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48-619: Alex Cole was one of the most industrious residents of the Sugarlands. In the early 1900s, Cole and his sons made a weekly trek across Sugarland Mountain via what is now the Huskey Gap Trail to Elkmont , where they worked for the Little River Lumber Company. As tourism increased in the mountains in the 1920s, Cole began offering his services as a mountain guide, especially for tourists wanting to hike to

96-840: A "Quiet Walkway" to the ruins of the Sugarlands community along the banks of the West Fork of the Little Pigeon River. The western half of the Huskey Gap Trail descends to the Little River Trail and Little River, just upstream from Elkmont. The Huskey Gap-to-Rough Creek section of the Sugarland Mountain Trail is characterized by heaths and boulder fields as it winds its way around the western slope of Sugarland Mountain's 4,833-foot (1,473 m) northern peak. This peak comes into clear view as

144-430: A few feet wide. The relatively broad Huskey Gap— between the mountain's northern peak and its lower northern knobs— is the exception. Several mountain streams have their sources high on slopes of Sugarland Mountain. Streams on the western side of the mountain include Mids Branch, Phoebe Branch, Big Medicine Branch, and Rough Creek. These all empty into Little River, which proceeds northward to Elkmont, veers west through

192-457: A household in the county was $ 37,862, and for a family was $ 45,038. Males had a median income of $ 31,877 versus $ 23,007 for females. The per capita income for the county was $ 19,416. About 7.3% of families and 9.7% of the population were below the poverty line , including 12.3% of those under age 18 and 9.1% of those 65 or over. Like most of East Tennessee, Blount County has been a Republican bastion for decades. The last non-Republican to carry

240-419: A mile or so to the west), the trail swings to the western slope of the mountain, where it winds its way up and around a second knob and gradually descends to Huskey Gap. At Huskey Gap, the Sugarland Mountain Trail, which runs north-to-south, intersects the Huskey Gap Trail, which runs roughly east-to-west. The eastern half of the Huskey Gap Trail descends to Newfound Gap Road ( U.S. Route 441 ), and continues as

288-485: A pile of large rocks allows for an unobstructed view out over the Little River Valley westward to Miry Ridge and Blanket Mountain. Beyond the north peak, the trail traverses its first substantial backbone. Gatlinburg and Newfound Gap Road are visible through the treeline to the east. The Rough Creek-to-Appalachian Trail segment of the Sugarland Mountain Trail is its most rugged and most strenuous. Most of

336-615: Is a county located in the East Tennessee Grand Division of the U.S. state of Tennessee . As of the 2020 census , its population was 135,280. The county seat is Maryville , which is also the county's largest city. Blount County is included in the Knoxville metropolitan area . What is today Blount County was for many thousands of years Indian territory, passed down to the Cherokee tribe that claimed

384-552: Is an American hiking trail , in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park of Sevier County , Tennessee . The trail traverses Sugarland Mountain, a massive ridge running perpendicular to the main crest of the Smokies and effectively dividing the park's north-central section from its northwestern section. Sugarland Mountain is flanked by the deep upper valleys of two of the park's major watersheds—

432-490: Is headquartered in the nearby city of Loudon . The service offers residents of any of the counties covered by ETHRA door-to-door pickup transportation across its service area by request only. ETHRA provides a large variety of services in Blount County and other parts of East Tennessee. TYS - McGhee Tyson Airport In addition to the federally operated Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which draws many visitors to

480-576: Is home to two postsecondary educational institutions: Maryville College , a Presbyterian-related, liberal-arts college, founded in 1819 in downtown Maryville, and a satellite campus of Knoxville -based Pellissippi State Community College , referred to as Pellissippi State Community College, or PSCC, Blount County Campus. Blount County is served by the East Tennessee Human Resource Agency's Public Transit system. ETHRA operates in about 16 counties in eastern Tennessee, and

528-517: Is occupied by the city of Townsend , and Millers Cove is occupied by the community of Walland . This part of the county is also home to two large caves: Tuckaleechee Caverns , a popular show cave, and Bull Cave, which at 924 feet (282 m), is the deepest in Tennessee. The Tennessee River forms part of Blount's border with Knox County to the northwest. This section of the Tennessee is part of Fort Loudoun Lake , an artificial lake created by

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576-571: The Sugarlands built a log schoolhouse at Huskey Gap. To allow easier access to the school, they constructed a crude road along what is now the Huskey Gap Trail. Although the schoolhouse had burned down by 1916, the trail received continued use by Sugarlanders working in logging camps in the Elkmont vicinity in the 1920s. By the time the Great Smoky Mountains Park Commission started buying up tracts of land in

