Sevier County ( ) is a county of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 98,380. Its county seat and largest city is Sevierville. Sevier County comprises the Sevierville, TN Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Knoxville–Morristown–Sevierville, TN Combined Statistical Area.
History Prior to the arrival of white settlers in present-day Sevier County in the mid-18th century, the area had been inhabited for as many as 20,000 years by nomadic and semi-nomadic Native Americans. In the mid-16th century, Spanish expeditions led by Hernando de Soto (1540) and Juan Pardo (1567) passed through what is now Sevier County, reporting that the region was part of the domain of Chiaha, a minor Muskogean chiefdom centered around a village located on a now-submerged island just upstream from modern Douglas Dam. By the late 17th-century, however, the Cherokee, whose ancestors were living in the mountains at the time of the Spaniards' visit, had become the dominant tribe in the region. Although they used the region primarily as hunting grounds, the Chicakamauga faction of the Cherokee vehemently fought white settlement in their territory, frequently leading raids on households, even through the signing of various peace treaties, alternating short periods of peace with violent hostility, until forcibly marched from their territory by the U.S. government on the "Trail of Tears".Trail of Tears, National Park Service. Retrieved: March 29, 2013.
Sevier County was formed on September 18, 1794, from part of neighboring Jefferson County, and has retained its original boundaries ever since. The county takes its name from John Sevier, governor of the failed State of Franklin and first governor of Tennessee, who played a prominent role during the early years of settlement in the region.Origins of Tennessee County Names, Tennessee Blue Book, 2005, p. 512. Since its establishment in 1795, the county seat has been situated at Sevierville (also named for Sevier), the eighth-oldest city in Tennessee.
Sevier County was strongly pro-Union during the Civil War. When Tennessee held a vote on the state's Ordinance of Secession on June 8, 1861, Sevier Countians voted 1,528 to 60 in favor of remaining in the Union.Oliver Perry Temple, East Tennessee and the Civil War (R. Clarke Company, 1899), p. 199. In November 1861, William C. Pickens, Sheriff of Sevier County, led a failed attempt to destroy the railroad bridge at Strawberry Plains as part of the East Tennessee bridge-burning conspiracy.Temple, East Tennessee and the Civil War, pp. 381–383.
Prior to the late 1930s, Sevier County's population, economy, and society, which relied primarily on subsistence agriculture, held little significance vis-à-vis any other county in the rural South. However, with the creation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the early 1930s, the future of Sevier County (within which lies thirty percent of the total area of the national park) changed drastically. Today, tourism supports the county's economy.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.9%) is water. The southern part of Sevier County is located within the Great Smoky Mountains and is protected by the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The northern parts of the county are located within the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians. Sevier contains the highest point in Tennessee, Kuwohi (formerly Clingmans Dome), which rises to along the county's border with North Carolina. Mount Guyot, located in the Eastern Smokies in the extreme eastern part of the county, is the state's second-highest mountain at . The Mount Le Conte, a very prominent mountain visible from much of the central part of the county, is the state's third-highest.
Sevier County is drained primarily by the French Broad River, which passes through the northern part of the county. A portion of the French Broad is part of Douglas Lake, an artificial reservoir created by Douglas Dam in the northeastern part of the county. The three forks of the Little Pigeon River (East, Middle, and West) flow northward from the Smokies, converge near Sevierville, and empty into the French Broad north of Sevierville. The West Fork is the best known, as it flows through the popular tourist areas of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge.
The maximum elevation differential in Sevier County is the greatest in Tennessee, ranging from a high of at Kuwohi to a low of at the French Broad River.Tom Dunigan, "Tennessee County High Points," Tennessee Landforms, November 2, 2012. Retrieved: March 29, 2013.
