La Follette, Tennessee
Encyclopedia
LaFollette is a city in Campbell County
, Tennessee
, United States
. Its population was 7,926 at the 2000 census
. It is the principal city of the La Follette, Tennessee Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Campbell County, and is a component of the Knoxville-Sevierville-La Follette
Combined Statistical Area
. While the city's official spelling is one word ("LaFollette")— after its founders, Harvey Marion LaFollette
and his younger brother Grant LaFollette— several federal agencies spell the city's name with two words ("La Follette").
and Grant LaFollette purchased 37000 acres (149.7 km²) at Big Creek Gap, where the present community lies, around 1890. They founded the LaFollette Coal, Iron, and Railway Company in order to exploit mineral resources they had observed. Although the business failed during the 1920s, the community continued to grow. The City of LaFollette was incorporated in 1897.
province gives way to the Cumberland Plateau
region. Cumberland Mountain, a 50 miles (80.5 km) ridge stretching from Cumberland Gap
in the east to Bruce Gap on the west, rises north of LaFollette. Norris Lake
dominates the area to the south. Jacksboro
lies adjacent to LaFollette to the northeast. A leg of the Cumberland Trail
is accessible off Tennessee Avenue at the north end of LaFollette.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 4.9 square miles (12.7 km²), all of it land. The elevation varies around the city, around 1150 feet (350.5 m) in the valley areas to 1500 feet (457.2 m) on ridge tops. The average elevation is around 1300 feet (396.2 m).
US Route 25W and State highways 9 and 63 run conjointly through the community.Interstate 75
is located to the west.
of 2000, there were 7,926 people, 3,422 households, and 2,135 families residing in the city. The population density
was 1,624.7 people per square mile (627.1/km²). There were 3,779 housing units at an average density of 774.6 per square mile (299.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.89% White, 0.54% African American, 0.40% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 0.14% from other races
, and 0.77% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.42% of the population.
There were 3,422 households out of which 26.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.8% were married couples
living together, 17.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.6% were non-families. 34.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.86.
In the city the population was spread out with 22.0% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 21.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 82.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $18,370, and the median income for a family was $24,235. Males had a median income of $25,541 versus $18,835 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $13,355. About 28.3% of families and 33.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 48.7% of those under age 18 and 21.1% of those age 65 or over.
Campbell County, Tennessee
Campbell County is a U.S. county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2010, the population was 40,716. Its county seat is Jacksboro. The Census Bureau has identified the county as a Micropolitan Statistical Area, designated the LaFollette Micropolitan Statistical Area for the largest...
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Its population was 7,926 at the 2000 census
United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
. It is the principal city of the La Follette, Tennessee Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Campbell County, and is a component of the Knoxville-Sevierville-La Follette
Knoxville Metropolitan Area
Knoxville Metropolitan Area is the third largest Metropolitan Statistical Area in Tennessee. It consists of Knoxville, Tennessee as its central city and the following counties:*Anderson*Blount*Knox*Loudon*Union...
Combined Statistical Area
Combined Statistical Area
The United States Office of Management and Budget defines micropolitan and metropolitan statistical areas. Metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas consist of one or more counties...
. While the city's official spelling is one word ("LaFollette")— after its founders, Harvey Marion LaFollette
Harvey Marion LaFollette
Harvey Marion LaFollette was an Indiana teacher and educator who, as a young man, served two terms as Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction. He then moved to Tennessee where he established the town of LaFollette, Tennessee...
and his younger brother Grant LaFollette— several federal agencies spell the city's name with two words ("La Follette").
History
HarveyHarvey Marion LaFollette
Harvey Marion LaFollette was an Indiana teacher and educator who, as a young man, served two terms as Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction. He then moved to Tennessee where he established the town of LaFollette, Tennessee...
and Grant LaFollette purchased 37000 acres (149.7 km²) at Big Creek Gap, where the present community lies, around 1890. They founded the LaFollette Coal, Iron, and Railway Company in order to exploit mineral resources they had observed. Although the business failed during the 1920s, the community continued to grow. The City of LaFollette was incorporated in 1897.
Notable people from LaFollette
- Adele ArakawaAdele ArakawaAdele Arakawa is an American evening news anchor for NBC affiliate station KUSA-TV of Denver, Colorado. She was the first female radio disc jockey in Knoxville, Tennessee...