624-543: The Tennessee Valley Authority . The Little Tennessee River , a tributary of the Tennessee, forms part of Blount's southern border with Monroe County , and includes three artificial lakes: Tellico , Chilhowee , and Calderwood (two others, Cheoah and Fontana , are located just upstream in North Carolina). Little River , another tributary of the Tennessee, flows northward from deep within

672-603: The U.S. Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 567 square miles (1,470 km ), of which 7.8 square miles (20 km ) (1.4%) are covered by water. The southern part of Blount County is part of the Great Smoky Mountains , and is protected by the Great Smoky Mountains National Park . The crest of the range forms the county's border with Swain County, North Carolina , and includes Blount's highest point, 5,527-foot (1,685 m) Thunderhead Mountain , and

720-723: The 4,949-foot (1,508 m) Gregory Bald , a prominent grassy bald . The northern part of the county is part of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians . The geologic boundary between the Blue Ridge (which includes the Smokies) and Ridge-and-Valley provinces runs along Chilhowee Mountain , a long and narrow ridge that stretches across the central part of the county. Much of Blount's topography is characterized by elongate ridges and rolling hills— known locally as "The Foothills"— which emanate outward from

768-439: The 42,667 households, 30.5% had children under 18 living with them, 58.4% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 28.2% were not families, and 1,384 were unmarried partner households: 1,147 heterosexual, 107 same-sex male, 130 same-sex female. About 24.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.5% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size

816-509: The 6,188-foot (1,886 m) summit of Mount Collins and continuing onward to Clingmans Dome. A small footpath east of the trail terminus leads to Clingmans Dome Road and the Fork Ridge Trail terminus on the other side of the road. Newfound Gap is approximately 4.5 miles (7.2 km) east of the trail terminus. The Mount Collins Shelter is situated just off the Sugarland Mountain Trail approximately 0.3 miles (0.48 km) north of

864-533: The Little Pigeon River proper before emptying into the French Broad River . In Cherokee lore, the eastern slopes of Sugarland Mountain— along with the northern slopes of Mount Le Conte— were part of a ridgeline known as Walasi'yi , or "Frog Place." An ancient Native American trail— possibly predating the Cherokee— crossed the crest at Indian Gap and descended along Road Prong to the West Fork of

912-648: The Little Pigeon Valley. The trail then followed the valley northward, where it intersected the Great Indian Warpath near modern Sevierville. This trail was expanded several times by Euro-American settlers throughout the 19th century. While the main road gradually shifted to the lower Newfound Gap , the Road Prong Trail still follows this ancient road. In the late 19th century, the residents of Little River (now Elkmont) and

960-624: The Little River Gorge, and turns north again to traverse Blount County before emptying into the Fort Loudoun Lake impoundment of the Tennessee River . Streams on the western side of the mountain include Sugarland Branch, Hickory King Branch, and Road Prong. These empty into the West Fork of the Little Pigeon River, which proceeds northward through Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Sevierville , where it merges with

1008-446: The Smokies and traverses the central part of the county. The river's confluence with its Middle Prong forms a popular swimming area known as the "Townsend Wye", which is located just inside the park south of Townsend. As of the 2020 United States census , 135,280 people, 50,813 households, and 35,299 families were residing in the county. As of the census of 2000, 105,823 people, 42,667 households, and 30,634 families were residing in

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1056-507: The Smokies range. The mountainous southern portion of Blount County is dotted by relatively isolated valleys known as Appalachian coves . The best known of these valleys, Cades Cove , is one of the most visited sections of the national park, and is noted for the remnants of the Appalachian community that occupied the cove prior to the park's formation, as well as an abundance of wildlife, especially white-tailed deer . Tuckaleechee Cove

1104-550: The Smokies— echoed McCoy's description, calling the Sugarland Mountain Trail "rugged and rough," but well worth an all-day trip. The first half-mile or so of the Sugarland Mountain Trail is uphill as the trail rises out of Fighting Creek Gap and winds its way around the eastern side of the mountain's northernmost knob. After descending to Mids Gap (an unmarked manway follows Mids Branch to the Elkmont Nature Trail,

1152-518: The Sugarlands to apprehend a fugitive. The deputy and his hodgepodge posse chased the fugitive across Sugarland Mountain to "Barradale's upper logging camp" on Rough Creek, although they failed to locate him. They returned to North Carolina empty-handed the following day. George McCoy, writing in an early park guide in 1935, reported that the Sugarland Mountain Trail was "extremely rugged," but offered excellent views of Mount Le Conte. In 1937, Laura Thornborough— who wrote extensively of hiking trails in

