Lenoir City, Tennessee

About Lenoir City, TN

Lenoir City is a suburban city situated predominantly in Loudon County and partly in Roane County, Tennessee. According to the 2020 Census, it had a population of 10,117. The city falls within the Knoxville metropolitan area in the eastern region of the state, positioned along the Tennessee River southwest of Knoxville.

Long before European settlers arrived, Native Americans inhabited the Lenoir City area for thousands of years. On Bussell Island, located south across the Tennessee River, archaeologists have found evidence of habitation dating back to the Archaic Period (8000–1000 B.C.). This island is also believed to be the site of “Coste,” a village visited by Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto in 1540.

In the historical Cherokee culture, the Lenoir City area was known as Wa’ginsi and was believed to be the dwelling place of a large serpent that brought misfortune to those who saw it. By the early 19th century, Judge David Campbell, an early East Tennessee pioneer, laid claim to a portion of what is now Lenoir City. There, he constructed a log cabin and a gristmill.

In the early 19th century, General William Lenoir received a 5,000-acre tract of land, which included the area that would become Lenoir City, as a reward for his service in the American Revolutionary War. David Campbell and Alexander Outlaw, other early settlers, challenged Lenoir’s claim in court, asserting that they already owned parts of the Lenoir tract.

In 1809, the case was settled in favor of Lenoir, and he deeded the tract to his eldest son, William Ballard Lenoir (1775–1852). William Ballard Lenoir moved to the tract in 1810 with his wife, establishing a large plantation worked by enslaved African Americans. The plantation involved various industries, including ham production from a Berkshire hog herd and the development of a sawmill and flour mill. In the early 1830s, he established the Lenoir Cotton Mill, one of the South’s earliest, near Town Creek, a tributary of the Tennessee River.

Following William Ballard Lenoir’s passing, his estate was divided among his children, who formed the William Lenoir and Brothers Company to manage the family’s businesses. When the railroad reached the Lenoir plantation in 1855, a depot was built, giving rise to the community of Lenoir Station.

During the Civil War, the Lenoirs supported the Confederacy, partly due to their connections with Confederate-leaning businesses in Knoxville. In 1863, a Union scouting expedition, led by General William P. Sanders, arrived at Lenoir Station, burning down the depot and the Lenoirs’ sawmill and flour mill. However, the cotton mill was spared due to its significance in providing cloth for the army and the mutual Masonic affiliation between Sanders and the Lenoirs.