Mount Carmel

History

Mount Carmel is in Hawkins County, which was once called Spencer county, and was a part of the State of Franklin. The State of Franklin comprised eight counties in western North Carolina in the late 1700s. Governed by John Sevier, it operated as an independent state for four years before it ultimately rejoined North Carolina. Mount Carmel once garnered national attention in the mid-2000s because of a CBS News story stating the town's geography is situated on only one side of the main highway through the area. Since then, the city has secured property on the other side of the road and has built a cemetery. Since the 1980s, the community has faced economic hardship due to political turmoil in its government operations, and the outsourcing of its retail and municipal services to neighboring Church Hill and Kingsport. In 2020, the city would begin discussions of connecting to either of the two cities' sewer systems following the Mount Carmel sewer plant going insolvent. Calls for Mount Carmel to merge into Kingsport or Church Hill have been raised since 2021 because of the financial instability.

Geography

Mount Carmel is located in eastern Hawkins County at (36.565666, -82.653265). It is bordered to the east by the city of Kingsport and to the west by the city of Church Hill. U.S. Route 11W is the main highway through the town, leading east into Kingsport and southwest to Rogersville, the Hawkins county seat. According to the United States Census Bureau, Mount Carmel has a total area of , of which , or 0.11%, are water.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Volunteer High School
  High · Church Hill · 1,045 students · 14.1:1 ratio
• George Washington Elementary School
  Elementary · Kingsport · 503 students · 15.7:1 ratio
• Church Hill Intermediate School
  Middle · Church Hill · 372 students · 15.5:1 ratio
• Church Hill Middle School
  Middle · Church Hill · 350 students · 12.5:1 ratio
• Carter's Valley Elementary
  Elementary · Church Hill · 332 students · 12.8:1 ratio
• Church Hill Elementary
  Elementary · Church Hill · 328 students · 13.7:1 ratio
• Mt Carmel Elementary
  Elementary · Mt Carmel · 272 students · 12.4:1 ratio