Hohenwald, Tennessee
Hohenwald is a city in
Lewis County, Tennessee. At the
2000 census, the city population was 3,754. It is the
county seat of
Lewis County. The name "Hohenwald" is a German word that means "High Forest". The town was founded in
1878 and later merged with a town named "New Switzerland" to the south. New Switzerland was founded in 1894 by Swiss immigrants in conjunction with the N.C.&St.L. Railroad.
Hohenwald is famous for many things.
Meriwether Lewis, of the
Lewis and Clark Expedition, died and was buried seven miles east of the town at
Grinder's Stand in
1809.
Rod Brasfield, an old
Grand Ol' Opry comedy star, made his home in Hohenwald. Professional ballpayer
Deason "Decon" Loveless came from Hohenwald. David Sisco, who in
1974 placed ninth in points in the
Winston Cup Series, is a native of Hohenwald. The third largest animal trophy mount collection in North America is located at the Lewis County Museum of Local and Natural History in downtown Hohenwald. Hohenwald is also the home of the
Elephant Sanctuary, the largest natural-habitat
sanctuary for
elephants in the United States.
 |
Location of Hohenwald, Tennessee |
Hohenwald is located at (35.549947, -87.555142).
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.3
square kilometers (4.4
square miles), of which all is dry land.
As of the
census of 2000, there were 3,754 people, 1,534 households, and 989 families residing in the city. The
population density was 332.4/km² (861.4/mi²). There were 1,708 housing units at an average density of 151.3/km² (391.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.59%
White, 2.08%
African American, 0.11%
Native American, 0.16%
Asian, 0.32% from
other races, and 0.75% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 1.12% of the population.
There were 1,534 households out of which 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.2% were
married couples living together, 13.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.5% were non-families. 32.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.89.
In the city the population was spread out with 24.6% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 24.6% from 25 to 44, 22.8% from 45 to 64, and 20.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 86.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $24,676, and the median income for a family was $37,609. Males had a median income of $25,863 versus $23,056 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $16,665. About 11.1% of families and 17.6% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 18.0% of those under age 18 and 17.3% of those age 65 or over.
Kenneth Turnbow
