Norris is a city in Anderson County, Tennessee. Its population was 1,599 at the 2020 census. It is included in the Knoxville, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Norris was built as a model planned community by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in 1933 to house workers building Norris Dam on the Clinch River. It is named in honor of George W. Norris, a Senator from Nebraska, who was a long-term supporter of the TVA.
History
TVA chairman Arthur Morgan envisioned Norris as a model of cooperative, egalitarian living. The city design was developed by TVA staff, who loosely based their design on the English garden city movement of the 1890s. Winding roads followed the contour of the terrain. Houses did not always face the street. A central common green and a belt of rural land around the town were reserved for use by residents. The houses, which were some of the first all-electric homes, were built using local wood and stone, according to twelve basic house designs that each included a porch and fireplace. Different exterior materials were used for visual variety.
left|210px|thumb|Hydraulics laboratory building in the 1930s
Norris represents the first use of greenbelt design principles in a self-contained town in the United States. The town was the first in Tennessee to have a complete system of dial telephones. Norris Creamery was the first milk-producing plant in the world to be powered solely by electricity.
In 1948 the U.S. Congress directed that the city be sold at public auction. It was purchased for $2.1 million ($ in dollars ) by a Philadelphia investment group headed by Henry D. Epstein, which then sold individual homes to their residents. The city was officially incorporated in 1949. In 1953 the Epstein group sold its remaining Norris real estate to a corporation formed by Norris residents and known as the Norris Corporation.
Today Norris primarily serves as a bedroom community for Knoxville and Oak Ridge. is a popular attraction in Norris. Norris is a short distance from Norris Dam State Park, part of which is in the city, and Big Ridge State Park, which include popular camping areas.
Geography
Norris is located in northern Anderson County at (36.199515, −84.069077), on a set of hills south of the Clinch River. U.S. Route 441, the Norris Freeway, arcs around the west side of the city, leading south to Knoxville and northwest to Rocky Top. Interstate 75 passes to the southwest of the city, with access via Tennessee State Route 61 from Exit 122.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land. A large portion of this area is contained in the Norris Municipal Watershed, which has an area of more than and is managed for water supply, recreation, timber production, and wildlife, including deer hunting. There are nearly of recreation trails on the watershed area.
Climate
Demographics
2020 census
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census
! Race !! Number !! Percent
|-
| White || 1,506 || 94.2%
|-
| Black or African American || 6 || 0.4%
|-
| American Indian and Alaska Native || 5 || 0.3%
|-
| Asian || 11 || 0.7%
|-
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 0 || 0.0%
|-
| Some other race || 16 || 1.0%
|-
| Two or more races || 55 || 3.4%
|-
| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 30 || 1.9%
|}
As of the 2020 census, Norris had a population of 1,599 and a median age of 52.1 years; 19.1% of residents were under the age of 18 and 31.5% were 65 years of age or older, and there were 86.6 males for every 100 females and 82.0 males for every 100 females age 18 and over.
The census counted 704 households, of which 24.6% had children under the age of 18 living in them, and 330 families resided in the city. Of all households, 51.0% were married-couple households, 14.1% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present, 31.1% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present, 38.1% were made up of individuals, and 22.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
2010 census
As of the census