Editing Johnson County, Tennessee

{{short description|County in Tennessee, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox U.S. county
|county               = Johnson County
|state                = Tennessee
|flag                 = Flag of Johnson County, Tennessee.png
|seal                 = File:Johnson county tn seal.gif
|founded              = 1836
|named for            = Thomas Johnson, early settler<ref name=tehc>Jewell Hamm, "[http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=713 Johnson County]," ''Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture''. Retrieved: October 18, 2013.</ref>
|seat wl = Mountain City
|largest city wl = Mountain City
|city type = town
|area_total_sq_mi = 303
|area_land_sq_mi = 298
|area_water_sq_mi = 4.2
|area percentage = 1.4%
|census yr = 2020
|pop = 17948 {{decrease}}
|density_sq_mi = 61
|time zone = Eastern
|footnotes            =
|ex image             = Johnson-county-courthouse-tn.jpg
|ex image cap         = Johnson County Courthouse in Mountain City
| district = 1st
|website=https://www.johnsoncountytn.gov/}}

'''Johnson County''' is the easternmost [[County (United States)|county]] in the [[U.S. state]] of [[Tennessee]]. As of the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]], the population was 17,948.<ref>{{cite web|title=Census - Geography Profile: Johnson County, Tennessee|url=https://data.census.gov/profile/Johnson_County,_Tennessee?g=0500000US47091|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=January 7, 2023}}</ref> Its [[county seat]] is [[Mountain City, Tennessee|Mountain City]].<ref name="GR6">{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx |access-date=June 7, 2011 |title=Find a County |publisher=National Association of Counties |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110531210815/http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx |archive-date=May 31, 2011 }}</ref>

==History==
Johnson County was created in 1836 from parts of [[Carter County, Tennessee|Carter County]]. This followed several years of bickering over the location of Carter County's seat, with residents of what is now Johnson County arguing that travel to [[Elizabethton, Tennessee|Elizabethton]] was too lengthy and difficult. When their petition to move the seat to a more central location was rejected, they petitioned the state legislature for the creation of a new county. The new county was named after Thomas Johnson, an early settler. The county seat was initially named "Taylorsville" in honor of Colonel James P. Taylor (it was changed to "Mountain City" in the 1880s).<ref name=tehc /><ref>"[http://www.mce.k12tn.net/johnson/history/forming/forming_johnson_county.htm The Forming of Johnson County]{{Dead link|date=November 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}," Mountain City Elementary School website. Retrieved: September 28, 2015.</ref>

Most Johnson Countians supported the Union during the Civil War. The county's residents rejected secession by a margin of 788 to 111 in Tennessee's secession referendum on June 8, 1861.<ref>Oliver Perry Temple, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=g8xYAAAAMAAJ&dq=%22The+detailed+vote+of+the+several+counties+was+as+follows%22&pg=PA199 East Tennessee and the Civil War]'' (R. Clarke Company, 1899), p. 199.</ref>  The county sent a sizable delegation to the [[Greeneville, Tennessee|Greeneville]] session of the pro-Union [[East Tennessee Convention]] in June 1861.<ref name=bryan>Charles F. Bryan, Jr., "[https://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/42626043?uid=14937480&uid=3739912&uid=2&uid=3&uid=67&uid=14937416&uid=62&uid=3739256&sid=21104662885971 A Gathering of Tories: The East Tennessee Conventions of 1861]," ''Tennessee Historical Quarterly'', Vol. 39, No. 1 (Spring 1980), pp. 27-48.</ref>

Due in large part to the county's remoteness, the railroads did not reach Johnson until the early 20th century. The arrival of the railroads during this period aided the development of the timber and [[manganese]] mining industries.<ref name=tehc />

==Geography==
[[File:Snake-Mountain-from-Trade-tn1.jpg|right|210px|thumb|[[Snake Mountain (North Carolina – Tennessee)|Snake Mountain]], viewed from [[Trade, Tennessee|Trade]]]]
[[File:Red-Fox-Ridge-southeast-tn1.jpg|right|210px|thumb|Mountainous terrain near [[Laurel Bloomery, Tennessee|Laurel Bloomery]]]]

According to the [[U.S. Census Bureau]], the county has a total area of {{convert|303|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|298|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|4.2|sqmi}} (1.4%) is water.<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=http://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/counties_list_47.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=April 7, 2015|date=August 22, 2012|title=2010 Census Gazetteer Files}}</ref>

