Loyston, Tennessee
Loy's Crossroads | |
|---|---|
| Loyston | |
 Filling station in Loyston, 1933 | |
  Loyston, Tennessee | |
| Coordinates: 36°15′55″N 83°57′00″W / 36.26528°N 83.95000°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Tennessee |
| County | Union |
| Settled | 1800s |
| Impounded | 1935[1] |
| Founded by | Stooksbury Family |
| Named for | John Loy |
| Elevation | 1,152 ft (351 m) |
| Population (1935)[1] | |
| • Total | 70 |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| GNIS feature ID | 1315598[2] |
Loyston is a ghost town in Union County, Tennessee, United States, that was inundated by the waters of the Clinch River after the completion of Norris Dam in 1936.[3] Established in the early 19th century around a foundry built by its namesake, John Loy, over subsequent decades the community's location along State Highway 61 helped it grow into a trading center for local farmers. By the time the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) began making plans to build Norris Dam in the early 1930s, Loyston had a population of approximately 70 residents, and consisted of a post office and several small businesses.[4]
Prior to inundation, TVA conducted extensive sociological surveys of Loyston's residents, and the community was documented by photographer Lewis Hine. Most Loyston residents, forced out by eminent domain,[5] relocated elsewhere in the area, with many forming the community of New Loyston in the hills to the south. Loyston was located near where Mill Creek empties into the Clinch River, at river mile 98. Mill Creek's drainage carved a broad valley known as Big Valley, flanked on the south by Lone Mountain and on the east by Big Ridge. At Loyston, State Highway 61 intersected a major local road. The trip to Knoxville from Loyston was a 30-mile (48 km) drive on Highway 61 (which has since been re-routed).[4]
Loyston is now under a mile-wide section of Norris Lake known as the "Loyston Sea," located along the shores of Big Ridge State Park.[6]
- ^ a b "Loyston Sea". Tennessee River Valley. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
- ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Loyston, Tennessee
- ^ Union County Archived 2008-10-10 at the Wayback Machine, Tennessee History for Kids, Inc. website
- ^ a b Michael McDonald and John Muldowny, Tennessee Valley Perspectives, vol. 2, no. 3 (Spring 1972), pp. 23-27.
- ^ "Lost Town of Loyston". COMMUNITY UPROOTED: EMINENT DOMAIN IN THE U.S. Loyola University Chicago. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
- ^ Loyston Overlook Trail description, Big Ridge State Park website, accessed October 11, 2008