Pittman Center, Tennessee
| Pittman Center, Tennessee | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
Pittman Center City Hall
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| Motto: A Community Dedicated to Preserving Our Mountain Heritage | |
 Location of Pittman Center, Tennessee |
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| Coordinates: 35°45′22″N 83°22′58″W / 35.75611°N 83.38278°WCoordinates: 35°45′22″N 83°22′58″W / 35.75611°N 83.38278°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Tennessee |
| County | Sevier |
| Established | 1920s |
| Incorporated | 1974 |
| Named for | Rev. Eli Pittman |
| Area | |
| • Total | 6.0 sq mi (15.5 km2) |
| • Land | 6.0 sq mi (15.5 km2) |
| • Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) |
| Elevation | 1,289 ft (393 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 502 |
| • Density | 79.7/sq mi (30.8/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| FIPS code | 47-58940 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1297748 |
| Website | www |
Pittman Center is a town in Sevier County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 477 at the 2000 census and 502 at the 2010 census, showing an increase of 25.
Pittman Center is situated in Emert's Cove, a broad valley along the Middle Fork of the Little Pigeon River. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park borders Pittman Center to the south, and the town's history and economy are largely intertwined with that of the Smokies.
Like much of Sevier County, Emert's Cove was a Cherokee hunting ground before the arrival of Euro-American settlers. After the Battle of Boyds Creek and several violent incidents between the Cherokee and the settlers to the west in what is now Cocke County, the Cherokee were induced to sign the Treaty of Dumplin in 1785, ceding what is now Sevier County to the American government. Among the first Euro-American settlers to move into the newly gained territory was Frederick Emert (1754–1829), who arrived with his family sometime between 1785 and 1793.
Emert was born in Pennsylvania to German immigrants. He fought in the American Revolution for the Continental Army, and probably saw action at the Battle of Brandywine Creek. In 2000, the residents of Pittman Center erected the Emert's Cove Covered Bridge in his honor.
Other settlers arrived in Emert's Cove shortly after Emert. Among them were Juliana Shultz (1741–1810), a widow who arrived in the cove with her children around 1794, and Daniel Wesley Reagan (1803–1892), whose parents and grandparents were among the first settlers in what is now Gatlinburg. Many residents of Pittman Center are descended from these early settlers.
In 1910, a survey of Tennessee found Sevier County to be most in need of educational facilities. In spite of the establishment of a settlement school in Gatlinburg by the Pi Beta Phi fraternity in 1912, education in the region was still appallingly lacking. To help remedy this situation, Dr. John Burnett, a Methodist minister who visited the Smokies in 1919, envisioned the establishment a large-scale school in the area that would operate with virtually no tuition rates. Later that year, the Methodist Episcopal Church endorsed Burnett's plan at its annual meeting, and with the help of Reverend Eli Pittman of Elmira, New York, Burnett secured $15,000 for the project. In 1920, Burnett purchased Garfield Scott's farm just above the confluence of Webb Creek and the Middle Fork of the Little Pigeon River. This 135-acre (0.55 km2) plot of land would become the core of the new school's campus.
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