Adjacent counties Jefferson County, Tennessee – north Cocke County, Tennessee – east Haywood County, North Carolina – southeast Swain County, North Carolina – south Blount County, Tennessee – west Knox County, Tennessee – northwest
National protected areas Appalachian Trail (part) Foothills Parkway (part) Great Smoky Mountains National Park (part)
State protected area Roundtop Mountain State Natural Area
Demographics
Racial and ethnic composition +Sevier County, Tennessee – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010 Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)40,88650,26668,69982,37483,80198.72%98.48%96.53%91.64%85.18%Black or African American alone (NH)1622153916407660.39%0.42%0.55%0.71%0.78%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)461282182953120.11%0.25%0.31%0.33%0.32%Asian alone (NH)621933837691,1030.15%0.38%0.54%0.86%1.12%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)x included in the Asian category in the 1980 Censusx included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census131524xx0.02%0.02%0.02%Other race alone (NH)28424712540.07%0.01%0.03%0.08%0.26%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)x not an option in the 1980 Censusx not an option in the 1990 Census5589383,506xx0.78%1.04%3.56%Hispanic or Latino (any race)2342378844,7878,6140.56%0.46%1.24%5.33%8.76%Total41,41851,04371,17089,88998,380 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%
2020 census As of the 2020 census, there were 98,380 people, 39,520 households, and 26,538 families residing in the county. The median age was 44.0 years, with 20.4% of residents under the age of 18 and 20.8% of residents 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 96.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 94.1 males age 18 and over.
There were 39,520 households in the county, of which 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 51.2% were married-couple households, 16.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 24.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 24.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
The racial makeup of the county was 87.1% White, 0.8% Black or African American, 0.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 4.4% from some other race, and 6.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 8.8% of the population.
46.6% of residents lived in urban areas, while 53.4% lived in rural areas.
There were 56,240 housing units, of which 29.7% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 68.5% were owner-occupied and 31.5% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.4% and the rental vacancy rate was 14.1%.
2010 census As of the census of 2010, there were 89,889 people, 37,583 households, and a homeownership rate of 68.7 percent, below the state average. The population density was . There were 37,252 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 95.80% White, 0.86% Asian, 0.80% Black or African American, 0.19% Native American, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.02% from other races, and 1.31% from two or more races. 5.33% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 28,467 households, out of which 30.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.30% were married couples living together, 10.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.80% were non-families. 22.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.88.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.00% under the age of 18, 8.30% from 18 to 24, 29.80% from 25 to 44, 26.30% from 45 to 64, and 12.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 95.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.20 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $34,719, and the median income for a family was $40,474. Males had a median income of $27,139 versus $20,646 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,064. About 8.20% of families and 10.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.10% of those under age 18 and 10.10% of those age 65 or over.
Sevier County was Tennessee's third fastest-growing county by percentage change in population between the 1990 census and 2000 census.Census data for Tennessee counties in 1990 and 2000
Government The head of the Sevier County government, the county mayor (known as county executive until 2003), is elected in county-wide elections. The mayor serves along with a 25-member board of elected commissioners representing districts covering the many small communities spread across the county.
Presidential elections
Sevier County, like most of East Tennessee, votes strongly Republican in Presidential elections. The only election in which a Republican failed to carry it was in 1912, when the Progressive Theodore Roosevelt carried it. It has not been carried by a Democrat since 1832, when it went for Andrew Jackson. In 1916 it gave Charles Hughes 90.38 percent of the vote—reportedly his highest percentage of any county in the nation. In 1932 Herbert Hoover received 77.01% of the vote and in 1936 Alf Landon received 77.73%. Since 1916 no Republican candidate has received less than 55% of the county's vote and in 2008 John McCain received 73.4%. All of the county's state legislators are Republicans, and Republican candidates routinely garner well over 70 percent of the vote on the occasions they face opposition at all.
At local elections, the county is similarly Republican. However, the county backed Senator Al Gore in 1990 and Governor Phil Bredesen in 2006 in landslides.
Economy
From its beginnings as a traditional subsistence-based farming society, Sevier County has grown into a major tourist destination since the establishment of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which dominates the southern portion of the county. One of the very reasons for the park's creation, however, was also one of the county's first major economic engines: the lumber industry. Establishments in what is now the national park felled large amounts of timber in the early 1900s. Though the park effectively killed the logging industry in the late 1930s, it spurred the development of one of the largest tourist resorts in the United States of America, as the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is now the most visited national park in the country.Great Smoky Mountains National Park-infoplease.com Ten Most Visited National Parks. Infoplease.com. Retrieved: March 29, 2013. Sevier County now has the third largest tourism economy in Tennessee, ranking behind Nashville and Memphis, the state's two largest cities.
The commercial cabin rental industry has grown tremendously in recent years.
Tourist attractions The tourism industry drives the county's economy. The following destinations are among the most lucrative for the area: