Georgetown, Tennessee
{{Short description|Unincorporated community in Tennessee, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
Georgetown is an unincorporated community at the junction of Bradley, Hamilton, and Meigs counties, Tennessee.{{GNIS|1285309}} The community is located along State Route 60 near its intersection with State Route 58.[http://www.georgetowntn.com Georgetown, Tennessee], official website. Retrieved: March 11, 2013.
The Bradley County portion of Georgetown is part of the Cleveland, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area, while the Hamilton County portion is part of the Chattanooga, TN–GA Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Georgetown is the place name associated with U.S. Postal Service zip code 37336.[http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/MapItDrawServlet?geo_id=86000US37336&_bucket_id=50&tree_id=420&context=saff&_lang=en&_sse=on Map of zip code 37336]{{Dead link|date=March 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, U.S. Census Bureau website The Zip Code Tabulation Area for that zip code had a population of 5,337, according to the 2020 U.S. Census.[http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFFacts?_event=Search&geo_id=&_geoContext=&_street=&_county=37336&_cityTown=37336&_state=&_zip=37336 Zip Code Tabulation Aree 37336] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20200212051311/http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFFacts?_event=Search&geo_id=&_geoContext=&_street=&_county=37336&_cityTown=37336&_state=&_zip=37336 |date=February 12, 2020 }}, U.S. Census website
History
Georgetown is located along Tennessee State Route 60, along what was part of the main Northern Route of the Trail of Tears in 1838.{{Cite web |title=State Route 60 (Georgetown Road) |url=https://www.tn.gov/tdot/projects/region-2/sr-60.html |access-date=2024-03-23 |website=www.tn.gov |language=en}} According to tradition, the village was named for Cherokee trader George Fields, who owned a two-story log home and operated a trading post at the intersection of Georgetown Road and Francisco Road in the early 1800s. "An affluent merchant who operated a flatboat on the Hiwassee and Tennessee Rivers, he was also an enslaver and leader in tribal politics. His two-story log dwelling, known as the George House, bears the date of 1812."{{Cite book |last=Polly W. |first=Donnelly |title=James County - A Lost County of Tennessee |publisher=The College Press |year=1983 |location=Collegedale, Tennessee |pages=82–90 |language=English}} The "George House" burned and was dismantled in 2014. It is believed that George Fields was buried just east of where his home once stood.
In the late 1800s, Georgetown was an active trading center featuring several gristmills, tanneries, and sawmills. Goods arrived in nearby Cleveland via the Tennessee, Virginia, and Georgia Railroad and were transported by wagon to the village. The main items produced for the market during this time were corn, wheat, and bacon.
Georgetown's first post office was established as "Limestone" on March 9, 1837, and was changed to "Georgetown" in 1867. It has since been located in four different counties, including James County, "The Lost County of Tennessee", which dissolved in 1919. It currently operates in Meigs County.
Properties on the National Register of Historic Places located in Georgetown:
| class="wikitable"
|+National Register of Historic Places (Near Georgetown, Tennessee) |Upload image |December 12, 1976 (#76001781) |Southwest of Georgetown on Ooltewah-Georgetown Rd. 35°16′38″N 84°57′57″W |Georgetown |[https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail/95e236d7-fe73-456f-bd95-d49e61d8ad62 Nomination Form] |
| Bradford Rymer Barn
|Upload image |July 6, 1982 (#82004012) |State Route 135°17′47″N 84°57′11″W |Georgetown |[https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/82004012_text Nomination form] |
| Scott Hooper Garage
|Upload image |July 6, 1982 (#82004010) |State Route 135°21′21″N 84°54′56″W |Georgetown | |
| McKenzie Windmill
|Upload image |July 6, 1982 (#82004011) |State Route 5835°21′23″N 84°54′55″W |Georgetown | |
| G. W. Shiflett Barn
|Upload image |July 6, 1982 (#82004013) |State Route 135°18′37″N 84°54′53″W |Georgetown | |
| Andy Wood Log House and Willie Wood Blacksmith Shop
|Upload image |July 6, 1982 (#82004015) |State Route 135°21′11″N 84°55′42″W |Georgetown | |
| Georgetown Road (Trail of Tears Segment)
|Upload image |March 23, 2022 (#100007556) |8100 Block of TN 60 35°17′56″N 84°57′23″W |Georgetown | |
Education
The Georgetown Academy, founded in 1847 by the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, is Georgetown's earliest school of record. Located about a quarter mile southwest of the intersection of TN SR 60 and Ooltewah-Georgetown Road, it is believed to have been operated until around the time of the Civil War. The school's second floor was the location of the Limestone Lodge No. 176 F. & A.M., chartered in 1849.
Notable people
- Greg Vital - American conservationist, businessman, and District 29 Tennessee State Representative.
- Wilburn Cartwright – lawyer, educator, U.S. Representative from Oklahoma, and United States Army officer in World War II was born here.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Bradley County, Tennessee}}
{{Hamilton County, Tennessee}}
{{Meigs County, Tennessee}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Coord|35.286|-84.945|display=title}}
Category:Unincorporated communities in Tennessee
Category:Unincorporated communities in Meigs County, Tennessee
Category:Unincorporated communities in Bradley County, Tennessee
Category:Unincorporated communities in Hamilton County, Tennessee