Top of the World, Tennessee explained

Official Name:Top of the World
Settlement Type:Unincorporated community
Pushpin Map:Tennessee
Pushpin Label:Top of the World
Pushpin Label Position:left
Pushpin Map Caption:Location within the state of Tennessee
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:United States
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:Tennessee
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Blount
Established Title:Founded
Established Date:1965
Unit Pref:Imperial
Timezone:Eastern (EST)
Utc Offset:-5
Timezone Dst:EDT
Utc Offset Dst:-4
Elevation M:617
Elevation Ft:2024
Coordinates:35.6545°N -83.9104°W
Postal Code Type:ZIP code
Postal Code:37878
Area Code:865
Blank1 Name:GNIS feature ID
Blank1 Info:1272776

Top of the World (alternately, Top O' the World and Top of The World Estates) is an unincorporated community in rural Blount County, Tennessee.

History

The land was originally the home of the Cherokee Nation, who were mostly displaced to Oklahoma along the Trail of Tears in 1838. A grant of was made to Daniel D. Foute in 1837. This included the area now covered by Top of the World, which was purchased by a developer in the early 1960s.[1] Construction of the Top of World Estates by Roy and Charles Headrick was reported by the Knoxville News Sentinel in June 1965.[2] The community surrounds Lake in the Sky, a 52.5acres artificial lake formed by a dam built in 1966. [3]

Geography

The community lies in an area called The Flats, on a spur of Chilhowee Mountain in East Tennessee. The surrounding country is rugged.[4] The Foothills Parkway passes just to the northwest, and the boundary of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park lies just to the southeast.[5] The neighboring park has a natural forest environment of yellow pines and hardwood species. Controlled burns are used to reduce the risk of uncontrolled fires.[6] There is a healthy black bear population.[7]

The community is relatively isolated. The Foothills Parkway is the only road to Top of the World that is passable by school bus.[8] Otherwise it must be accessed by steep and winding secondary roads.[9]

Community

Residents may belong to the Top of the World Landowners' Association (TOWLA). The Blount County Fire Protection District has its station #8 at 5714 Flats Road, on the east shore of the lake.[10] The fire station officially came into service when the TOWLA and the Blount County Fire Protection District signed a contract on 23 March 2012.[11] There is no local school. School children are taken by bus along the Foothills Parkway to nearby Walland.[12] [13] [14] There is no post office in Top of The World. The nearest post office is in Walland.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: G. Douglas Cox . History: The History of Chestnut Tops . 2013-12-20 . Chestnut Tops Community.
  2. Brewer . Carson . 27 June 1965 . Near Smokies Park: 'Top of World' Developed . Knoxville News-Sentinel.
  3. Web site: Arnwine . Deborah H. . Sparks . Kimberly J. . James . Rebecca R. . September 2006 . Probabilistic Monitoring of Streams Below Small Impoundments in Tennessee . dead . https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20131012214523/http://www.tn.gov/environment/water/docs/wpc/isp_report.pdf . 2013-10-12 . 2013-12-19 . Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation . 167.
  4. Book: Tennessee Anthropologist. 77. 1987. Tennessee Anthropological Association.
  5. Web site: Foothills Parkway . BlueRidgeHighlander.com. 2013-12-19.
  6. Web site: Park Plans Prescribed Burns. March 7, 2013 . National Park Service. 2013-12-19.
  7. Web site: Betty. Bean. Bear Baiting. Metro Pulse. Knoxville, Tennessee. 1997 . 2013-12-20.
  8. 'All about power and leverage' -- feds shut down major roadway, block access to graveyard . Starnes. Todd. 7 October 2013. Fox News. 2013-12-19.
  9. Fox News . Tennessee mayor offers to manage national park during partial shutdown. Serrie. Jonathan . 10 October 2013 . 2013-12-19.
  10. Web site: Stations. Blount County Fire Protection District. 2013-12-19.
  11. Web site: Fire Station Operational. Top of The World Landowners' Association. 2013-12-19. https://web.archive.org/web/20131211014008/http://www.topoftheworldtn.com/fire-department/39-news/78-fire-station-operational.html. 2013-12-11. dead.
  12. Blount County school bus route stopped by government shutdown. Ault. Josh. 1 October 2013 . WorldNow. 2013-12-19.
  13. Web site: Bus 49 Resumes Service. Blount County Schools. 2013-12-22. https://web.archive.org/web/20131224091732/http://www.blountk12.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=856:bus-49-resumes-service&catid=112:frontpage-articles. 2013-12-24. dead.
  14. http://www.maryville.wbir.com/news/news/624842-shutdown-inconvenient-for-some-rural-families{{Dead link|date=July 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=no }}