LaFollette, Tennessee | |
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City | |
Buildings along Central Avenue (U.S. Route 25W)
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Location of La Follette, Tennessee |
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Coordinates: 36°22′30″N 84°7′39″W / 36.37500°N 84.12750°WCoordinates: 36°22′30″N 84°7′39″W / 36.37500°N 84.12750°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Tennessee |
County | Campbell |
Government | |
• Mayor | Mike Stanfield |
• Vice Mayor | Bob Fannon |
Area | |
• Total | 4.9 sq mi (12.7 km2) |
• Land | 4.9 sq mi (12.7 km2) |
• Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) |
Elevation | 1,073 ft (327 m) |
Population (2014 est.) | |
• Total | 7,131 |
• Density | 1,487/sq mi (574.1/km2) |
Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
• Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
ZIP code | 37766 |
Area code(s) | 423 |
FIPS code | 47-40180 |
GNIS feature ID | 1652480 |
Website | www |
LaFollette is a city in Campbell County, Tennessee, United States. Its population was 7,456 at the 2010 census, with an estimated population in 2014 of 7,131. It is the principal city of the LaFollette, Tennessee Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Campbell County, and is a component of the Knoxville-Sevierville-La Follette Combined Statistical Area. While the city's official spelling is one word ("LaFollette")—after its founders, Harvey Marion LaFollette and his younger brother Grant LaFollette—several federal agencies spell the city's name with two words ("La Follette").
Harvey and Grant LaFollette purchased 37,000 acres (150 km2) at Big Creek Gap, where the present community lies, around 1890. They founded the LaFollette Coal, Iron, and Railway Company in order to exploit mineral resources they had observed. Although the business failed during the 1920s, the community continued to grow. The city of LaFollette was incorporated in 1897.
LaFollette is located near the geographic center of Campbell County at 36°22′30″N 84°7′39″W / 36.37500°N 84.12750°W (36.375006, −84.127623). The city is situated in Powell Valley, where the Appalachian Ridge-and-Valley province gives way to the Cumberland Plateau region. Cumberland Mountain, a 50-mile (80 km) ridge stretching from Cumberland Gap in the east to Bruce Gap in the west, rises north of LaFollette. Norris Lake dominates the area to the south. Jacksboro lies adjacent to LaFollette to the southwest. A leg of the Cumberland Trail is accessible off Tennessee Avenue at the north end of LaFollette.