, television news anchor - Howard "Louie Bluie" Armstrong, musician
- The IsaacsThe IsaacsThe Isaacs are a country and bluegrass gospel music group consisting of mother Lily Isaacs, and daughters Becky and Sonya Isaacs and son Ben Isaacs, along with John Bowman as an instrumentalist and songwriter. Joe Isaacs, formerly a singer and banjo player in the group, has left since his 1998...
, a southern gospelSouthern GospelSouthern Gospel music—at one time also known as "quartet music"—is music whose lyrics are written to express either personal or a communal faith regarding biblical teachings and Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music...
/bluegrassBluegrass musicBluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
family singing group
Geography
LaFollette is located at 36°22′30"N 84°7′39"W (36.375006, -84.127623). The city is situated in Powell Valley, where the Appalachian Ridge-and-ValleyRidge-and-valley Appalachians
The Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, also called the Ridge and Valley Province or the Valley and Ridge Appalachians, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division and are also a belt within the Appalachian Mountains extending from southeastern New York through northwestern New...
province gives way to the Cumberland Plateau
Cumberland Plateau
The Cumberland Plateau is the southern part of the Appalachian Plateau. It includes much of eastern Kentucky and western West Virginia, part of Tennessee, and a small portion of northern Alabama and northwest Georgia . The terms "Allegheny Plateau" and the "Cumberland Plateau" both refer to the...
region. Cumberland Mountain, a 50 miles (80.5 km) ridge stretching from Cumberland Gap
Cumberland Gap
Cumberland Gap is a pass through the Cumberland Mountains region of the Appalachian Mountains, also known as the Cumberland Water Gap, at the juncture of the U.S. states of Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia...
in the east to Bruce Gap on the west, rises north of LaFollette. Norris Lake
Norris Dam
Norris Dam is a hydroelectric and flood control structure located on the Clinch River in Anderson County and Campbell County, Tennessee, USA. Its construction in the mid-1930s was the first major project for the Tennessee Valley Authority, which had been created in 1933 to bring economic...
dominates the area to the south. Jacksboro
Jacksboro, Tennessee
Jacksboro is a town in Campbell County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 1,887 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Campbell County.-Geography:Jacksboro is located at...
lies adjacent to LaFollette to the northeast. A leg of the Cumberland Trail
Cumberland Trail
The Cumberland Trail is a hiking trail following a line of ridges and gorges along the eastern escarpment of the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee. The trail begins at Cumberland Gap National Historical Park and ends at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park and Prentice Cooper Wildlife...
is accessible off Tennessee Avenue at the north end of LaFollette.
According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 4.9 square miles (12.7 km²), all of it land. The elevation varies around the city, around 1150 feet (350.5 m) in the valley areas to 1500 feet (457.2 m) on ridge tops. The average elevation is around 1300 feet (396.2 m).
US Route 25W and State highways 9 and 63 run conjointly through the community.Interstate 75
Interstate 75
Interstate 75 is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. It travels from State Road 826 and State Road 924 in Hialeah, Florida to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, at the Ontario, Canada, border...
is located to the west.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 7,926 people, 3,422 households, and 2,135 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 1,624.7 people per square mile (627.1/km²). There were 3,779 housing units at an average density of 774.6 per square mile (299.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.89% White, 0.54% African American, 0.40% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 0.14% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.77% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.42% of the population.
There were 3,422 households out of which 26.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.8% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 17.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.6% were non-families. 34.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.86.
In the city the population was spread out with 22.0% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 21.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 82.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $18,370, and the median income for a family was $24,235. Males had a median income of $25,541 versus $18,835 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $13,355. About 28.3% of families and 33.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 48.7% of those under age 18 and 21.1% of those age 65 or over.
External links
- LaFollette Press newspaper
- An essay on local radio in La Follette in the 1950s and 1960s, including original audio: Hanson, Bradley, "The Tennessee Jamboree: Local Radio, the Barn Dance, and Cultural Life in Appalachian East Tennessee," Southern Spaces, November 20, 2008. http://southernspaces.org/2008/tennessee-jamboree-local-radio-barn-dance-and-cultural-life-appalachian-east-tennessee