Rogersville is located in Lauderdale County in the northwest corner of the state. It has a mayor/council form of government.
History
Wheeler Dam in RogersvilleBordering the Tennessee River and providing a bypass around the shoals in the area, the settlement that came to be known as Rogersville arose in the early
nineteenth century along trade routes that linked present-day Chattanooga and Memphis in Tennessee. It was long known as Rodgersville,
after a family from South Carolina that settled there. A one-room log schoolhouse was erected in the early nineteenth century
and in the 1820s, shops, a post office, and a tavern with a stage coach stop had been established in the community as well.
Later, the name
Wheeler State Park Lodgewas changed to Rogersville and it was incorporated in 1858. The first accredited high school in Lauderdale County was opened
in Rogersville in 1912.
Demographics
The population in Rogersville at the time of the 2010 Census was 1,257. Of that number, 91.2 percent reported itself as white, 6.1 percent as African American, 1.7 percent as Hispanic or Latino, 1.0 percent as Native American, 0.8 percent as two or more races, and 0.6 percent as Asian. The median household income in 2010 according to Census estimates was $32,727 and per capita income was $19,605.
Employment
According to 2010 Census estimates, the Rogersville workforce was divided among the following major industrial categories:
· Manufacturing (18.4 percent)
· Educational services, and health care and social assistance (18.2 percent)
· Construction (11.8 percent)
· Retail trade (10.6 percent)
· Professional, scientific, management, and administrative and waste management services (9.7 percent)
· Transportation and warehousing, and utilities (9.7 percent)
· Arts, entertainment, recreation, and accommodation and food services (8.5 percent)
· Public administration (7.1 percent)
· Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing (3.2 percent)
· Information (0.9 percent)
· Other services, except public administration (0.9 percent)
Education
Public education in Rogersville is administered by Lauderdale County Schools, which oversees one high school in Rogersville
that serves approximately 970
Bridge Over Elk River in Rogersvillestudents and employs approximately 55 educators.
Transportation
Rogersville is accessed by U.S. Highway 72, which runs east-west, and State Highway 207, which runs north-south.
Events and Places of Interest
Rogersville sponsors a "1st Saturday" event on the first Saturday of each month with live entertainment. It also hosts a Heritage
Days festival in June, a multi-day bluegrass festival in July with music, foods, and crafts, several fall-themed events in
October, and a
Rogersville Bluegrass FestivalChristmas festival each December. Graceland Park features outdoor play equipment and a covered pavilion. Just southwest of
Rogersville is Joe Wheeler State Park, which features boating, fishing, camping, meeting facilities, and overnight accommodations, and to the southeast is Elk
River State Park.
Christopher Maloney
Auburn University
Published November 19, 2012
Last updated December 7, 2012