Morgan County is a county in Tennessee, United States, on the Cumberland Plateau between Knoxville and the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area. It had a population of 21,035 at the 2020 census and covers 522 square miles (1,350 km2) of land, centred near 36°08′N 84°38′W.<\/p>\n
Wartburg is the county seat, and its postal code is 37887. The county has three incorporated municipalities (Wartburg, Sunbright and Oakdale), around a dozen unincorporated communities, and no civil townships — Tennessee counties are not divided into townships. Morgan County sits in the Eastern time zone and carries FIPS code 47129.<\/p>\n
Morgan County has three incorporated towns and roughly twenty unincorporated communities and rural settlements. Most residents live outside any incorporated limit, on the ridges and hollows of the plateau. CDP = Census-designated place; Unincorp. = unincorporated community with no formal municipal government.<\/p>\n
| Place<\/th>\n | Type<\/th>\n | Pop.<\/th>\n | ZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wartburg<\/td>\n | City · seat<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 37887<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Sunbright<\/td>\n | Town<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 37872<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Oakdale<\/td>\n | Town<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 37829<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Deer Lodge<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 37726<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Petros<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 37845<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Lancing<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 37770<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Coalfield<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 37719<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Rugby<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 37733<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Annadel<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Burrville<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Joyner<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Midway<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Shady Grove<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Blue Gem<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Catoosa<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Elizabeth<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Flat Rock<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Frankfort<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Glades<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Gobey<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Grove<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| High Point<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Huffman<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Mill Creek<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Nemo<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Oak Hill<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Obed Junction<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Pilot Mountain<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Pine Orchard<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Piney<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Stephens<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Stowers<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Union<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| White Oak<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Winslow<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n Rugby, on the county’s northwestern edge, is best known as Historic Rugby — a Victorian-era colony founded in 1880 that straddles the Morgan-Scott county line, so some directories list it under Scott County instead. Oliver Springs, a nearby resort-era town, lies mostly in Anderson and Roane counties and is not counted here.<\/p>\n ZIP Codes<\/h2>\nSmaller communities such as Annadel, Burrville, Joyner and Midway have no post office of their own and are served by the nearest listed ZIP code.<\/p>\n Geography<\/h2>\nMorgan County sits on the Cumberland Plateau, a landscape of sandstone ridges, deep gorges and hardwood forest cut by the Obed and Emory rivers. The Obed Wild and Scenic River, managed by the National Park Service, runs through the county’s gorge country, and the Cumberland Trail crosses the plateau top. Most of the county is rural and heavily forested; Brushy Mountain, near Petros, is the site of the former Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary.<\/p>\n Morgan County borders Scott County<\/a> to the northeast, Anderson County<\/a> to the east, Roane County<\/a> to the south, Cumberland County<\/a> to the southwest, and Fentress County<\/a> to the northwest.<\/p>\n Morgan County had 21,035 residents at the 2020 census, a density of about 40 people per square mile. Wartburg and Sunbright are the county’s two largest incorporated places. Median household income runs well below the Tennessee median of $67,631, reflecting the county’s rural, mountain-plateau economy and its history tied to coal and corrections employment rather than higher-wage industry.<\/p>\n Morgan County’s economy has historically rested on coal mining, timber and state institutions. The Morgan County Correctional Complex, near Wartburg, and the former Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary site (now open for public tours) have long been major employers, alongside Morgan County Schools and county government. Outdoor recreation tied to the Obed Wild and Scenic River and the Cumberland Trail has grown as a smaller but rising part of the local economy, drawing hikers, paddlers and climbers to the gorge country around Nemo Bridge and Lilly Bluff.<\/p>\n Morgan County was formed in 1817 from parts of Anderson and Roane counties and named for Daniel Morgan, a Revolutionary War general famed for his victory at the Battle of Cowpens. The plateau’s isolation shaped its early economy around subsistence farming and later coal mining, and the state built its main maximum-security prison at Brushy Mountain in 1896, using convict labor to mine coal. On November 10, 2002, a tornado struck the Mossy Grove and Joyner communities, destroying about 50 homes and killing seven people, one of the deadliest tornadoes in the region’s recent history.<\/p>\n State Route 62 and State Route 27 are the county’s main highways, connecting Wartburg to Oak Ridge and the Interstate 40 corridor to the south.<\/p>\n The nearest commercial airport is McGhee Tyson Airport in Alcoa, near Knoxville.<\/p>\n Where is Morgan County, Tennessee?<\/strong> What is the population of Morgan County?<\/strong> How big is Morgan County?<\/strong> What is the county seat of Morgan County?<\/strong> How many towns are in Morgan County?<\/strong> |