1200-494: The West Fork of the Little Pigeon River (to the east) and Little River (to the west). The trail passes through several forest types, including deciduous forest at lower elevations, heaths ("hells") along the mountain's backbone formations, and a stand of Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest in the upper elevations. Occasional breaks in the foliage allow for views of Mount Le Conte and Sevier County to

1248-651: The cabin's gabled roof is covered with hand-split shingles. The interior contains a sawn board floor and a loft, and is accessed by a sawn board door. The chimney is built of masonry rubble. This article about a property in Sevier County, Tennessee on the National Register of Historic Places is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Sugarland Mountain Trail The Sugarland Mountain Trail

1296-605: The county each year, Blount County operates numerous smaller community parks and recreation centers, primarily in the cities of Alcoa and Maryville. Some of these facilities include: An integral part of keeping the parks and other parts of Blount County beautiful is the organization called Keep Blount Beautiful. This organization works in coordination with other companies including The City of Alcoa Residential Recycling Pick Up Service and Blount County HGS Trash and Recycling Same Day Residential Pick Up Service, as well as many other recycling resources in Blount County, to work towards

1344-452: The county was Theodore Roosevelt , during his third-party run in 1912. In 1976, Jimmy Carter took 46% of the vote. In 1992, George H. W. Bush was held to 48.9% of the vote—the only time in over a century that a Republican has failed to win a majority in Blount County. The current elected members of the Blount County government are: Most of the early European-American settlers were of little means; they were subsistence farmers throughout

1392-554: The county. Denso Manufacturing Tennessee Inc., a division of Denso Global , is the county's largest employer, with about 3,000 employees. Public schools in Blount County are part of the Blount County Schools system, with the exception of schools in the cities of Maryville and Alcoa , both of which operate separate, independent school systems. Private schools located in the county include Maryville Christian School and Clayton-Bradley STEM school. Blount County

1440-404: The county. The population density was 190 people per square mile (73 people/km ). The 47,059 housing units had an average density of 84 per square mile (32/km ). The racial makeup of the county was 94.73% White, 2.91% Black, 0.29% Native American , 0.72% Asian, 0.37% from other races, and 0.99% from two or more races. About 1.06% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race. Of

1488-513: The differences between White immigrants and Cherokee natives, which was, for the most part, not accomplished until an 1819 treaty. Like a majority of East Tennessee counties, Blount County was opposed to secession on the eve of the Civil War. In Tennessee's Ordinance of Secession referendum on June 8, 1861, Blount Countians voted against secession by a margin of 1,766 to 414. Residents of pro-Union Cades Cove and pro-Confederate Hazel Creek (on

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1536-429: The early 20th century, described Sugarland Mountain as a "razorback ridge" that formed a "rampart tedious to scale from either side." Kephart referred to the upper Rough Creek Valley on the mountain's southwestern slope as "Godforsaken" — a remote land that seemed "unearthly in its dreariness and desolation." In "A Raid Into the Sugarlands," Kephart gave a quasi-factual account of a North Carolina deputy's excursion into

1584-471: The early years of the county's establishment. The first industry to make its mark on Blount County, as in other neighboring counties, was that of lumber. It was the massive development of this industry in the mountains of east Blount that, in part, led to the creation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park . It includes the southeastern portion of the county. Today, manufacturing has replaced lumber in importance, with over 100 manufacturing plants located in

1632-470: The east and Blanket Mountain and the ridges above Elkmont to the west. The trailhead is located at Fighting Creek Gap along Little River Road, between Gatlinburg and Elkmont. The trail's terminus is located just off Clingmans Dome Road, where the trail intersects the Appalachian Trail . Sugarland Mountain is a ridge that consists of a series knobs and peaks, each increasing in elevation as

1680-499: The foliage allows for an unobstructed view of the Rough Creek Valley below and Sweet Ridge and Miry Ridge in the distance to the northwest and west. Mount Le Conte dominates the view through the treeline to the east. Around 10 miles (16 km) from the trailhead, the Sugarland Mountain Trail passes just below the mountain's 5,494-foot (1,675 m) summit, which rises at the mountain's junction with Sweet Ridge. Beyond

1728-532: The headwaters of Rough Creek, the mountain rises above 5,000 feet (1,500 m) for the first time, eventually reaching 5,494 feet (1,675 m) at its summit. The Chimney Tops , which consist of two barren slate capstones, crown a narrow ridge that branches off the southeastern slope of Sugarland Mountain, opposite the Rough Creek headwaters. Sugarland Mountain's various knobs and peaks are typically connected by narrow "backbone" ridges, some of which are just

