County Profile: Anderson
Home to the ultimate waterways: Norris Lake, the Clinch River, and Melton Hill Lake.
In each issue of State & Beale we will profile one of Tennessee’s 95 counties, going alphabetically. Our math department said such a project will take years. I hope we get to complete it.
Credit: Museum of Appalachia
Anderson County
Grand Division: East Tennessee
County Seat: Clinton
Population (2023 estimate): 80,234
Anderson County was established in 1801 from parts of Knox and Grainger Counties. It was named for Joseph Anderson, a U.S. Senator at the time.
Major changes came to the county in 1933 as crews began building Norris Dam, the first major project of the newly created Tennessee Valley Authority. The cost was $32 million in 1933, about $702 million in today’s dollars. The dam brought flood control and electricity but most folks today can thank the dam for recreation on the county’s abundant water ways.
Credit: Museum of Appalachia
“Anderson County is home to the ultimate waterways: Norris Lake, the Clinch River, and Melton Hill Lake,” reads the county’s tourism website. “These three connected bodies of water offer a multitude of adventures, including boating, skiing, paddling, fishing, and even hiking along the shorelines.”
Anderson’s biggest city has a secret past. Oak Ridge (which also sits in part of Roane County) was established in 1942 as a production site for the Manhattan Project, the massive American, British, and Canadian operation that developed the atomic bomb. The mysterious nature of the project earned Oak Ridge nicknames like “the Secret City,” “Atomic City,” and the “City Behind the Fence.”
The American Museum of Science and Energy brings that past to the present with a venue filled with history and interactive exhibits. You can even board a not-so-secret bus tour of the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge facility.
If you want to go even further back in time, stop in at the Museum of Appalachia. The pioneer mountain farm village is a living history museum and a Smithsonian affiliate.
You gotta eat and you’re in luck. Knoxville-area favorite Calhoun’s serves up its signature Southern fare with seats overlooking Melton Hill Lake.
