Dandridge, Tennessee
Jefferson County Courthouse in Dandridge
Location of Dandridge, Tennessee
Coordinates: 36°1′43″N 83°25′26″W / 36.02861, -83.42389
Country	United States
State	Tennessee
County	Jefferson
Area
- Total	5.4 sq mi (13.9 km²)
- Land	5.4 sq mi (13.9 km²)
- Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km²)
Elevation	997 ft (304 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	2,078
- Density	388.4/sq mi (150.0/km²)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	37725
Area code(s)	865
FIPS code	47-19380[1]
GNIS feature ID	1282016[2]

Dandridge is a town in Jefferson County, Tennessee, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County^[3]. It is part of the Morristown, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Dandridge is the second oldest city in Tennessee, behind only Jonesborough.^[4] The Jefferson County Courthouse, located in downtown Dandridge, contains many items of local historical importance, civil war relics and a museum of local history. There are many old structures in the town of beautiful design and the area contains a large selection of exceptional golf courses.

A large part of Dandridge, including most of the historic commercial center, sits below the high level water mark of Douglas Lake. The historical French Broad Baptist Church was saved from the local Tennessee Valley Authority flood control project by a member of the Swann family, who had contacted Eleanor Roosevelt for assistance.

Geography

Dandridge is located at 36°1′43″N, 83°25′26″W (36.028493, -83.424010)^[5]. The town is situated along the northern bank of the Douglas Lake impoundment of the French Broad River, approximately 45 miles (72 km) upstream from the river's confluence with the Holston River and Tennessee River at Knoxville, and approximately 12 miles (19 km) upstream from Douglas Dam.

Dandridge is centered around the junction of Tennessee State Route 92, which connects the town to Jefferson City to the north and U.S. Route 411 across the lake to the south, and U.S. Route 70, which connects the town to Knoxville to the west and Newport to the east. Interstate 40 intersects TN-92 in the northern part of Dandridge.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 5.3 square miles (13.9 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 2,078 people, 749 households, and 516 families residing in the town. The population density was 388.4 people per square mile (150.0/km²). There were 856 housing units at an average density of 160.0/sq mi (61.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 92.44% White, 6.54% African American, 0.24% Native American, 0.05% Asian, 0.19% from other races, and 0.53% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.96% of the population.

Dandridge, looking west from the town's saddle dam

There were 749 households out of which 27.9% had children under the living with them, 54.7% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.0% were non-families. 28.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.81.

In the town the population was spread out with 24.0% under the , 7.8% from 18 to 24, 26.3% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 20.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 100.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.4 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $34,167, and the median income for a family was $40,357. Males had a median income of $31,667 versus $21,176 for females. The per capita income for the town was $19,753. About 9.4% of families and 13.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.4% of those under age 18 and 10.8% of those age 65 or over.

History

THC marker on Gay Street, recalling the Battle of Dandridge

The first Euro-American settlers arrived in Dandridge in 1783, and the town was officially incorporated in 1793 as the county seat of Jefferson County, which had been created the previous year.^[6] The town was named for Martha Dandridge Washington, the wife of the first president of the United States.^[7]

On December 24, 1863, at the height of the U.S. Civil War, a skirmish occurred at Dandridge as Confederate General James Longstreet and Union General Ambrose Burnside struggled for control of Knoxville. As Longstreet's army retreated to Morristown, a detachment of his army intercepted and routed a pursuing Union brigade just north of Dandridge. The Union troops were forced to fall back to New Market.^[8]

The construction of Douglas Dam in 1942 flooded much of the best farmland in Jefferson County, and threatened to flood most all of downtown Dandridge, which was situated below the proposed reservoir's high water mark. Residents of the town successfully petitioned then-First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, however, pointing out that Dandridge was the only town in the United States named for the wife of George Washington. The Tennessee Valley Authority constructed a saddle dam between downtown Dandridge and the lake. The dam rises almost immediately behind the Town Hall, and runs roughly parallel to Main Street.^[9]

Notable residents

• Alfred Austell, (1814-1881), born in Dandridge, organizer and first president of Atlanta National Bank, chairman of the board of Atlanta and Charlotte Air Line Railway, organizer of Austell & Inman, which would become the largest cotton brokerage in the world at its time^[10]

References

External links

• Dandridge, Tennessee is at coordinates 36°01′43″N 83°25′26″W / 36.028493, -83.42401 (Dandridge, Tennessee)Coordinates: 36°01′43″N 83°25′26″W / 36.028493, -83.42401 (Dandridge, Tennessee)
• Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce