Bean Station, Grainger Co., TN

Why do they call it that? is a column written by Jim Matheny which appears from time-to-time on the WBIR.com website.  This week the subject is Bean Station in Grainger county, TN.

Jim begins:

"Officially incorporated in 1996, the City of Bean Station is one of the newest municipalities in Tennessee.  Yet, with origins that date back to the American Revolution, its history goes deeper than almost anywhere else in the state.

"The root of the name "Bean Station" has nothing to do with legumes.  In this area beside Cherokee Lake in Grainger County, you are much more likely to come across wild berries than any kind of bean.

"Of course, the name comes from William Bean.  He moved his family here in 1776 and they became the first white settlers in the state of Tennessee," said Ken Coffey, an expert on Grainger County history.  "The thing about William Bean is he did the same thing as Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone, but he never got into politics so he never actually got credit as an early pioneer."

Click here or, on the title link to read the remainder of this interesting article.