Laurel Bloomery, Tennessee Explained

Official Name:Laurel Bloomery
Settlement Type:Unincorporated community
Pushpin Map:Tennessee#USA
Pushpin Label:Laurel Bloomery
Pushpin Label Position:left
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Johnson County
Timezone:Eastern (EST)
Utc Offset:-5
Timezone Dst:EDT
Utc Offset Dst:-4
Coordinates:36.5661°N -81.7594°W
Elevation Ft:2411
Postal Code Type:ZIP code
Postal Code:37680
Area Code:423
Blank Name:FIPS code
Blank Info:47-41100
Blank1 Name:GNIS feature ID
Blank1 Info:1328639[1]

Laurel Bloomery is an unincorporated community in Johnson County, Tennessee. Settled in the early 19th century, the community's first bloomery forge mill was built and began operation in 1810.The mill was closed in 1870, but portions are still standing today. The area is known for its beautiful mountains and secluded valleys.

Laurel Bloomery is the northeasternmost community in the state of Tennessee.[2]

Old Time Fiddler's Convention

See also: Music of East Tennessee.

The Old Time Fiddler's Convention is held the Saturday before Labor Day weekend at the Old Mill Music Park. Local musicians travel far and wide to attend this festival, marked with old time folk and bluegrass music. It marks the annual anniversary of the Mountain City Fiddlers Convention of 1925, held in nearby Mountain City.[3] [4]

Pioneering fiddler G. B. Grayson is buried in Gentry Cemetery, in Laurel Bloomery. He mentions Laurel Bloomery in the 1928 Victor recording of the song Train 45: "I'm a goin' to Laurel Bloomery, Tennessee, Henry..."[5]

Education

Laurel Elementary School is the primary school in the Laurel Bloomery community.[6] The school houses grades K-6 with an approximate enrollment of 70 students. The school started in the early 20th century in a small, one-room building and housed grades K-12. It continued to house grades K-8 until the 1970s, when middle and high schools were built in the Mountain City section of Johnson county.

Notes and References

  1. 1328639. Laurel Bloomery, Tennessee. 2013-04-27.
  2. . Johnson County, Tennessee General Highway Map . PDF . 2003 . 28 April 2013 .
  3. Book: Fiddlin' Charlie Bowman: An East Tennessee Old-time Music Pioneer and his Musical Family . University of Tennessee Press . Cox, Bob L. . 2007 . 978-1-57233-566-0.
  4. http://www.clarenceashley.com/music/fiddlers.html A Fiddler's Convention in Mountain City
  5. Book: 78 Blues: Folksongs and Phonographs in the American South . University Press of Mississippi . Minton, John . 2008 . 134–135 . 978-1-934110-19-5.
  6. http://www.laurel.k12tn.net/ Laurel Elementary School