Niota

History

The community was originally called "Mouse Creek," but was renamed in 1897 to avoid confusion with a railroad stop in Jefferson City that was named "Mossy Creek." The name "Niota" was based on the name of a fictional character in a dime novel, a Native American chief named "Nee-o-tah." The Niota Depot, built in 1854 for the East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad, is the oldest standing railroad depot in Tennessee. It currently serves as Niota City Hall. In 1988, a group of women, later dubbed the “Golden Girls of Niota”, led a successful city council election campaign and became one of the first all-female city councils in the United States and the only one at the time. The group ran as the People’s Choice Party and was led by 78-year old Mayor Effie Lones, the oldest elected female official in the country at the time of her election. Every member of the Golden Girls was a grandmother. 4 of the candidates were elected via write-in votes, and they handed out sample ballots prior to Election Day to familiarize voters with the write-in process.

Geography

Niota is located at (35.514230, -84.547132). The city is situated along US Route 11 between Sweetwater and Athens. Tennessee State Route 309 connects the city with Interstate 75 to the west. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,967
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,960
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  1,890
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,863
• Eastern Bluebird

  Sialia sialis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,860
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  1,806
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,762
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  1,629

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2025-08-19
  6 km SE of Seymour, Tennessee
• M 2.57 — 2025-07-10
  2 km E of Greenback, Tennessee
• M 4.1 — 2025-05-10
  21 km SE of Greenback, Tennessee
• M 2.51 — 2024-08-05
  4 km SSE of Sevierville, Tennessee
• M 2.58 — 2024-03-10
  14 km W of Graysville, Tennessee
• M 2.58 — 2024-02-29
  9 km NNW of Graysville, Tennessee