Whitwell

History

The town that became Whitwell was originally known as Cheekville, but renamed "Whitwell" for Thomas Whitwell, a British metallurgist, inventor and co-founder of the Southern States Coal, Iron and Land Company, who was killed in an accident in his own ironworks in Thornaby in 1878. Whitwell was incorporated as a city in 1956, having grown as a mining town due to the abundance of coal in the mountains near the town. In 1981, there was a major mining accident when 13 coal miners were killed in an explosion. A full list of the names of those killed in the mine explosion is on a monument at Whitwell High School. Whitwell also has an annual Labor Day celebration that has been celebrated for over 50 consecutive years.

Geography

Whitwell is located at (35.197570, −85.519082). It is situated in the southwestern Sequatchie Valley at the base of a relatively steep escarpment of the Cumberland Plateau. The Sequatchie River passes just east of the city, and forms a portion of its southeastern boundary. Tennessee State Route 28 (Hudson Street), which forms part of the main north–south corridor in the valley, connects Whitwell with Dunlap to the north and Jasper to the south. State Route 283 connects Whitwell with Powells Crossroads across the Sequatchie river to the east, and State Route 108 (South Main Street) connects Whitwell with Grundy County atop the Plateau to the northwest. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and 0.30% is water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,673
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  4,169
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  4,074
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  3,933
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  3,436
• Downy Woodpecker

  Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  3,344
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,270
• Eastern Bluebird

  Sialia sialis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,117

Largest nearby schools

• Jasper Elementary School
  Elementary · Jasper · 629 students · 17:1 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
• Whitwell High School
  High · Whitwell · 343 students · 14.9:1 ratio
• Whitwell Middle School
  Middle · Whitwell · 308 students · 17.1:1 ratio
• Marion Virtual High School
  High · Jasper · 31 students · 1.1:1 ratio
• Marion Virtual Elementary School
  Elementary · Jasper · 5 students · 1.7:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.58 — 2025-02-25
  8 km N of Menlo, Georgia
• M 2.58 — 2024-03-10
  14 km W of Graysville, Tennessee
• M 2.58 — 2024-02-29
  9 km NNW of Graysville, Tennessee
• M 2.5 — 2023-12-23
  7 km ENE of Stevenson, Alabama
• M 2.52 — 2023-06-21
  6 km SSE of Sewanee, Tennessee
• M 2.94 — 2022-01-21
  16 km NNE of Eton, Georgia