1776-625: The land upon the arrival of White settlers in the late 18th century. Shortly thereafter, on July 11, 1795, Blount County became the 10th county established in Tennessee, when the Territorial Legislature voted to split adjacent Knox and Jefferson Counties. The new county was named for the governor of the Southwest Territory , William Blount , and its county seat, Maryville , was named for his wife Mary Grainger Blount. This establishment, however, did little to settle

1824-647: The late 1920s for the formation of the national park, the Little River Lumber Company owned the entire western side of Sugarland Mountain and the Champion Fibre Company owned the mountain's southeastern section. Members of the Parton family and Huskey family owned small farms around Huskey Gap and the headwaters of Sugarland Branch, and members of the Quilliams family lived in the vicinity of Backcountry Campsite 21. Author Horace Kephart , writing in

1872-461: The legal boundaries of Blount County, has significantly impacted the use of southeastern Blount County. Blount County has been served by The Daily Times , currently published in Maryville, since 1883. On July 2, 2015, a freight train carrying hazardous materials derailed . About 5,000 residents were displaced from their homes within a two-mile (three-kilometer) radius. According to

1920-423: The mountain approaches its junction with the main Smokies crest. The northernmost knobs, which overlook Fighting Creek Gap and Mids Gap, have elevations of around 3,000 feet (910 m). Beyond Huskey Gap, the mountain rises sharply to its prominent 4,833-foot (1,473 m) northern peak as the crest narrows, and maintains an elevation of 4,300 feet (1,300 m) to 4,800 feet (1,500 m) for several miles. At

1968-415: The other side of the mountains in North Carolina) regularly launched raids against one another during the war. Throughout its history, the boundaries of Blount County have been altered numerous times, most notably in 1870, when a large swath of western Blount was split into Loudon and portions of other counties. Also, the establishment of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 1936, while not affecting

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2016-462: The remainder of the trail consists of sharp ascents over steep ledges alternating with smooth strolls over narrow backbones. Approximately one mile of the lower section of trail was burned during the catastrophic wildfirefire that occurred in the area in November 2016. This portion of the trail is now overgrown with tall weeds and brambles in summertime. At just over 8 miles (13 km), a break in

2064-401: The streambeds by erosional forces. Backcountry Campsite 21 was formerly located amidst the first of these boulder fields in the headwaters of Big Medicine Branch prior to being relocated to the Huskey Gap Trail near the junction with Little River Trail. Sandstone outcroppings are not uncommon along the steep western slope of the north peak. Approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) from the campsite,

2112-406: The summit of Mount Le Conte . Historian Vic Weals wrote that Cole's "considerable knowledge of his wilderness" made him "one of the more sought-after native guides." The cabin is a single-pen one-story cabin measuring approximately 20 feet (6.1 m) by 18 feet (5.5 m). The walls are built of hewn logs with dovetail notching. Fieldstone and loose rock comprise the cabin's foundation, and

2160-555: The summit, Mount Collins becomes visible through the treeline to the south, and Mount Mingus dominates the view to the east. After winding its way across Sugarland Mountain's upper elevations, the trail ascends sharply to the Mount Collins Shelter and the trail terminus along the Appalachian Trail. West of the Sugarland Mountain Trail terminus, the Appalachian Trail continues to ascend sharply, crossing

2208-460: The trail enters its first substantial stand of heath immediately south of Huskey Gap. As the trail begins to ascend the northern peak, it reenters a thick deciduous forest. The headwaters of various streams have cut a series of hollows into the western flank of this peak, leading down into the Little River Valley. These upper hollows are littered with boulders, which over the years have broken off from higher elevations and have been carried down into

2256-473: The trail's terminus at the Appalachian Trail. A spring— part of the headwaters of Moccasin Branch— provides the shelter's water source. The shelter— built of stone and enclosed by fencing at one end— is typical of Appalachian Trail shelters in the area. 35°35′26″N 83°28′27″W  /  35.5906°N 83.4742°W  / 35.5906; -83.4742 Blount County, Tennessee Blount County

2304-563: Was 2.43, and the average family size was 2.88. In the county, the age distribution was 22.8% under 18, 8.30% from 18 to 24, 29.40% from 25 to 44, 25.40% from 45 to 64, and 14.10% who were 65 or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.80 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 90.80 males. As verified by 2000 U.S. Census, for every 100 females under 65, there were 98.7 males, for every 100 females under 55 there were 99.5 males, and for every 100 females under 20 there were 105 males. The median income for

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