Campbell County is made up from different
communities such as Caryville,
Jacksboro,
La
Follette, Jellico and smaller
communities. To find out more about a particular community click on the name
above. If you have something you would like to contribute
Please email the County
Coordinator here.
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Campbell County
Timeline
Local
Events
Campbell County Profile:
Population Economics and
Education
Tennessee Documentary History,
1796-1850
The Tennessee Encyclopedia Of History And
Culture
The Watauga Settlement
1772- A group of settlers form their own government
called the Watauga Association. They draw up one of the first written
constitutions in North America.
American Journeys
Every once in a while even a jaded researcher like
myself can locate a site that is of the type that can actually allow researchers
access to factual historical information. The above is one of those few
sites.
CAMPBELL COUNTY
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The Tennessee
General Assembly created Campbell County on September 11, 1806, from land
taken from Anderson and Claiborne Counties. The twenty-sixth county was
named in honor of Colonel Arthur Campbell, a Revolutionary War soldier and
Indian fighter. Jacksboro is the county seat.
The primary
attraction for early settlers was the wide, fertile Powell's Valley. This
lovely valley, coupled with wide navigable rivers and numerous
tributaries, provided an ideal setting for the settlers. Although farming
was the first organized activity, numerous coal and iron deposits began to
attract attention in the early 1800s. The harvesting of timber also
provided an early boost to the local economy. Most early settlers
clustered in Powell's Valley, but a few hardy pioneers ventured into the
more remote mountain areas of the county. Town locations reflect these
early concessions to geography.
The 2000 federal census reported a
population of 39,854 for Campbell County. Most Campbell Countians live in
the country, and even in the four incorporated towns, which contain
slightly more than 20 percent of the population, a rural character
predominates. Jellico and LaFollette are the two largest towns, with
Caryville and Jacksboro each reporting fewer than 2,000 inhabitants. Two
of the oldest settlements in Campbell County are the unincorporated
communities of Fincastle and Speedwell.
The town of Jacksboro was
founded in 1807 and served as the hub of the county and its government
activities. Jellico was founded in 1885 and is strategically located on
the Kentucky-Tennessee border. Grace Moore, an international opera star in
the 1940s, was educated in Jellico.
Originally known as Big Creek
Gap, LaFollette traces its history to 1893, when Harvey LaFollette, an
Indiana educator and engineer, purchased the mountain land for its iron
and coal reserves. In 1897 the town of LaFollette was organized, and a
railroad link to the Southern Railway was established. With this railway
link, LaFollette expanded its iron furnace to employ as many as 1,500
workers. The furnace closed in 1926.
Railroad development in the
county transformed the economy from subsistence farming to coal mining and
lumber production. Except for temporary slumps, coal ruled the economy for
three-quarters of a century. By the mid-1930s Campbell County men found
employment in the coal mines, while women worked in the growing textile
industry. New Deal agencies had a significant impact in the county as
well, as the Public Works Administration built a school in Caryville, the
Civilian Conservation Corps developed Cove Lake State Park, and the Works
Progress Administration added a post office in LaFollette. The Tennessee
Valley Authority's development of Norris Lake provided the most important
New Deal change.
With the completion of Interstate Highway 75,
tourism boosted the county economy. The Chamberland Mountains, which
separate Jellico from the rest of the county, and the 750 miles of Norris
Lake shoreline attract tourists, boaters, fishermen, and retirees to the
county. The interstate highway not only sparked an increase in tourism,
but also provided improved access for diversified industrial development.
This new growth coincided with the final decline of "King Coal" in the
early 1980s. Today more than forty small and medium industries employ more
than 25 percent of the county's work force, providing 2,294 jobs. Tourism
and the service industry employ more than half of the county's
workers.
Campbell County has produced some outstanding military,
political, and corporate leaders. Major General Joseph A. Cooper, a
Campbell County native, commanded the U.S. Sixth Tennessee Regiment during
the Civil War. Captain Winston Baird commanded an all-volunteer military
brigade during the Spanish-American War and received a presidential
citation for his leadership and heroism. Two members of the U.S. House of
Representatives, John J. Jennings and J. Will Taylor, were born and raised
in LaFollette. Four-star General Carl W. Stiner was born on a Powell
Valley farm and educated in Campbell County schools. General Stiner
commanded the military forces in Operation Just Cause, the invasion of
Panama. He retired to his Powell Valley farm, and his brother, retired
Colonel Tom Stiner, served as county executive. Also the late Dr.
Burgin Dossett, a well-known Tennessee educator.
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Famous people from Campbell County
Tennessee
If you have anything to offer about these people, or
our founding fathers, please contribute what you have to the Campbell County
Local History Network
Contact the County Coordinator Here
John J. Jennings b. June 6, 1880 d. 1956 buried at
Highland Memerial Cemetery, Knoxville, Tn.
Republican Delegate to Republician National
Convention from Tennessee, 1912, 1936, 1944; State Court Judge in Tennessee,
1918-23
Four Star General Carl W. Stiner
General Stiner
Dr. Burgin Dossett
Adrion Baird
James Willis Taylor b. August 28, 1880 in
Tennessee
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Copyright 2004-2005 by Melissa Fannin
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