Kingston, Tennessee
Roane County Courthouse in Kingston
Location of Kingston, Tennessee
Coordinates: 35°52′12″N 84°30′5″W / 35.87, -84.50139
Country	United States
State	Tennessee
County	Roane
Area
- Total	7.3 sq mi (18.9 km²)
- Land	6.5 sq mi (17.0 km²)
- Water	0.8 sq mi (2.0 km²)
Elevation	764 ft (233 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	5,264
- Density	803.7/sq mi (310.3/km²)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	37763
Area code(s)	865
FIPS code	47-39620[1]
GNIS feature ID	1290257[2]

Kingston is a city in and the county seat^[3] of Roane County, Tennessee, United States, and is adjacent to Watts Bar Lake. Kingston, with a population of 5,264 at the 2000 United States census, is included in the Harriman, Tennessee Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

Kingston is located at 35°52′12″N, 84°30′5″W (35.870083, -84.501479)^[4]. The town is situated at the confluence of the Clinch River and the Tennessee River. This confluence is now part of Watts Bar Lake, a reservoir created by the impoundment of the Tennessee by Watts Bar Dam several miles to south.

Kingston is centered around the junction of U.S. Route 70, which connects Kingston with Knoxville to the east and Nashville to the west, and State Route 58, which connects Kingston with Anderson County to the north and Chattanooga to the south. Interstate 40 passes through Kingston, running roughly parallel to US-70.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.3 square miles (18.9 km²), of which, 6.6 square miles (17.0 km²) of it is land and 0.8 square miles (2.0 km²) of it (10.40%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 5,264 people, 2,263 households, and 1,532 families residing in the city. The population density was 803.7 people per square mile (310.3/km²). There were 2,478 housing units at an average density of 378.4/sq mi (146.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.75% White, 3.55% African American, 0.23% Native American, 0.49% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.23% from other races, and 1.69% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.97% of the population.

There were 2,263 households out of which 26.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.3% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.3% were non-families. 29.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.77.

In the city the population was spread out with 20.5% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 24.8% from 45 to 64, and 20.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 88.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $34,071, and the median income for a family was $44,979. Males had a median income of $40,186 versus $22,971 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,301. About 6.0% of families and 10.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.6% of those under age 18 and 8.9% of those age 65 or over.

History

The old Roane County Courthouse in Kingston.

Kingston has its roots in Fort Southwest Point, which was built just south of what is now Kingston in 1792. At the time, Southwest Point was on the fringe the legal settlement area for Euro-Americans. A Cherokee village, headed by Chief Tollunteeskee, was situated just across the river, at what is now Rockwood. In 1805, Colonel Return J. Meigs, who operated out of Southwest Point, was appointed Cherokee Agent, effectively moving the agency from the Tellico Blockhouse to Southwest Point. The city of Kingston was established on October 23, 1799 as part of an effort to partition Knox County (the effort to form a separate county failed, but succeeded two years later).^[5] Kingston was named after Major Robert King, an officer at Fort Southwest Point in the 1790s.^[6]

On September 21, 1807, Kingston became the capital of Tennessee for one day to fulfill an agreement with the Cherokee nation, where the tribe was led to believe that if they ceded the land in and around Roane County, Kingston would become the capital of Tennessee. True to the agreement, the first session of the seventh General Assembly of the State of Tennessee convened in Kingston. At the end of the day, the Senate and the House of Representatives resolved to "...adjourn forthwith from Kingston, to meet on Wednesday the 23d inst. at eleven o'clock, A.M. at the courthouse in Knoxville."^[7]

Kingston today

Kingston Fossil Plant smokestacks

In 1955, the Tennessee Valley Authority completed work on the Kingston Fossil Plant, which at the time was the world's largest coal-burning power plant. The plant, which consumes roughly 14,000 tons of coal per day, can produce up to 1,456 megawatts of electricity.^[8] The plant's 1000-foot (305-meter) smokestacks are a familiar sight to drivers who frequent the Roane County stretch of Interstate 40.

References

External links

• Kingston, Tennessee is at coordinates 35°52′12″N 84°30′05″W / 35.870083, -84.501479 (Kingston, Tennessee)Coordinates: 35°52′12″N 84°30′05″W / 35.870083, -84.501479 (Kingston, Tennessee)

• Kingston, Tennessee official website