Situated entirely within the [[Blue Ridge Mountains]],<ref>Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, et al., "[http://www.epa.gov/ttnamti1/files/networkplans/TNPlan2010.pdf Ambient Air Monitoring Plan]," Environmental Protection Agency website, July 1, 2010. Accessed: March 18, 2015.</ref> Johnson County is relatively rugged and hilly. The county's boundary with Sullivan County to the northwest is defined as the ridgeline of [[Holston Mountain]], while the [[Iron Mountains]] provide the county's boundary with [[Carter County, Tennessee|Carter County]] to the southwest.  [[Snake Mountain (North Carolina – Tennessee)|Snake Mountain]], at {{convert|5574|ft|m}}, is the county's highest point.<ref name=tehc />

===High elevation===
In terms of average elevation, Johnson County is one of the highest counties (if not the highest) in Tennessee. The county is home to the two highest communities in the state: [[Trade, Tennessee|Trade]], at {{convert|3,133|ft|m}}, and [[Shady Valley, Tennessee|Shady Valley]], at {{convert|2,785|ft|m}}. Mountain City is the highest incorporated city in Tennessee, at {{convert|2,418|ft|m}}. The highest place in Johnson County is [[Snake Mountain (North Carolina – Tennessee)|Snake Mountain]]'s lower peak, (near the North Carolina state line), at {{convert|5,518|ft|m}}. The lowest point in the county is [[Watauga Lake]], at an elevation of {{convert|1,959|ft|m}}.

===Lake===
*[[Watauga Lake]]

===Adjacent counties===
*[[Washington County, Virginia]] (north)
*[[Grayson County, Virginia]] (northeast)
*[[Ashe County, North Carolina]] (east)
*[[Watauga County, North Carolina]] (southeast)
*[[Avery County, North Carolina]] (south)
*[[Carter County, Tennessee|Carter County]] (southwest)
*[[Sullivan County, Tennessee|Sullivan County]] (west)

===National protected areas===
*[[Appalachian Trail]] (part)
*[[Cherokee National Forest]] (part)

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1840= 2658
|1850= 3705
|1860= 5018
|1870= 5852
|1880= 7766
|1890= 8858
|1900= 10589
|1910= 13191
|1920= 12230
|1930= 12209
|1940= 12998
|1950= 12278
|1960= 10765
|1970= 11569
|1980= 13745
|1990= 13766
|2000= 17499
|2010= 18244
|2020= 17948
|estref=
|align-fn=center
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=U.S. Decennial Census|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=April 7, 2015}}</ref><br />1790-1960<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu|title=Historical Census Browser|publisher=University of Virginia Library|access-date=April 7, 2015}}</ref> 1900-1990<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/tn190090.txt|title=Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990|publisher=United States Census Bureau|editor-last=Forstall|editor-first=Richard L.|date=March 27, 1995|access-date=April 7, 2015}}</ref><br />1990-2000<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live|title=Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000|publisher=United States Census Bureau|date=April 2, 2001|access-date=April 7, 2015}}</ref> 2010-2014<ref name="QF">{{cite web|title=State & County QuickFacts|url=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/47/47091.html|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=December 3, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607142642/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/47/47091.html|archive-date=June 7, 2011}}</ref>
}}
{{Stack|[[Image:USA Johnson County, Tennessee.csv age pyramid.svg|thumb|150px|left|Age pyramid Johnson County<ref>Based on [[2000 United States Census|2000 census]] data</ref>]]}}

===2020 census===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right"
|+Johnson County racial composition<ref>{{Cite web|title=Explore Census Data|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=0500000US47091&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)
| 16,126
| 89.85%
|-
!scope="row"| [[African American (U.S. Census)|Black or African American]] (non-Hispanic)
| 724
| 4.03%
|-
!scope="row"| [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]]
| 28
| 0.16%
|-
!scope="row"| [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]]
| 27
| 0.15%
|-
!scope="row"| [[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]]
| 9
| 0.05%
|-
!scope="row"| [[Race (United States Census)|Other/Mixed]]
| 518
| 2.89%
|-
!scope="row"| [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]]
| 516
| 2.87%
|}
As of the [[2020 United States census]], there were 17,948 people, 6,794 households, and 4,635 families residing in the county.

===2000 census===
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR8">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=May 14, 2011|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref> of 2000, there were 17,499 people, 6,827 households, and 4,751 families residing in the county. The [[population density]] was {{convert|59|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|people&nbsp;|people|}}. There were 7,879 housing units at an average density of {{convert|26|/mi2|/km2|adj=pre|units&nbsp;}}. The racial makeup of the county was 96.40% [[Race (United States Census)|White]], 2.42% [[Race (United States Census)|Black]] or [[Race (United States Census)|African American]], 0.34% [[Race (United States Census)|Native American]], 0.12% [[Race (United States Census)|Asian]], 0.02% [[Race (United States Census)|Pacific Islander]], 0.23% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 0.46% from two or more races. 0.86% of the population were [[Race (United States Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Race (United States Census)|Latino]] of any race.

There were 6,827 households, out of which 26.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.40% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 10.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.40% were non-families. 26.40% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.81.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 19.70% under the age of 18, 7.40% from 18 to 24, 30.80% from 25 to 44, 27.10% from 45 to 64, and 15.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 114.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 114.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $23,067, and the median income for a family was $28,400. Males had a median income of $24,018 versus $18,817 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the county was $13,388. About 18.70% of families and 22.60% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 26.80% of those under age 18 and 21.50% of those age 65 or over.

Male inmates in the [[Northeast Correctional Complex]], southwest of Mountain City, account for 1,299 (7.4%) of the county's population.<ref>Census Bureau Data Sets [http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DatasetMainPageServlet?_program=DEC&_submenuId=datasets_0&_lang=en] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20200212040202/http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DatasetMainPageServlet?_program=DEC&_submenuId=datasets_0&_lang=en|date=February 12, 2020}} The Correctional Complex comprises census block 1020, block group 1, census tract 9561. Use table P37 on the SF 1 data set.</ref>

==Communities==
[[File:Mountain-City-Main-Street-tn1.jpg|left|210px|thumb|[[Mountain City, Tennessee|Mountain City]]]]
[[File:Butler-from-fire-station-tn1.jpg|right|210px|thumb|[[Butler, Tennessee|Butler]]]]

===Town===
*[[Mountain City, Tennessee|Mountain City]] (county seat)

=== Census-designated place ===

* [[Butler, Tennessee|Butler]]

===Unincorporated communities===
* [[Crandull, Tennessee|Crandull]]
*[[Doe Valley, Tennessee|Doe Valley]]
*[[Doeville, Tennessee|Doeville]]
*[[Laurel Bloomery, Tennessee|Laurel Bloomery]]
*[[Midway, Johnson County, Tennessee|Midway]]
*[[Shady Valley, Tennessee|Shady Valley]]
*[[Sutherland, Tennessee|Sutherland]]
*[[Trade, Tennessee|Trade]]

==Politics==
{{PresHead|place=Johnson County, Tennessee|source=<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|last=Leip|first=David|website=uselectionatlas.org|access-date=March 11, 2018}}</ref>}}
<!-- PresRow should be {{PresRow|Year|Winning party|GOP vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} -->{{PresRow|2024|Republican|6,829|1,212|77|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|2020|Republican|6,468|1,246|87|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|2016|Republican|5,410|988|181|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|2012|Republican|4,611|1,483|100|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|2008|Republican|4,621|1,837|133|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|2004|Republican|4,634|1,812|34|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|2000|Republican|3,740|1,813|104|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1996|Republican|3,137|1,698|524|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1992|Republican|3,170|1,781|612|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1988|Republican|3,715|1,329|35|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1984|Republican|3,853|999|19|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1980|Republican|3,716|1,141|98|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1976|Republican|2,986|1,464|28|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1972|Republican|3,362|450|49|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1968|Republican|3,107|450|375|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1964|Republican|2,889|927|0|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1960|Republican|3,854|571|18|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1956|Republican|3,690|503|27|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1952|Republican|3,590|506|0|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1948|Republican|2,413|433|62|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1944|Republican|2,699|450|9|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1940|Republican|2,502|469|0|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1936|Republican|2,882|533|0|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1932|Republican|2,400|425|15|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1928|Republican|3,057|196|0|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1924|Republican|2,799|254|11|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1920|Republican|3,627|291|0|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1916|Republican|1,812|263|0|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1912|Progressive|933|256|1,025|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1908|Republican|2,148|232|1|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1904|Republican|1,769|219|11|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1900|Republican|1,618|189|7|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1896|Republican|1,683|224|5|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1892|Republican|1,100|209|93|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1888|Republican|1,347|180|12|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1884|Republican|1,101|179|3|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1880|Republican|1,092|203|0|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1876|Republican|717|205|0|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1872|Republican|778|57|0|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1868|Republican|501|1|0|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1860|Constitutional Union|0|144|508|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1856|Know Nothing|0|178|459|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1852|Whig|365|93|0|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1848|Whig|382|66|0|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1844|Whig|370|79|0|Tennessee}}
{{PresFoot|1840|Whig|390|49|0|Tennessee}}

