Whitwell, Tennessee
| Whitwell, Tennessee | |
|---|---|
| City | |
View of Whitwell with the Cumberland Plateau in the background
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| Nickname(s): Home of the Children's Holocaust Memorial | |
 Location of Whitwell, Tennessee |
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| Coordinates: 35°11′51″N 85°31′9″W / 35.19750°N 85.51917°WCoordinates: 35°11′51″N 85°31′9″W / 35.19750°N 85.51917°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Tennessee |
| County | Marion |
| Incorporated | 1956 |
| Named for | Thomas Whitwell, mining entrepreneur |
| Area | |
| • Total | 3.3 sq mi (8.6 km2) |
| • Land | 3.3 sq mi (8.6 km2) |
| • Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) |
| Elevation | 679 ft (207 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 1,699 |
| • Density | 514.8/sq mi (197.5/km2) |
| Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP code | 37397 |
| Area code(s) | 423 |
| FIPS code | 47-80620 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1304575 |
| Website | cityofwhitwell.com |
Whitwell is a city in Marion County, Tennessee, United States, approximately 24 miles northwest of Chattanooga. The population was 1,699 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Chattanooga, TN–GA Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The town that became Whitwell was originally known as Cheekville, but renamed "Whitwell" for Thomas Whitwell, a Welsh metallurgist and cofounder of the Southern States Coal, Iron and Land Company, who was killed in a mine explosion in 1878. Whitwell was incorporated as a city in 1956, having grown as a mining town due to the abundance of coal in the mountains near the town. In 1981 there was a major mining accident when 13 coal miners were killed in an explosion. A full list of the names of those killed in the mine explosion is on a monument at Whitwell High School. Whitwell also has an annual Labor Day celebration that has been celebrated for over 50 consecutive years.
Whitwell is located at 35°11′51″N 85°31′9″W / 35.19750°N 85.51917°W (35.197570, -85.519082). It is situated in the southwestern Sequatchie Valley at the base of a relatively steep escarpment of the Cumberland Plateau. The Sequatchie River passes just east of the city, and forms a portion of its southeastern boundary.
Tennessee State Route 28 (Hudson Street), which forms part of the main north-south corridor in the valley, connects Whitwell with Dunlap to the north and Jasper to the south. State Route 283 connects Whitwell with Powells Crossroads across the Sequatchie river to the east, and State Route 108 (South Main Street) connects Whitwell with Grundy County atop the Plateau to the northwest.
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