Cumberland Gap, Tennessee

Cumberland Gap, Tennessee
—  Town  —
Location of Cumberland Gap, Tennessee
Coordinates: 36°35′56″N 83°40′2″W / 36.59889°N 83.66722°W / 36.59889; -83.66722Coordinates: 36°35′56″N 83°40′2″W / 36.59889°N 83.66722°W / 36.59889; -83.66722
Country	United States
State	Tennessee
County	Claiborne
Area
– Total	0.3 sq mi (0.8 km2)
– Land	0.3 sq mi (0.8 km2)
– Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	1,299 ft (396 m)
Population (2010)
– Total	494
– Density	1,646.7/sq mi (635.8/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
– Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes	37724, 37752
Area code(s)	423
FIPS code	47-18880[1]
GNIS feature ID	1281829[2]
Website	Town of Cumberland Gap Website

Cumberland Gap is a town in Claiborne County, Tennessee, near the Cumberland Gap pass, the Cumberland Gap Tunnel, and the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. The population was 494 at the 2010 census.

History

In 1888, a work camp was established at Cumberland Gap by Scottish-born entrepreneur Alexander Arthur (1846–1912) to house workers needed to build a tunnel for the Knoxville, Cumberland Gap & Louisville Railroad. Arthur, who was attempting to establish a large-scale iron production operation in the Cumberland Gap region, founded the nearby cities of Middlesboro, Kentucky and Harrogate, Tennessee, and the nearby community of Arthur, Tennessee.^[3]

Geography

Cumberland Gap is located at 36°35′56″N 83°40′2″W / 36.59889°N 83.66722°W / 36.59889; -83.66722 (36.598976, -83.667318)^[4].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.3 square miles (0.78 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 204 people, 89 households, and 51 families residing in the town. The population density was 629.9 people per square mile (246.1/km²). There were 111 housing units at an average density of 342.8 per square mile (133.9/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 99.02% White and 0.98% Native American.

There were 89 households out of which 25.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.2% were married couples living together, 6.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.6% were non-families. 34.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 3.06.

The age distribution was 21.1% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 30.9% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 14.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 90.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $36,250, and the median income for a family was $40,625. Males had a median income of $36,250 versus $17,083 for females. The per capita income for the town was $12,005. About 9.3% of families and 23.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.7% of those under the age of eighteen and 28.6% of those sixty five or over.

Notable residents

• Rodney Atkins - country singer with five number 1 singles

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
2. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
3. ^ Carolyn Sakowski, Touring the East Tennessee Backroads (Winston-Salem: J.F. Blair, 1993), pp. 178-179.
4. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23.