SR 56]], which connects the area to [[Monteagle, Tennessee|Monteagle]] and [[Interstate 24]] to the southwest and [[McMinnville, Tennessee|McMinnville]] to the northwest.

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has a total area of {{convert|32.5|km2|order=flip}}, all land.<ref name="Census 2010"/>

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1990= 1810
|2000= 1867
|2010= 1813
|2020= 1742
|footnote=Sources:<ref name="GR9">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|accessdate=March 4, 2012|title=Census of Population and Housing: Decennial Censuses }}</ref><ref name=CensusPopEst>{{cite web|title=Incorporated Places and Minor Civil Divisions Datasets: Subcounty Resident Population Estimates: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2012|url=https://www.census.gov/popest/data/cities/totals/2012/SUB-EST2012.html|work=Population Estimates|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|accessdate=December 11, 2013|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130611010502/http://www.census.gov/popest/data/cities/totals/2012/SUB-EST2012.html|archivedate=June 11, 2013}}</ref><ref name="USCensusDecennial2020CenPopScriptOnly">{{cite web|url=https://api.census.gov/data/2020/dec/pl?get=P1_001N,NAME&for=place:*&in=state:47&key=5ccd0821c15d9f4520e2dcc0f8d92b2ec9336108|title=Census Population API|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=October 15, 2022}}</ref>
}}

===2020 census===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right"
|+Gruetli-Laager racial composition<ref>{{Cite web|title=Explore Census Data|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=1600000US4731490&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|access-date=December 26, 2021|website=data.census.gov}}</ref>
!scope="col"| Race
!scope="col"| Number
!scope="col"| Percentage
|-
!scope="row"| [[White (U.S. Census)|White]] (non-Hispanic)
| 1,660
| 95.29%
|-
!scope="row"| [[African American (U.S. Census)|Black or African American]] (non-Hispanic)
| 1
| 0.06%
|-
!scope="row"| [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]]
| 5
| 0.29%
|-
!scope="row"| [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]]
| 5
| 0.29%
|-
!scope="row"| [[Race (United States Census)|Other/Mixed]]
| 57
| 3.27%
|-
!scope="row"| [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]]
| 14
| 0.8%
|}
As of the [[2020 United States census]], there were 1,742 people, 747 households, and 562 families residing in the city.

===2000 census===
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 1,867 people, 720 households, and 540 families residing in the city. The population density was {{convert|150.0|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 765 housing units at an average density of {{convert|61.4|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the city was 99.25% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.05% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.05% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 0.64% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 0.54% of the population.

[[File:Gruetli-laager-postoffice-tn1.jpg|left|thumb|Gruetli-Laager's post office]]

There were 720 households, out of which 34.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.2% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.0% were non-families. 22.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.03.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 27.3% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 12.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $23,101, and the median income for a family was $27,542. Males had a median income of $26,198 versus $17,634 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the city was $11,704. About 21.3% of families and 24.8% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 35.5% of those under age 18 and 8.8% of those age 65 or over.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.swisshistoricalsociety.org/Celebration.htm Grundy County Swiss Historical Society] &mdash; headquartered in Gruetli-Laager
* [http://grundycountyhistory.org/05_Res/Swiss/Swiss%20Colony%20at%20Gruetli%202010.pdf The Swiss Colony at Gruetli-Laager] &mdash; article by Frances Helen Jackson

{{Grundy County, Tennessee}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Cities in Tennessee]]
[[Category:German-American culture in Tennessee]]
[[Category:Swiss-American history]]
[[Category:Cities in Grundy County, Tennessee]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1869]]
[[Category:1869 establishments in Tennessee]]