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River Crossings and the Story of Pactolus
Recently, the Kingsport Times-News reported that the Sullivan County Commission deliberated acceptance of grant funding to upgrade the swinging bridge over the Holston River in Bluff City. The article reminded me that development in a county like Sullivan, which is divided by the Holston River, has always been shaped by river crossings. First came fords…
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Please join us for Kingsport’s Best!
Ticket link for Kingsport’s Best The Kingsport Community Foundation’s mission is simple but powerful: to honor the legacy and embrace the future. That mission is personal to me. After my brother Larry’s death — my only sibling — he was honored with The Knoxville Award, recognizing his life, service, and impact. He took the spirit…
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What IRS Migration Data Says About Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia
Every year, the Internal Revenue Service releases migration data based on address changes reported on individual income tax returns. It is not perfect. It does not count every person, and it should not be confused with Census population estimates. But it is one of the best tools available for understanding where tax-filing households are moving…
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What Do Charlotte & Kingsport Have In Common?
Recently, a friend who lives in Kingsport’s Fairacres visited Charlotte and sent me a photograph of a sign from a walkabout she took in Historic Independence Park. She knew right away, when she saw the name John Nolen, that I would be interested. Nolen was Kingsport’s designer, too. The sign noted that Independence Park was…
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Sullivan 250 | 1780: When the War Passed Through Sullivan County
Sixth in a 12-part monthly series to commemorate Sullivan County’s role in the 250th birthday of the United States of America June 2026 | 6 of 12 By 1780, the Revolutionary War had reached the frontier in force. For the Overmountain settlements, the struggle shifted from simply holding on to taking action. The implications went far…
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Long (Island) Before Kingsport
I found a reference — new to me, at least — during a recent visit to the East Tennessee History Museum in Knoxville. The exhibit (on display through February 14, 2027) is “Lines Were Drawn: The Treaty of Holston and Its Legacy,” and one map stopped me in my tracks. It showed Long Island of…
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From Flag Swingers to World Champions: Dobyns-Bennett’s Color Guard Tradition
The Dobyns-Bennett Band traces its beginning to 1926, when Professor S.T. “Fess” Witt organized the first school band and helped launch what would become one of Kingsport’s proudest traditions. By the fall of 1940, the band was already growing in size, visibility, and community support. Fourteen years after its founding, Dobyns-Bennett added a new visual…
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Roots and Renewal: Why Kingsport Needs Both Locals and Newcomers
In retirement, I’ve spent a lot of time working on the landscaping around my 55-year-old house. The house sits beneath towering oaks that were there long before the first footing was poured. They give the place shade, structure, and character. The foundation plantings came later, when the house was built. Over time, some of them…
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Kingsport: High Quality at a Lower Cost
Many people instinctively equate higher tax revenue with higher quality. They assume that if a state collects more per person, it must provide better schools, better services, better infrastructure, and better local government. Sometimes that may be true. But it is not automatic. Higher collections can also reflect higher costs, greater service demands, larger bureaucracies,…
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Kingsport’s Housing Market Is Punching Above Its Weight
People vote with their feet, but they also invest where they see value. The latest housing numbers give us a useful look at the first four months of 2026. Taken together, they show that home sales remain healthy across the Tri-Cities and the Northeast Tennessee-Southwest Virginia market. They also show something worth noting for Kingsport:…
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Kingsport Spirit 