Bean Station, Tennessee


Bean Station is a town in Grainger and Hawkins counties in the state of Tennessee, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 2,826.
Bean Station is located primarily at the junction of U.S. Route 11W and U.S. Route 25E, in the easternmost part of Grainger County. It is considered a popular lakeside resort town appealing to retirees and tourists, and a commuter town for the city of Morristown in neighboring Hamblen County.
It is part of both the Knoxville Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Morristown Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Early years and settlement

Bean Station was settled as a frontier outpost established in the late 1780s by the sons of William Bean, one of the earliest settlers in Tennessee. The land had likely been observed by Bean while on a long hunting excursion with Daniel Boone years prior. The outpost was situated at the intersection of the Old Wilderness Road, a north–south pathway that roughly followed what is present-day U.S. Route 25E, and the Old Stage Road, an east–west pathway that roughly followed what is now U.S. Route 11W. This heavily trafficked crossroads location made Bean Station an important stopover for early travelers, with taverns and inns were operating at the station by the early 1800s.

Battle of Bean’s Station and the Civil War

During the Civil War, the Battle of Bean's Station took place in the westernmost area of the community on December 14, 1863. Confederate Army General, James Longstreet, attempted to capture Bean Station en route to Rogersville after failing to drive Union forces out of Knoxville. Bean Station was held by a contingent of Union soldiers under the command of General James M. Shackelford. After two days of gruesome fighting, Union forces were forced to retreat.

Construction of Cherokee Dam and relocation

The construction of Cherokee Dam by the Tennessee Valley Authority several miles downstream along the Holston River in 1941 had plans that included impounding the site where the town was originally settled.
In 1941, officials from TVA and concerned community members gathered to discuss the future of the town and its relocation efforts. A planning commission from the state government and TVA personnel developed plans for sites for Bean Station to relocate to. After controversy arose from negotiations from unwilling property owners and reluctance from citizens to relocate as a community, the planned community relocation project was abandoned, with the citizens relocating on their own will.
Many citizens were relocated and many houses and other structures were demolished or moved. A large portion of the community was impounded, and at least one historical structure had to be relocated.

1950s to present day

1972 US-11W bus/semi-truck collision

On May 13, 1972, 14 people were killed and 15 injured in a head-on collision between a double-decker Greyhound bus and a tractor-trailer on U.S. Route 11W in Bean Station during its unincorporated era. The accident is considered one of the deadliest and worst traffic collisions in the history of the state of Tennessee. The accident led to outcry from politicians and citizens calling for traffic safety and infrastructure improvements, such as highway widenings, and the completion of Interstate 81 in Tennessee.

Incorporation and present day

Bean Station was municipally incorporated in 1996.
On May 23, 2013, an ex-police officer for the town shot four people in a pharmacy in downtown Bean Station, killing two. The following day, a vigil was held for the two victims with an estimated attendance of 300 individuals.

Geography

Bean Station is located in rural easternmost Grainger County, where it borders the unincorporated community of Mooresburg at the line between Grainger and Hawkins counties. The town is situated in the Richland Valley with Clinch Mountain to the north and Cherokee Lake to the south. In the western of portion of Bean Station adjacent to Kingswood Home for Children on the Tate Springs resort site, two major highways merge, with U.S. Route 25E entering from the northwest, and U.S. Route 11W entering from the southwest. From this point, US-25E leads over Clinch Mountain to Tazewell in Claiborne County, while US-11W runs west through the Richland Valley to Rutledge, the seat of Grainger County. The highways split again just south of Bean Station's central business district, with 11W bypassing the business district and continining northeastward to Rogersville, and 25E continuing southward across Cherokee Lake into Hamblen County, to Morristown.
Tennessee State Route 375 also intersects US-25E south of the business district, which traverses into several of Bean Station’s affluent outskirt lakefront neighborhoods and subdivisions.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Bean Station has an area of, of which, or 0.01%, are water. The town limits include Wyatt Village, located next to an arm of Cherokee Lake along US-25E south of downtown. The town limits stretch along US-25E to Olen R. Marshall Bridge across Cherokee Lake, and along US-11W to Bean Station Elementary School.

Neighborhoods

Demographics

Population

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 2,826 people, 1,149 households, and 827 families residing in the town.

Ethnicity

96.8% were White, 0.6% Black or African American, 0.5% Native American, 0.1% Asian and 0.7% of two or more races. 2.3% were Hispanic or Latino.

Age distribution

The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.88. 25% of households had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.8% were married couples living together, 6.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 13.9% were female householders with no husband present. 28% of households were non-families. The median age of residents in the town was 47.8. 21.7% of residents were under the age of 18, and 16.2% were age 65 years or older.

Economy

Retail and commerce

In its retail and commercial markets, Bean Station has a small selection of restaurants and stores. A family-operated IGA Market is the only grocery store in Bean Station area.

Industry and manufacturing

Bean Station is home to a furniture manufacturing facility, a Clayton Homes manufacturing facility, and a construction materials supplier.

Commuting

72% of the town’s population commute outside of Grainger County for work, with most finding employment in Morristown. The average commute time for Bean Station residents is 24 minutes.

Wastewater controversy

A 2018 report prepared for Bean Station said that a public sewer system would create "growth opportunities" for the town, and reduce septic system failures. In 2011 and 2019, Bean Station Town Council did not supported spending on a new sewer system. In 2020, the cost was estimated at $5 million.

Arts and culture

Since 1996, the town hosts an annual harvest festival in its downtown district celebrating the area's agricultural and craftsmanship scenes. The festival attracts hundreds of festival-goers and tourists alike every third weekend in October.
In 2007, the town made national headlines after breaking a Guinness World Record for the world's largest pot of beans at the 11th annual Harvest Pride festival, with the pot holding 600 gallons of baked beans.

Parks and recreation

Parks and public recreation areas include:

Municipal

Bean Station uses the mayor-aldermen system, which was established in 1996 when the town was incorporated. It is governed locally by a five-member Board of Mayor and Aldermen.
The citizens elect the mayor and four aldermen to four-year terms. The board elects a vice mayor from among the four aldermen.

State

Bean Station is represented in the 35th District of the Tennessee House of Representatives by Jerry Sexton, a Republican.
It is represented in the 8th District of the Tennessee Senate by Frank Niceley, also a Republican.

Federal

Bean Station is represented in the United States House of Representatives by Republican Tim Burchett of the 2nd congressional district.

Education

Bean Station Elementary School, located at the westernmost part of the town, is operated by the Grainger County Department of Education. Elementary students attend Bean Station Elementary, middle school students attend Rutledge Middle, and high school students attend Grainger High School in Rutledge, along with other students in the Grainger County Schools District, excluding the Washburn area.

Media

Newspaper

The 1981 horror film, The Evil Dead, had filmed a part of its opening scene in the northern Grainger County, and in Bean Station along Old U.S. Route 25E near Bean Station Elementary School.

Notable people