Johnson City, Tennessee

Johnson City is a city in Washington, Carter, and Sullivan counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, mostly in Washington County. Located in an Appalachian valley near the Boone Lake impoundment of the Watauga River, Johnson City is Tennessee's eighth-most populous city, with a population of 71,046 as of the 2020 Census. Johnson City is the largest city of the Johnson City Metropolitan Statistical Area, as well as the Tri-Cities (Tennessee-Virginia) region of Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia, which contains Kingsport, Tennessee and Bristol, Tennessee and had a population of 585,041 at the 2020 Census.

Johnson City is the nearest city to the first permanent European-American settlement in present-day Tennessee, which was built in 1768 by William Bean. Johnson City was founded as Johnson Depot in 1856, and incorporated as Johnson City in 1869. Once a railroad boomtown, Johnson City is today a hub for medicine and education, as the home to East Tennessee State University, the largest university in Northeast Tennessee, as well as the headquarters of Ballad Health, the region's largest health system.

History of Johnson City

William Bean, traditionally recognized as Tennessee's first white settler, built his cabin along Boone's Creek near Johnson City in 1769. In the 1780s, Colonel John Tipton established a farm (now the Tipton-Haynes State Historic Site) just outside what is now Johnson City. During the State of Franklin movement, Tipton was a leader of the loyalist faction, residents of the region who wanted to remain part of North Carolina rather than form a separate state. In February 1788, an armed engagement took place at Tipton's farm between Tipton and his men and the forces led by John Sevier, the leader of the Franklin faction.

Founded in 1856 by Henry Johnson as a railroad station called "Johnson's Depot", Johnson City became a major rail hub for the Southeast, as three railway lines crossed in the downtown area.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Johnson City served as headquarters for the narrow gauge East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad (the ET&WNC, nicknamed "Tweetsie") and the standard gauge Clinchfield Railroad. Both rail systems featured excursion trips through scenic portions of the Blue Ridge Mountains and were engineering marvels of railway construction. The Southern Railway (now Norfolk Southern) also passes through the city.

During the American Civil War, before it was formally incorporated in 1869, the town's name was briefly changed to "Haynesville" in honor of Confederate Senator Landon Carter Haynes.

Henry Johnson's name was quickly restored following the war, with Johnson elected as the city's first mayor on January 3, 1870. The town grew rapidly from 1870 until 1890 as railroad and mining interests flourished. But the national depression of 1893, which caused many railway failures (including the Charleston, Cincinnati and Chicago Railroad or "3-Cs", a predecessor of the Clinchfield), and resulting financial panic halted Johnson City's boom town momentum.

In 1901, the Mountain Branch of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers (now the U.S. Veterans Affairs Medical Center and National Cemetery), Mountain Home, Tennessee was created by an act of Congress introduced by Walter P. Brownlow. Construction on this 450-acre (1.8 km2) campus, which was designed to serve disabled Civil War veterans, was completed in 1903 at a cost of $3 million. Before the completion of this facility, the assessed value of the entire town was listed at $750,000. The East Tennessee State Normal School was authorized in 1911 and the new college campus directly across from the National Soldiers Home. Johnson City began growing rapidly and became Tennessee's fifth-largest city by 1930.

Together with neighboring Bristol, Johnson City was a hotbed for old-time music. It hosted Columbia Records recording sessions in 1928 known as the Johnson City Sessions. Native son "Fiddlin' Charlie" Bowman became a national recording star via these sessions. The Fountain Square area downtown featured a host of local and traveling street entertainers, including Blind Lemon Jefferson.

During the 1920s and the Prohibition era, Johnson City's ties to the bootlegging activity of the Appalachian Mountains earned the city the nickname of "Little Chicago". Stories persist that the town was one of several distribution centers for Chicago gang boss Al Capone during Prohibition. Capone had a well-organized distribution network within the southern United States for alcohol smuggling; it shipped his products from the mountain distillers to northern cities. Capone was, according to local lore, a part-time resident of Montrose Court, a luxury apartment complex now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

For many years, the city had a municipal "privilege tax" on carnival shows, in an attempt to dissuade traveling circuses and other transient entertainment businesses from doing business in town. The use of drums by merchants to draw attention to their goods is prohibited. Title Six, Section 106 of the city's municipal code, the so-called "Barney Fife" ordinance, empowers the city's police force to draft into involuntary service as many of the town's citizens as necessary to aid police in making arrests and preventing or quelling riots, unlawful assemblies, or breaches of peace.

Geography

Johnson City is in northeastern Washington County, with smaller parts extending north into Sullivan County and east into Carter County. Johnson City shares a contiguous southeastern border with Elizabethton. Johnson City also shares a small contiguous border with Kingsport to the far north along I-26 and a slightly longer one with Bluff City to the northeast along US 11E.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 43.3 square miles (112.1 km2), of which 42.9 square miles (111.2 km2) is land and 0.3 square miles (0.8 km2), or 0.75 percent, is water.

