Rogersville, Tennessee
Rogersville is a town in, and the county seat of, Hawkins County, Tennessee, United States. It was settled in 1775 by the grandparents of Davy Crockett. It is named for its founder, Joseph Rogers. Tennessee's second oldest courthouse, the Hawkins County Courthouse, first newspaper "The Knoxville Gazette", and first post office are all located in Rogersville. The Rogersville Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Rogersville is part of the Kingsport–Bristol (TN)–Bristol (VA) Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Johnson City–Kingsport–Bristol, TN-VA Combined Statistical Area – commonly  known as the "Tri-Cities" region. The population of Rogersville as of the 2010 census was 4,420. In 2019, its estimated population was 4,377. History. Settlement background. In 1775, the grandparents of Davy Crockett, a future member of the United States Congress from Tennessee and hero of the Alamo, settled in the Watauga colony in the area in what is today Rogersville near the spring that today bears their name. After an American Indian attack and massacre, the remaining Crocketts sold the property to a Huguenot named Colonel Thomas Amis. In 1780, Colonel Amis built a fort at Big Creek , on the outskirts of the present-day town, with the assistance of fellow Scots-Irish settler John Carter. That same year, about above downtown Rogersville, Amis erected a fortress-like stone house, around which he built a palisade for protection against Native American attack. The next year, Amis opened a store, erected a blacksmith shop, and built a distillery. He also eventually established a sawmill and a gristmill. From the first he kept a house of entertainment. Founding of the town. In 1785, the State of Franklin organized Spencer County (which includes the area of present-day Hawkins County, Tennessee ) and declared the seat of county government to be located at what is today Rogersville. Thomas Henderson was chosen county court clerk and colonel of the militia. William Cocke and Thomas King were elected representatives to the Franklin General Assembly. The remaining county officers are unknown. In November 1786, North Carolina began once more to contend with the Franklin government for control over the area, and that state's General Assembly passed an act creating Hawkins County. It included within its limits all the territory between Bays Mountain and the Holston and Tennessee rivers on the east to the Cumberland  Mountains on the west. The county court was organized at the house of Thomas Gibbons. As had the state of Franklin, North Carolina set the new county seat about the property of Joseph Rogers. Joseph Rogers. Joseph Rogers (August 21, 1764 – November 6, 1833) was born near Cook's Town, Ireland, the son of James Rogers and his wife, Elizabeth Brown. He traveled to the area, by then known as the State of Franklin (which had been carved out of far west North Carolina), by 1785. During a stay at a tavern adjacent to Colonel Thomas Amis' home, Rogers met  the colonel's daughter, Mary Amis, whom he wed, on October 24, 1786. Her father ceded the lands near Crockett Spring to his son-in-law— the same land that Colonel Amis had purchased from the heirs of David Crockett. When North Carolina considered where to establish the county seat for its new Hawkins County, Rogers successfully lobbied to have the government located near his home. He volunteered his tavern, which had been established about 1784–85, as the first county courthouse, where it was finally established in 1787. With the help of other local settlers, Rogers laid out a  plan for the town, and the town of Rogersville was chartered by the North Carolina General Assembly in 1789. The plan included a public square, deeded to the town government, which would host the town's public well and a county courthouse. In November 1792, Rogers was appointed the first postmaster at Rogersville. The town's second post office, built by Rogers c. 1815, still stands at the corner of east Main Street and south Hasson Street. Rogers was the father of fourteen children with Mary. He died on November 6, 1833, at Rogersville, and is buried in Rogers Cemetery . His wife, Mary, died a month later. A town divided. In November 1863, during the Civil War, Rogersville was the site of a battle between occupying Federal forces and invading Confederate troops. Union forces had encamped just outside the town. The Confederates, led by Brigadier General William E. Jones, were able to surprise the Union forces and pursue them across the Holston River and into Greene County. The Confederates held the town for the remainder of the war. Sentiment in Rogersville was divided. Many supported the efforts of twenty-six East Tennessee counties seceding from the state (much as the  State of Scott had done) and re-joining the Union. Others saw President Lincoln's invasion of Tennessee as an unprecedented invasion of their homes and an incursion by Federal power; these people became strong Confederates. Rogersville was spared destruction during the war. In fact, structures such as the Hale Springs Inn were used by the different occupying armies. Cradle of Tennessee journalism. George Roulstone was Tennessee's first printer. He was encouraged to settle in Rogersville by William Blount, the new governor of the Southwest Territory. Roulston printed Tennessee's first newspaper on November 5, 1791. Because Knoxville, the  intended seat of the new territorial government, had not yet been established, Roulstone published the first year of his paper near the Rogers tavern. Roulstone called the newspaper "The Knoxville Gazette" and in October 1792, he moved his press to Knoxville, where he continued to publish the "Gazette" as well as other papers until his death in 1804. After the "Gazette" was moved, there was no newspaper in the area until 1813, when John B. Hood began publishing "The East Tennessee Gazette" at Rogersville. Other papers shortly followed, including "The Western Pilot", c. 1815, and "The Rogersville Gazette" from the  same era. Specialty