Kodak is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

and a neighborhood of

Sevierville Sevierville ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Sevier County, Tennessee, located in eastern Tennessee. The population was 17,889 at the 2020 United States Census. History Native Americans of the Woodland period were among the first hum ...

in Sevier County,

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 36th-largest by ...

, United States. It is located along State Highway 139 and State Highway 66, and just south of

I-40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...

and

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the stat ...

. The elevation of Kodak is about above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardis ...

. Kodak is included in Sevierville's

urban growth boundary An urban growth boundary, or UGB, is a regional boundary, set in an attempt to control urban sprawl by, in its simplest form, mandating that the area inside the boundary be used for urban development and the area outside be preserved in its natural ...

for future annexation.

History

Kodak was named in 1892 when the local postmaster, Harvey N. Underwood, learned of the new "Kodak" brand of camera. Underwood decided that this was a name that was easy to remember and spell, hence he sought permission from the founder of

Eastman Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company (referred to simply as Kodak ) is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in analogue photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorpor ...

George Eastman George Eastman (July 12, 1854March 14, 1932) was an American entrepreneur who founded the Eastman Kodak Company and helped to bring the photographic use of roll film into the mainstream. He was a major philanthropist, establishing the Eastman ...

, to use this name for his village and its

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional se ...

. Eastman granted this permission. In 1989, a new post office building was constructed on Highway 66. A large portion of Kodak along State Highway 66 and

exit 407 has been annexed into the City of Sevierville since the 1990s.

The Treaty of Dumplin Creek

The Treaty of Dumplin Creek was signed at Maj. Hugh Henry's fort, in the area that would become Kodak, on June 10, 1785, between the proposed, never-recognized

State of Franklin The State of Franklin (also the Free Republic of Franklin or the State of Frankland)Landrum, refers to the proposed state as "the proposed republic of Franklin; while Wheeler has it as ''Frankland''." In ''That's Not in My American History Boo ...

and the

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, th ...

tribe of Native Americans. The precise location of the treaty signing is not known and has been subject of archaeological investigation. According to a state historical marker placed at one site thought to be the location of the signing, commissioners involved in the treaty from the State of Franklin were

John Sevier John Sevier (September 23, 1745 September 24, 1815) was an American soldier, frontiersman, and politician, and one of the founding fathers of the State of Tennessee. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, he played a leading role in Tennes ...

(namesake of the county in which Kodak sits),

Alexander Outlaw Alexander Outlaw (1738–1826) was an American frontiersman and politician, active in the formation and early history of the State of Tennessee. A veteran of the American Revolution, he settled on the Appalachian frontier, in what is now Jeff ...

and Daniel Kennedy. The marker identifies the Cherokee signers as "the King of the Cherokee, Ancoo of Chota, Abraham of Chilhowee, The Sturgeon of Tallassee, the Bard of the Valley Towns and some thirty others." The treaty's effect was to open the East Tennessee counties of Blount, Hamblen, Jefferson, Knox and Sevier to white settlers and homesteaders without Native resistance. istorical Cookbook-Kodak Centennial sponsored by: Annice Thomas page 49/ref> The historical marker incorrectly identifies this as the only treaty made by the State of Franklin, though there was at least one other (the Treaty of Coyatee, also with the Cherokee).

Retail

Exit 407 on

Interstate 40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...

has many restaurants and several stores.

Bass Pro Shops BPS Direct, L.L.C, doing business as Bass Pro Shops, is an American privately held retailer which specializes in hunting, fishing, camping, and other related outdoor recreation merchandise. With headquarters in Springfield, Missouri, Bass P ...

is located right off the exit. Other stores in Kodak include Food City,

Dollar General Dollar General Corporation is an American chain of variety stores headquartered in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. As of April 11, 2022, Dollar General operates 18,216 stores in the continental United States. The company began in 1939 as a family- ...

Family Dollar Family Dollar Stores, Inc. is an American variety store chain. With over 8,000 locations in all states except Alaska and Hawaii, it was the second largest retailer of its type in the United States until it was acquired by Dollar Tree in 2015 and i ...

and various local shops.

Education

Schools in Kodak are a part of Sevier County Schools. *Northview Primary School – grades K–3 *Northview Intermediate School – grades 4–6 *Northview Academy – grades 7–12

Points of interest

* Smokies Stadium *

Seven Islands State Birding Park Seven Islands State Birding Park is a state park in Knox County, Tennessee located east of Knoxville near Kodak along the French Broad River. The park was created for birdwatching. The diverse grassland landscapes and the river create a habitat ...

* Sevier County Public Library System - Kodak Branch Library Smoky Mountain Gateway - short term rental

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Sevier County, Tennessee Unincorporated communities in Tennessee Kodak