Johnson County is a long-term [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] stronghold and is located within [[Tennessee's 1st congressional district]], which has not been represented by a Democrat since 1881. Johnson County has never been carried by a Democratic presidential nominee. Since a Republican Party presidential nominee first appeared on the ballot in Tennessee in [[1868 United States presidential election|1868]], there has only been one occasion when Johnson County's voters didn't vote for the official Republican Party candidate, and that was in [[1912 United States presidential election in Tennessee|1912]], when voters voted for the official [[Progressive Party (United States, 1912)|Bull Moose Progressive Party]] candidate, [[Theodore Roosevelt]], the former Republican president of the United States from 1901 to 1909. Johnson County's voters chose Roosevelt in 1912 rather than the man who was then the incumbent Republican president of the United States, [[William Howard Taft]] (president of the United States from 1909 to 1913).

Johnson County was reportedly the strongest county in the US for Republican candidates [[Calvin Coolidge]] in 1924,<ref>[http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/stats.php?year=1924&f=1&off=0&elect=0 David Leip's Presidential Atlas: Statistics for 1924]</ref> [[Herbert Hoover]] in 1932<ref>[http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/stats.php?year=1932&f=1&off=0&elect=0 David Leip's Presidential Atlas: Statistics for 1932]</ref> and the second strongest behind [[Jackson County, Kentucky|Jackson County]], [[list of counties in Kentucky|Kentucky]] for [[Alf Landon]] in 1936.<ref>[http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/stats.php?year=1936&f=1&off=0&elect=0 David Leip's Presidential Atlas: Statistics for 1936]</ref> The Republican candidate has consistently won since 1916,<ref>[http://www.uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/stats.php?year=1956&f=1&off=0&elect=0 David Leip's Presidential Atlas: Statistics for 1956]</ref><ref>[http://www.uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/comparemaps.php?year=2008&fips=47&f=1&off=0&elect=0 David Leip's Presidential Election Atlas (Election maps for Tennessee)]</ref> during which period no Republican candidate has received less than 57 percent of the county's vote. In 2012, [[Mitt Romney]] received 74.4 percent,<ref>[http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/results/president/map.html?scp=1&sq=%22election%20map&st=cse The New York Times electoral map (Zoom in on Tennessee)]</ref> while [[Donald Trump]] received 82.2 percent in 2016, 82.9 percent in 2020, and then 84.3 percent in 2024.

==In popular culture==
[[Steve Earle]]'s song "[[Copperhead Road (song)|Copperhead Road]]" is about a family of [[moonshine]]rs from Johnson County – where, until 2018, alcohol [[dry county|was prohibited]] ever since [[Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution|the Twenty-First Amendment]]. The second verse contains the line "Johnson County Sheriff painted on the side".

The childhood home of [[Valene Ewing]], a character in the TV series ''[[Dallas (TV series)|Dallas]]'' and ''[[Knots Landing]]'', is in Johnson County, in the fictional community of Shula.

==See also==
*[[National Register of Historic Places listings in Tennessee#Johnson County|National Register of Historic Places listings in Johnson County, Tennessee]]
*[[RedTail Mountain Resort]], a luxury inn and country club in Mountain City
*[[North Carolina–Tennessee–Virginia Corners]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}

* [http://www.Johnsoncountytn.gov/ Johnson County Government Official Website]
* [http://johnsoncountytnchamber.org/ Johnson County Chamber of Commerce]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20141023130423/http://www.jocoed.k12tn.net/ Johnson County Schools]

{{Geographic Location
|Centre    = Johnson County, Tennessee
|North     = [[Washington County, Virginia]]
|Northeast = [[Grayson County, Virginia]]
|East      = [[Ashe County, North Carolina]]
|Southeast = [[Watauga County, North Carolina]]
|South     = [[Avery County, North Carolina]]
|Southwest = [[Carter County, Tennessee|Carter County]]
|West      = [[Sullivan County, Tennessee|Sullivan County]]
|Northwest =
}}

{{Johnson County, Tennessee}}
{{Tennessee}}
{{State of Franklin}}

{{coord|36.46|-81.86|display=title|type:adm2nd_region:US-TN_source:UScensus1990}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Johnson County, Tennessee| ]]
[[Category:1836 establishments in Tennessee]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1836]]
[[Category:Second Amendment sanctuaries in Tennessee]]
[[Category:East Tennessee]]