publications emerged during these early days, including "The Rail-Road Advocate", "The Calvinistic Magazine", and "The Holston Watchman". Numerous other newspapers have been published in Rogersville over the years, most surviving only a short time and having modest circulation. Among them were "The Independent", "The Rogersville Spectator", "The Weekly Reporter", "The Rogersville Gazette", "Rogersville Press and Times", "Holston Journal", "Hawkins County Republican", "Hawkins County Telephone", and "The Rogersville Herald." Rogersville's longest-lasting newspaper is "The Rogersville Review", which began publication as "The Holston Review" in 1885 by William T. Robertson. A year later, Robertson changed the  name to the present banner. The "Review"'s closest competitor in lifespan was "The Rogersville Herald", which was published from 1886 to 1932. The town's printing heritage is chronicled by the Tennessee Newspaper and Printing Museum, located in the town's historic Southern Railway train depot, c. 1890. Modern day. In 2020, the Rogersville Town Council acquired a three-acre site of a vacant shopping center with plans to turn the site into a civic service campus, consisting of a new community center, town hall, and a concessions area for users of Rogersville town park, which borders the complex  site. Geography. Rogersville is located slightly southwest of the center of Hawkins County. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all land. The town is in the valley of Crockett Creek, a southwest-flowing tributary of the Holston River. The elevation of Rogersville is . Via U.S. Route 11W (see below), it is southwest of Kingsport and northeast of Knoxville. Transportation. Airports. The Hawkins County Airport is a county-owned public-use airport located six nautical miles (7 mi, 11 km) northeast of the central business district of Rogersville. Demographics. 2020 census. As of  the 2020 United States census, there were 4,671 people, 1,767 households, and 1,150 families residing in the town. Population. As of the census of 2000, there were 4,240 people, 2,060 households, and 1,155 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 2,268 housing units at an average density of . Ethnicity. The racial makeup of the town was 94.13% White, 4.06% African American, 0.14% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.66% from other races, and 0.68% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.06% of the population. Age distribution. There were 2,060  households, out of which 21.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.9% were married couples living together, 14.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.9% were non-families. 40.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.97 and the average family size was 2.63. In the town, the age distribution of the population shows 17.8% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 23.2% from 25 to 44, 24.8% from 45  to 64, and 26.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females, there were 76.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 72.1 males. Economic statistics. The median income for a household in the town was $23,275, and the median income for a family was $32,236. Males had a median income of $30,226 versus $22,482 for females. The per capita income for the town was $16,940. About 14.9% of families and 21.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including  30.0% of those under age 18 and 15.8% of those age 65 or over. Culture. Notable people. Listed chronologically by date of birth: Religion. There are no non-Christian congregations in Rogersville. Among Christian churches, congregations are predominantly Baptist. Denominations with congregations currently in Rogersville include: Media. From Rogersville. The following media originates from within or nearby the Town: Recreation. Rogersville City Park. Located in the eastern part of the town, the Rogersville City Park is owned and operated by the town of Rogersville. It is bounded by U.S. Route 11W on the northwest, Park Boulevard on the northeast, and  East Main Street on the south. The park has four children's playgrounds, two outdoor basketball courts, four outdoor tennis courts, numerous picnic shelters, three large, lighted pavilions (two with restroom facilities), an amphitheatre, a lighted stage area, six lighted baseball/softball fields, the town's soccer fields, a duck pond, a fitness trail, and two walking trails. It is home to the Rogersville City Pool, the home pool of the Rogersville Flying Fish Swim Association, which is open to the public from Memorial Day to the start of classes in the City school system in August. The park is  the site of a traveling midway carnival in the late spring and early fall and hosts more than fifty thousand people annually during the Rogersville Fourth of July celebration. The town-sponsored festival of lights is hosted at the Park, where the Department of Parks & Recreation illuminates several thousand holiday lights and exhibits. Crockett Spring Park. Located in downtown Rogersville, the Crockett Spring Park is a joint project of the town and the Rogersville Heritage Association. The park is the site of Rogersville's first settlement, and the tavern and home built by founder Joseph Rogers is preserved on the  site. The park encompasses the Rogers Cemetery, where Joseph and Mary Rogers and the grandparents of Davy Crockett are buried. The site of Rogersville's first public swimming pool is here, as is the gazebo built to commemorate the bicentennials of both the town (1989) and the state (1996). This public park is maintained by the Rogersville Parks and Recreation Department and the auspices of the Rogersville Tree Board. Swift Memorial Park. Rogersville was home to an African-American college, Swift College, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and Swift Park, located off North Hasson Street in the  central part of the town, commemorates the legacy of that institution. In addition, the park boasts picnic shelters, two playgrounds, and basketball courts.