Blount County is a U.S. county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Its population was 105,823 at the United States Census, 2000. The 2006 Census Estimate placed the population at 118,186 [1]. The county seat is at Maryville, which is also the county's largest city.
It is included in the Knoxville, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History
Most of the early settlers were of very little means, existing on subsistence-based agriculture throughout the early years of the county's establishment. The first industry to make its mark on Blount County, as in other neighboring counties, was that of lumber. It was the massive development of this industry in the mountains of east Blount that, in part, led to the creation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which includes the southeastern portion of the county. Today manufacturing is [4]

Economy
The following list consists of the current elected members of the Blount County government[5]:



Commissioners: David Ballard, Tonya Burchfield, Gary Farmer, Ronald French, David Graham, Steve Hargis, Brad Harrison, Mark Hasty, Scott Helton, John Keeble, Gerald Kirby, Holden Lail, Mike Lewis, Joe McCulley, Kenneth Melton, Monika Murrell, Bob Profitt, Robert Ramsey, Wendy Pitts Reeves, Steve Samples, and Mike Walker Government
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 567 square miles (1,468 km²), of which, 559 square miles (1,447 km²) of it is land and 8 square miles (21 km²) of it (1.43%) is water.
The foothills of the Appalachian Mountains determine much of Blount County's landscape, with a segment of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park extending into southeastern Blount County. In addition to the dominant mountains, the Little Tennessee River flows through the county and forms several man-made lakes created by the Tennessee Valley Authority.

Geography

Knox County, Tennessee - north
Sevier County, Tennessee - east
Swain County, North Carolina - south
Graham County, North Carolina - southwest
Monroe County, Tennessee - southwest
Loudon County, Tennessee - west Geographical features
As of the census² of 2000, there were 105,823 people, 42,667 households, and 30,634 families residing in the county. The population density was 190 people per square mile (73/km²). There were 47,059 housing units at an average density of 84 per square mile (33/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 94.73% White, 2.91% Black or African American, 0.29% Native American, 0.72% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.34% from other races, and 0.99% from two or more races. 1.06% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 42,667 households out of which 30.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.40% were married couples living together, 10.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.20% are classified as non-families by the United States Census Bureau. Of the 42,667 households, 1,384 are unmarried partner households: 1,147 heterosexual, 107 same-sex male, 130 same-sex female. 24.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.88.
In the county, the population was spread out with 22.80% under the age of 18, 8.30% from 18 to 24, 29.40% from 25 to 44, 25.40% from 45 to 64, and 14.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 93.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.80 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $37,862, and the median income for a family was $45,038. Males had a median income of $31,877 versus $23,007 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,416. About 7.30% of families and 9.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.30% of those under age 18 and 9.10% of those age 65 or over.

Demographics

Infrastructure
In addition to the federally operated Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which draws many visitors to the county each year, Blount County operates numerous smaller community parks and recreation centers, primarily in the cities of Alcoa and Maryville. Some of these facilities include[6]:

Amerine Park (Maryville)
Bassell Courts (Alcoa)
Eagleton Park (Maryville)
Everett Athletic Complex (Maryville)
Everett Park/Everett Senior Center (Maryville)
Howe Street Park (Alcoa)
John Sevier Park/Pool (Maryville)
Louisville Point Park (Louisville)
Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center (Alcoa)
Oldfield Mini Park (Alcoa)
Pearson Springs Park (Maryville)
Pole Climbers Athletic Fields (Alcoa)
Richard Williams Park (Alcoa)
Rock Garden Park (Alcoa)
Sandy Springs Park (Maryville)
Springbrook Park/Pool (Alcoa) Parks
See Blount County Schools for a full list of county schools. The cities of Maryville and Alcoa operate separate, independent school systems.
Blount County is home to two post-secondary educational institutions: Maryville College, in downtown Maryville, and a satellite campus of Knoxville-based Pellissippi State Technical Community College, referred to as Pellissippi State Technical Community College, Blount County Campus.

Schools, Colleges and Universities

Transportation
Blount County is served by the East Tennessee Human Resource Agency's Public Transit system. ETHRA, as it is commonly referred to, operates over sixteen counties in eastern Tennessee, and is headquartered in the nearby city of Loudon. The service offers residents of any of the counties covered by ETHRA door-to-door pickup transportation across its service area by request only[7].

Paratransit
TYS, McGhee Tyson Airport

Highways

Alcoa
Eagleton Village (unincorporated)
Friendsville
Happy Valley (unincorporated)
Louisville
Maryville
Rockford
Seymour (unincorporated)
Townsend
Walland (unincorporated)