Jasper

History

Jasper is named for William Jasper, a Revolutionary War hero from South Carolina. The town was established on land leased for $1 from Elizabeth "Betsy" Pack, daughter of Chief John Lowery and the esteemed Cherokee woman Nannie Watts. Descendants and friends of the family gather semi-annually to place flowers at the courthouse marker. The town's main north-south street, which follows a section of Tennessee State Route 150, has been named in her honor.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and (1.42%) is water. The town lies in the southwestern Sequatchie Valley in a relatively flat area surrounded by steep escarpments of the Cumberland Plateau on the north and west, low hills on the east, and Guntersville Lake (part of the Tennessee River) on the south. The Sequatchie River flows just east of the town, and empties into the Tennessee River at the town's southeastern boundary. Kimball borders Jasper to the southwest. Jasper's courthouse square lies at the intersection of U.S. Route 72 (Main Street) and Tennessee State Route 150 (Betsy Pack Drive). US-72 (which runs concurrently with U.S. Route 64 and U.S. Route 41 in Jasper) connects the town with Chattanooga to the southeast and Kimball, South Pittsburg, and Alabama to the southwest. State Route 150 connects Jasper with the Grundy County area atop the Plateau to the northwest. Tennessee State Route 28, part of the primary north-south corridor in the Sequatchie Valley, intersects US-72 in southeastern Jasper. Interstate 24 passes through Jasper's southern outskirts.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Jasper Elementary School
  Elementary · Jasper · 629 students · 17:1 ratio
• South Pittsburg Elementary
  Elementary · South Pittsburg · 521 students · 17.4:1 ratio
• Whitwell Elementary
  Elementary · Whitwell · 492 students · 16.4:1 ratio
• Marion Co High School
  High · Jasper · 491 students · 14.4:1 ratio
• Jasper Middle School
  Middle · Jasper · 491 students · 18.9:1 ratio
• South Pittsburg High School
  High · South Pittsburg · 425 students · 17:1 ratio
• Whitwell High School
  High · Whitwell · 343 students · 14.9:1 ratio
• Whitwell Middle School
  Middle · Whitwell · 308 students · 17.1:1 ratio