Bean Station

History

In 1775, pioneers Daniel Boone and William Bean observed the future site of Bean Station from the top of Clinch Mountain while on a hunting-and-surveying excursion. During the American Revolutionary War, Bean served as a captain for the Virginia militia; in 1776, he was awarded over in the German Creek valley, where he had earlier surveyed and camped with Boone. The inn and its surrounding area were variously called Bean's Cabin, Bean's Crossroads, and Bean's Station. Following Bean's death in May 1782, his sons expanded the homestead into a frontier outpost that included the Bean family cabin, a tavern, and a blacksmith's shop they operated. This heavily trafficked crossroads location made Bean Station an important stopover for early American travelers. Additional taverns and inns were operating at the station by the early 1800s. By 1821, the pathway of Wilderness Road from Cumberland Gap to Bean Station was established as the privately owned Bean Station Turnpike and received state funding due to its importance for early interstate travel in the Appalachia region. Throughout the 1800s, Bean Station attracted the attention of merchants and businessmen. In 1825, Thomas Whiteside constructed Bean Station Tavern, a large tavern with a 40-room capacity, wine cellar, and ballroom. The tavern was one of the largest of its time between New Orleans and Washington, D.C.; the tavern housed several famous guests, including U.S. Presidents Andrew Jackson, Andrew Johnson, and James K. Polk. During the American Civil War, the Battle of Bean's Station took place in the westernmost area of the community on December 14, 1863. Confederate Army General James Longstreet attempted to capture Bean Station en route to Rogersville after failing to drive Union forces out of Knoxville.…

Geography

Bean Station is located in rural easternmost Grainger County, northeast of Knoxville, where it borders the unincorporated community of Mooresburg at the line between Grainger and Hawkins Counties. The town is situated in the Richland Valley, which is also known as Mooresburg Valley, with Clinch Mountain to the north and Cherokee Lake to the south. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Bean Station has an area of , of which (0.01%) is covered with water. and along US 11W to Bean Station Elementary School. Since 2014, portions of unincorporated Hawkins County in the Mooresburg area have been annexed into the town limits. * Bayside * Campbell Heights * Clinchview Landing * Country Club Hills * Crosby Park * Gammon Springs * Hillview Acres * Lakeview Estates * Leon Rock * Livingston Heights * Meadow Branch * Meadow Creek Estates * Shields Crossing * Tanglewood * Tate Springs * Wyatt Village

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  2,543
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,500
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,358
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,342
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,181
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  2,152
• Eastern Bluebird

  Sialia sialis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,127
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  2,112

Most recent

• M 2.6 — 2026-01-04
  11 km SW of Middlesboro, Kentucky
• M 2.5 — 2025-08-19
  6 km SE of Seymour, Tennessee
• M 2.51 — 2024-08-05
  4 km SSE of Sevierville, Tennessee
• M 2.74 — 2024-05-22
  18 km SSE of Hyden, Kentucky
• M 2.57 — 2023-06-25
  Kentucky-Tennessee border region
• M 2.72 — 2023-06-24
  3 km S of Blaine, Tennessee