Halls Crossroads, Tennessee

Halls Crossroads (known locally as Halls) is an census-designated place in northern Knox County, Tennessee.[3] As a northern suburb of nearby Knoxville,[4] Halls is included in the Knoxville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town takes its name from the Thomas Hall family that settled in the area in the late 18th century.[2]

This article is about the community in Knox County. For the town in Lauderdale County, see Halls, Tennessee.
Halls Crossroads, Tennessee

Halls
Census-designated place
Halls Crossroads
Motto(s): 
"Halls has it"[1]
Halls Crossroads
Location in Tennessee and the United States
Halls Crossroads
Halls Crossroads (the United States)
Coordinates: 36°04′49″N 83°56′33″W
CountryUnited States
StateTennessee
CountyKnox
Settled1796[2]
Founded byThomas Hall
Named forThomas Hall
Elevation1,030 ft (314 m)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP Code
37938
Area code(s)865
GNIS feature ID2804634

History

In 1785, the North Carolina General Assembly passed a bill instructing militiamen to cut and clear a road by the most eligible route to Nashville at least ten feet wide and fit for passage of wagons and carts. This road is now known as Emory Road, which runs along a stretch of Tennessee State Route 131 in the Halls Crossroads area. One of the earliest settlers was Thomas Hall who arrived in the valley around 1796 from Orange County, North Carolina. Hall married Nancy Hais on September 25, 1783, two years after his release from a British prisoner of war camp in Charleston, South Carolina. He fought for freedom and was captured by the British in the Siege of Charleston. For this service the U.S. government presented Hall a parcel of land. It is to this northern side of Black Oak Ridge that Hall settled.[5][6]

Two generations later Thomas Hall's grandson Pulaski went west during the California Gold Rush and settled on a ranch in Oregon. He returned to Halls and married Joyce Hall, September 8, 1859. Pulaski and his family owned and operated one of the first businesses in the Halls area as early as 1860, which included a general store and inn as well as a blacksmith shop. The store was known as Halls Crossroads due to its location at the crossroads of Emory Road and Maynardville Pike, giving the basis for the name behind the unincorporated town.[7][4]

Halls High School was one of the first schools in the area. Founded in 1916, the school was named for Pulaski Hall.[8]

As of the present day, Halls Crossroads has grown into a unincorporated suburban town, with many occupied and unoccupied greyfields.[9] With the recent annexations of land extending near Halls Crossroads, any proposal to annex the community would face conflict from its residents.[9] In the early 2010s, plans were proposed for the redevelopment of many of the community's vacant commercial sites, including a mixed-use town centre, an urban farm, and a greenway system.[10]

Geography

Halls Crossroads is located in the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, which are characterized by long, narrow ridges that run in a northeast–southwest direction. The community is nestled between several such ridges, most notably Black Oak Ridge and Beaver Ridge, which divide Halls Crossroads from Fountain City to the south. Along with Fountain City, adjacent communities include Powell to the west, Corryton to the east, and the city of Maynardville to the north. Halls is drained by the Beaver Creek Watershed. Beaver Creek runs through the center of Halls Crossroads, and parallel to State Route 131, known locally as Emory Road, flowing 25 miles to the Clinch River.

It is located at 36°04′49″N 83°56′33″W.[11] It has an elevation of 1,040 feet.

Education

Knox County Schools operates six public schools in the Halls community including Halls Elementary School, Adrian Burnett Elementary School, Brickey-McCloud Elementary School, Halls High School, and Halls Middle School. Private schools nearby include Garden Montessori School, Temple Baptist Academy, Natures Way Montessori School, and St. Joseph School.[12]

Economy

The community is the site of the locally famous Halls Cinema 7 and the Halls Stockyards, a cattle auction facility.[13]

Halls Crossroads is also home to numerous stores and restaurants.[7]

Infrastructure

Halls Crossroads is serviced by the Hallsdale-Powell Utility District and Knoxville Utilities Board, for wastewater, municipal water, and electricity respectively.[7]

Recreation

Nearby golf courses and country clubs include Beaver Brook Golf & Country Club, Three Ridges Golf Course, and Beverly Park Junior Golf Course. Halls Community Park features multiple ball fields, a playground, and a community center. The park is connected to the Halls Greenway, a hiking and biking trail that runs along Beaver Creek to the Halls Library. The Halls Senior Center features amenities like a computer center, a billiards room, conference rooms, arts and craft centers, and a community kitchen.[14][15]

The John Sevier Hunter Education Center (JSHEC) is located on Rifle Range Road in Halls Crossroads. It is a multi-use facility managed by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency for the public. The center provides Hunter Education classes and has various firearm and archery ranges.[16]

Halls Crossroads is home to many large churches, most notably Beaver Dam Baptist Church, the oldest church in Knox County, and one of the oldest churches in the state of Tennessee.[17][18]

Notable people

Media

Further reading
  • Cocca, Carolyn, Coordinator. A History of Halls. (Information compiled by the Halls Business and Professional Club). Halls Business and Professional Club, 1985.

References
  1. "Halls 'Has It' with sound system on game day". Knoxville News Sentinel. September 24, 2008. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  2. "About". Halls Crossroads Business and Professional Association. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  3. "Halls Census Designated Place". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  4. Steely, Mike (April 16, 2017). "How Knox County places were named". The Knoxville Focus. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  5. About Thomas Hall, The Preservation of the Thomas Hall Cemetery, About Thomas Hall Archived 2009-05-13 at the Wayback Machine, May 9, 2009.
  6. Emory Road Marker, Emory Road, 2006.
  7. "North County Sector Plan 2012" (PDF). Knoxville-Knox County Metropolitan Planning Commission. July 12, 2012. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  8. Information obtained from Tennessee Historical Commission marker 1E 112 at the Fountain City United Methodist Church, 26 December 2008.
  9. "Halls Crossroads: Rooted in the past, moving toward the future". Knox Focus. February 4, 2014. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  10. Murphree, Luke (2013). "Halls Crossroads in Knox County: A Plan East Tennessee Demonstration Project". Plan East Tennessee. University of Tennessee. Archived from the original on September 12, 2016. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  11. "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  12. Robert J. Booker, Sources good for schools' history Archived 2006-12-09 at the Wayback Machine, Knoxville News Sentinel, January 17, 2006.
  13. Larisa Brass, Halls Stockyard reopens as beef becomes big ticket item, Knoxville News Sentinel, April 10, 2011
  14. Recreation in Halls Crossroads, Recreation, 2010.
  15. Knox County Tennessee, Parks and Recreation, Greenways and Trails, 2010.
  16. Recreation, JSHEC, 2010.
  17. Knoxville Church Information, List of Churches, 1996-2010.
  18. History of Beaver Dam Baptist Church, www.bdbc.org, 2010.
  19. "Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al-Missned". Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  20. "Pete DeBusk's house in Halls Crossroads, TN (Bing Maps)". 14 October 2009. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  21. "WBIR News". Archived from the original on 2012-09-19. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
  22. Gribble, Andrew. "Life in the NASCAR fast lane: Knoxville's Baynes adjusting to son's sudden success » Knoxville News Sentinel". Knoxnews.com. Retrieved 2013-03-02.
  23. Halls Shopper News, www.shoppernewsnow.com, 2010.
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