Buffalo Mountain, a ridge over 2,700 feet (820 m) high, is a city park on the south side of town. The Watauga River arm of Boone Lake, a Tennessee Valley Authority reservoir, is partly within the city limits.

Johnson City has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa), with warm summers and cool winters. Temperatures in Johnson City are moderated somewhat by its elevation and proximity to the Appalachian Mountains. Precipitation is abundant, with an average of 45.22 in (1,149 mm). Summer is typically the wettest part of the year, while early autumn is considerably drier. Snowfall is moderate and sporadic, with an average of 15.6 in (40 cm).

Arts & culture

Public art includes 12 to 15 sculptures that change every two years. Also, 24 bronze statuettes of animals indigenous to the Appalachian Highlands, cast by faculty and students at ETSU, are installed in various downtown locations; staff at the Johnson City Public Library created a list of clues to aid in the search for all the animals. Other public art includes banners and art on light poles and traffic boxes, and quote stones along sidewalks and paths. Two annual art events take place in the city.

As a regional hub for a four-state area, Johnson City is home to a large variety of retail businesses, from well-known national chains to local boutiques and galleries.

The Mall at Johnson City is the city's only enclosed shopping mall. Much of the new retail development is in North Johnson City, along State of Franklin Road. Johnson City Crossings is the largest of these developments.

Buffalo Mountain Park

East Tennessee State University Arboretum

ETSU/Mountain States Health Alliance Athletic Center

Founders Park

Freedom Hall Civic Center

Johnson City STOLport

Thomas Stadium, baseball venue

Tipton-Haynes State Historic Site

Tweetsie Trail

Watauga River

William B. Greene Jr. Stadium

Economy

Johnson City is an economic hub largely fueled by East Tennessee State University and the medical "Med-Tech" corridor, anchored by the Johnson City Medical Center and Niswonger Children's Hospital, Franklin Woods Community Hospital, ETSU's Gatton College of Pharmacy, and ETSU's Quillen College of Medicine.

The citrus soda Mountain Dew originated in Johnson City. In 2012, PepsiCo announced a new malt-flavored version of the drink named Mountain Dew Johnson City Gold.

Johnson City and its metropolitan area had a gross metropolitan product of US$9.1 billion in 2019.

American Water Heater Company (owned by A.O. Smith Corp.)

Advanced Call Center Technologies

Cantech Industries

General Shale (owned by Wienerberger)

LPI, Inc.

Moody Dunbar, Inc.

Mullican Flooring

R.A. Colby, Inc.

TPI Corporation

VCV Rack

JD Squared, manufacturer of tube and pipe benders and other fabrication tools

Education

East Tennessee State University has around 16,000 students in addition to a K–12 University School, a laboratory school of about 540 students. University School was the first laboratory school in the nation to adopt a year-round academic schedule.

Milligan University is just outside the city limits in Carter County, and has about 1,200 students in undergraduate and graduate programs.

Northeast State Community College has renovated a building in downtown Johnson City for use as a new satellite teaching site.

After a dispute over the leasing amount being increased from $1,000/month to nearly $30,000/month, Northeast State decided not to renew their lease in 2023.

This building is now being utilized by East Tennessee State University to house the Department of Biological Sciences whilst Brown Hall, the main academic hall for the department on ETSU's main campus, goes through a new phase of renovations. Classes will begin being offered at this downtown satellite campus by ETSU in the Fall 2025 semester.

Tusculum University has a center on the north side of Johnson City in the Boones Creek area.

Within Washington County, the vast majority of the city is in the Johnson City Independent School District, while small parts of the city are in the Washington County School District.

Notable people

Bill Bain, management consultant, one of the founders of the management consultancy Bain & Company

Sam Bettens, lead singer of rock band K's Choice; Johnson City firefighter for a year

Jerry Blevins, Major League Baseball pitcher (New York Mets)

Ernie Bowman, Major League Baseball (San Francisco Giants, 1961–63)

Joe Bowman, bootmaker and marksman; guardian of western frontier culture

Mike Brown, American Motorcyclist Association rider

Jonny Campbell, soccer player

Jo Carson, playwright and author

George Lafayette Carter, entrepreneur

David Cash, professional wrestler

David Cole, founding member of C+C Music Factory

Patrick J. Cronin, television and film actor, a professor in English and Theater at ETSU

Matt Czuchry, actor (Gilmore Girls), attended Science Hill High School

David Davis, Tennessee state senator; U.S. congressman 2007–2009

Lindsay Ellis, film critic, YouTuber, cinematographer, and author

Ray Flynn, miler with 89 sub-four-minute miles; graduated ETSU, president/CEO of Flynn Sports Management

Aubrayo Franklin, defensive tackle, San Francisco 49ers

Wyck Godfrey, film producer and studio executive

Jake Grove, born in Johnson City; played center for Virginia Tech, won the Rimington Trophy, played for the Miami Dolphins