COCKE COUNTY, EAST TENNESSEE
COCKE
COUNTY, EAST TENNESSEE
Area: 434 square miles
1990 population: 29,141
1996 population: 31,495
2000 population 33,565
Annual average temperature: 57 degrees
Annual average precipitation: 44.72 inches
Annual average snowfall: 12.7 inches
Average elevation: 1,055 feet
Cocke County is located in the extreme east of Tennessee. Bordered to the north and west by prosperous rural Greene County, industrial burgeoning Hamblen County and overdeveloped resort capital Sevier County, it climbs to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park at its south. Thousands of acres of the county's eastern mountainous areas lie within and around the Cherokee National Forest. Cocke County has a very scant share of the farmlands, industry or tourist traffic enjoyed by its neighbors. It is widely reputed throughout the state, indeed the southeast, to be populated by people who are backward, hostile and even criminal.
In fact, the people of Cocke County are resourceful, tolerant and marvelously expressive. They are in tune with their natural surroundings and extremely caring of their neighbors. A tightly woven social infrastructure and effective communication have resulted from the rapid succession of generations created through traditional teen-age motherhood.
Updated Information on Cocke County
Newport/CockeCounty
Chamber of Commerce
Description
& Statistics November 1996
Cocke County is one of the most economically depressed counties in the nation, with one of the highest teen pregnancy rates of any county, including those with large urban populations.
County-wide reported cases of abused and neglected children in 1995 was 17.5 per 1,000 as compared with the state's 9.1.
A third of the adult population lacks a high school education. Functional illiteracy is common. (1993 figures show county-wide 4,300 adults with reading skills below 6th grade and 5,400 with 6th to 9th grade skills.)
Teacher salaries and school system expenditures per student are among the lowest in the U.S. In the '90's, residents have come to expect the arrival of numerous "outsiders" moving into county communities, building upscale homes, often taking better-paying jobs, desirous of changing familiar landscapes and ways of living in the name of "development." Local resistance to this influx of newcomers has resulted in many incidents of vandalism and intentional littering which are an unfortunate and ineffective response to the unavoidable changes.
Newport is the county seat. Traditionally African-American neighborhoods within and around Newport include Jaybird, Jones Hill, Gum Springs, Jimtown. Statistics are not available by race in most categories.
There are approximately 400 registered African-American voters in the city of Newport. 1990 census figures list 85% of live births to African-American mothers as illegitimate.
Literacy problems exist against a cultural background wherein personal abilities and human accomplishments other than reading are more highly prized than literacy. Traditional attitudes often reflect the notion that an intelligent person doesn't need an education and that books interfere with "real" work.
"Cocke County has the highest rate of juvenile commitments in Tennessee based on youth population in 1994-5, according to recent reports," states the September 6th, 1996 Newport Plain Talk. The county juvenile judge reported that these statistics only represent about 60% of the actual cases, which include an alarming number of violent crimes and drug-related offenses. The Tanner Building parking lot has an after-hours reputation in the region as a drug marketplace, as hangout for thugs and the frequent scene of open-air crap games. Other than sports and church activities, there are limited activities for families. Neighborhood Community Center is not fully utilized by the African-American community because of entrance fees and perceived intolerance on the part of center staff.
The Economy of Newport has been historically based on light manufacturing, service, food canning with some governmental employment. Surrounding industrial and tourist areas offer some jobs. Employment within the African-American community is largely in manufacturing with token representation in government service. 1990 census figures indicate a medium income in Newport of $15,885 per household with 37.4% of school-age children living in poverty. With local unemployment figures consistently double-digit, the county's largest employer, Hunt Foods, recently announced layoffs of half that company's labor force.
Del Rio lies within the high reaches of eastern Cocke County and touches North Carolina at its 4000-foot peaks. Del Rio is traditionally regarded, within Cocke County itself, as being most exemplary of those stereotypical characteristics wrongfully ascribed to Southern Appalachian children by the outside world. 924 registered voters reside in about a thousand Del Rio households that dot the creeks and "hollers;" half the 150-square-mile community lies within the broken, irregular boundaries of the Cherokee National Forest and state-managed corporate woodlands. Poverty, highland terrain and lack of dependable transportation limit the social and cultural opportunities for residents. Del Rio has a reputation in the region as a volume producer of potent marijuana with actual arrests for contraband at a minimum.
The economy of Del Rio has historically seen tobacco, hog-raising, logging, corn, and its distilled derivative providing cash income to supplement the family homestead. A limited number of jobs in the community have been intermittently available in furniture manufacturing since the '60's. A 30- to 90-minute drive leads many residents to low-paying factory or service employment. "Tobacco pays the bills" is an axiom threatened by modern political, market and medical realities.
1990 census figures indicate a median income in Del Rio of $14,505 per household with 37.5% of school-age children living in poverty. 1996 Del Rio Elementary School enrollment averaging 170-180 students (with some fluctuation representing migrant worker populations) includes approximately 80% receiving free or reduced price meals under federal guidelines. Del Rio had always provided a dependable labor source for the local canning industry which was originally established by Del Rio's Stokely family, but now faces the Hunt's layoff troubles.
For any questions concerning the above subject matter please send e-mail to: cockecounty@easttncontact.org