Graysville is a town in Rhea County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 1,471 at the 2020 census and 1,502 at the 2010 census.

History

thumb|left|upright|Graysville Academy, established in 1892 in Graysville, was a [[Seventh-day Adventist institution that was later to become Southern Adventist University.]]

Graysville is named for William Gray, an early settler who was appointed postmaster in 1875. The town expanded in the 1880s, when the arrival of the railroad brought coal extraction industries to the area. During this period, the Dayton Coal and Iron Company established a major operation at Graysville. Coal mined nearby was converted into coke, which in turn was used to fuel two blast furnaces to produce pig iron. This operation continued until the Great Depression brought about a general collapse in the industry in the 1930s.

Geography

Graysville is located at (35.447848, -85.082437). It is situated along Roaring Creek between Walden Ridge (an escarpment of the Cumberland Plateau) and Blackoak Ridge, just north of the Rhea-Hamilton line.

2020 census

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right"

|+Graysville racial composition

!scope="col"| Race

!scope="col"| Number

!scope="col"| Percentage

|-

!scope="row"| White (non-Hispanic)

| 1,286

| 87.42%

|-

!scope="row"| Black or African American (non-Hispanic)

| 14

| 0.95%

|-

!scope="row"| Native American

| 9

| 0.61%

|-

!scope="row"| Asian

| 5

| 0.34%

|-

!scope="row"| Other/Mixed

| 77

| 5.23%

|-

!scope="row"| Hispanic or Latino

| 80

| 5.44%

|}

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,471 people, 669 households, and 428 families residing in the town.

2000 census

As of the census Graysville Elementary School is in the community, though it has a Dayton address. The district's sole high school is Rhea County High School.

References

  • Official site