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Feature article
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Rogersville’s history still visible in town
By Jeff Bobo
Although motorized vehicles have replaced horses and wagons, downtown Rogersville and its abundance of nearby historic buildings and residences still looks much like they did in the 19th century.
Rogersville, the second oldest city in Tennessee and home to the state’s first newspaper, was settled in 1775 by the grandparents of Davy Crockett.
The city’s namesake and founder, Joseph Rogers, was an Irishman who was given the land upon which the town was established as a wedding gift from his father-in-law, Revolutionary War hero Thomas Amis.
Rogersville is home to the oldest courthouse, inn and post office in Tennessee. It was here that the state's first newspaper was published in 1791.
The entire downtown area and most of the adjacent neighborhoods are on the National Register of Historic Places.
The city is also home to the world-famous Ebbing and Flowing Springs which ebbs and flows at regular intervals, just like the tide. There is only one other spot on Earth where a similar phenomenon has been observed.
Rogersville’s annual Heritage Days festival every October attracts in excess of 40,000 people. On the second weekend in October the streets downtown are blocked off and visitors enjoy arts and crafts, food, music and other attractions.
Rogersville’s Fourth of July celebration held annually in the Rogersville City Park is also one of the regions most attended events in the region, with a country music superstar headlining a day of music and other activities.
Another popular annual festival in Rogersville is the Shakespeare and Friends: Renaissance Faire celebrating the Renaissance during a two-day festival in the Crockett Springs Park in downtown Rogersville.
Rogersville is home to the TRW Industries and Rockwell Automation plants and other industrial jobs are available at the Phipps Bend Industrial Park 12 miles away.
Two different school systems serve Rogersville including the K-8 Rogersville City School System and the Hawkins County School System which, inside the city limits, includes Joseph Rogers Primary School, Hawkins Elementary School, Rogersville Middle School, and just south of the city limits, Cherokee High School.
The H.B. Stamps Memorial Library offers 44,917 books, 1,246 audio materials, 1,501 video materials, 138 serial subscriptions and the county’s best genealogy resources.
The Chamber of Commerce lists 30 restaurants and three motels inside the city limits, not including the historic Hale Springs Inn — built in 1824 and rest stop for three presidents — which is currently under renovation.
Rogersville’s main courthouse, built in 1836, is the oldest courthouse in Tennessee still in use.
Rogersville and Hawkins County were home to pioneers in the printing industry throughout the 19th and early to mid-20th centuries, a heritage which is remembered in the Tennessee Newspaper and Printing Museum located in the city’s former train depot.
Rogersville
2000 population -- 4,240
Total households -- 2,037
Own home -- 54%
Married couples with children -- 13%
Married couples with no children -- 30%
High school graduate or higher 64%
Bachelor’s degree or higher 10%
Per capita income $16,940
Note: Percentages have been rounded off.
Source: Census 2000
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