Soddy-Daisy is a city in

Hamilton County, Tennessee Hamilton County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is located in the southern part of East Tennessee on the border with Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

, United States. The population was 13,070 at the 2020 census and estimated to be 13,619 in 2022. The city was formed in 1969 when the communities of Soddy (to the north) and Daisy (to the south), along with nearby developed areas along

U.S. Route 27 U.S. Route 27 or U.S. Highway 27 (US 27) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway in the Southern and Midwestern U.S. The southern terminus is at US 1 in Miami, Florida. The northern terminus is at Interstate 69 (I ...

, merged to form Soddy-Daisy. It is becoming a

bedroom community A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

of nearby

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the south. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, it is Tennessee ...

and is part of the Chattanooga Metropolitan Statistical Area. Sequoyah Nuclear Generating Station is located in Soddy-Daisy.

History

Soddy-Daisy is an incorporated city, comprising the former Tennessee cities of Soddy and Daisy. It has frequently been noted on lists of

unusual place names Place names considered unusual can include those which are also offensive words, inadvertently humorous (especially if mispronounced) or highly charged words, as well as place names of unorthodox spelling and pronunciation, including especiall ...

. Soddy-Daisy was home to Hamilton County's first courthouse and government seat, Poe's Tavern. The tavern, built in 1819, was the home of Soddy-Daisy resident Hasten Poe. In 1838, the tavern served as a way station for 1,900

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

s who were on the

Trail of Tears The Trail of Tears was the forced displacement of about 60,000 people of the " Five Civilized Tribes" between 1830 and 1850, and the additional thousands of Native Americans and their black slaves within that were ethnically cleansed by the U ...

. During the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, Poe's Tavern served as a hospital for both Union and

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

troops. Though the original Poe's Tavern was torn down in 1911, the city of Soddy-Daisy has reconstructed a replica of the building a block away from the original site. There are two popular stories about how the city of Soddy got its name. The first is that the word "Soddy" is an anglicization of ''Tsati'', a shorter form of the Cherokee word ᎠᏂ ᎫᏌᏘ Ᏹ (''Ani-Kusati-yi''), referring to the

Muskogean Muskogean ( ; also Muskhogean) is a language family spoken in the Southeastern United States. Members of the family are Indigenous Languages of the Americas. Typologically, Muskogean languages are highly synthetic and agglutinative. One docume ...

Koasati The Coushatta () are a Muskogean-speaking Native American people now living primarily in the U.S. states of Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas. When the Coushatta first encountered Europeans, their Coushatta homelands where in present-day Tennessee ...

people who lived there in the 18th century prior to Cherokee migration to the area after 1776. The second theory is that Soddy was named for William Sodder, who ran a trading post in the city. Others claim that Soddy's name is a reference to Soddy Creek, which is believed to have originated from the Cherokee word ''Sauta'', which is derived from ''Echota''. Soddy was a very small town until the Soddy Coal Company began mining in 1867. Daisy is rumored to have taken its name from Daisy Parks, the daughter of Thomas Parks. Thomas Parks was vice-president of the Tabler-Cleudup Coal & Coke Company, and founded the

Daisy Coal Company Daisy, Daisies or DAISY may refer to: Plants * ''Bellis perennis'', the common daisy, lawn daisy or English daisy, a European species Other plants known as daisy * Asteraceae, daisy family ** '' Euryops chrysanthemoides'', African bush daisy ** ' ...

in April 1881. The two cities incorporated in April 1969 along a stretch of U.S. 27.

Geography

Soddy-Daisy is located in north-central Hamilton County at (35.258538, -85.176996). Its southwestern end is bordered by the city of

. Unincorporated communities that border Soddy-Daisy are Middle Valley to the south, Falling Water to the southwest, Mowbray Mountain to the west and Flat Top Mountain to the northwest. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which are land and , or 3.51%, are water. The city is situated at the base of the Cumberland Escarpment, the east face of

Walden Ridge Walden Ridge (or Walden's Ridge) is a mountain ridge and escarpment located in Tennessee in the United States. It marks the eastern edge of the Cumberland Plateau and is generally considered part of it. Walden Ridge is about long, running genera ...

, which is part of the

Cumberland Plateau The Cumberland Plateau is the southern part of the Appalachian Plateau in the Appalachian Mountains of the United States. It includes much of eastern Kentucky and Tennessee, and portions of northern Alabama and northwest Georgia. The terms " Al ...

. An inlet of

Chickamauga Lake Chickamauga Lake is a reservoir in the United States along the Tennessee River created when the Chickamauga Dam, as part of the Tennessee Valley Authority, was completed in 1940. The lake stretches from Watts Bar Dam at mile 529.9 (853 k ...

(consisting of the lower part of Soddy Creek) lies to the east.

is the city's main highway, connecting it with

to the south and

Dayton Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

to the northeast. State Route 111, which crosses Walden Ridge and leads northwest to Dunlap, intersects US-27 in the northern part of the city. The area is home to the popular Stone Fort bouldering area.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 13,070 people, 5,628 households, and 3,378 families residing in the city.

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 11,530 people, 4,511 households, and 3,392 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 4,809 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.15%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.60%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.24% American Indian, 0.19% Asian, 0.01%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.17% from other races, and 0.63% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.80% of the population. There were 4,511 households, out of which 31.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.9% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.8% were non-families. 21.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 2.93. In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.0% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 25.5% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $37,163, and the median income for a family was $41,394. Males had a median income of $32,073 versus $23,147 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $16,889. About 6.5% of families and 8.8% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 10.6% of those under age 18 and 13.4% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Soddy-Daisy's City Commission currently consists of Rick Nunley, City Mayor; Robert Cothran, Vice Mayor; other city commissioners are Gene Shipley, Jim Coleman, and Steve Everett. The City Manager is currently Burt Johnson, who is also the Finance Director and Recorder.

Education

Schools

Soddy-Daisy has seven schools: *Allen Elementary *Daisy Elementary *Soddy Elementary *Ivy Academy *Soddy-Daisy Middle * Soddy-Daisy High School *Sequoyah High School

Library

Soddy-Daisy has a privately operated community library, which opened in 2018 with the support from local residents, businesses and organizations following years without a public library within the Soddy-Daisy city limits or in the Sale Creek area.

Museum

Soddy-Daisy has one museum, which was opened in 2017 and remains operated by the city's historical association. The museum, currently housed in the 100 year old former bank building in Soddy has exhibits that showcase and teach the history of Soddy-Daisy area. The historical association also hosts an annual history fair at Soddy-Daisy High School every January.

Media

* Soddy-Daisy has one local radio station licensed to its community,

WGOW-FM WGOW-FM (102.3 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee, and serving the Chattanooga metropolitan area. It is owned by Cumulus Media, and broadcasts a talk radio format. Its radio studios and offices are on Pinevi ...

Notable people

Joe Chaney Joe Chaney is an American darts player playing mainly in British Darts Organisation (BDO) events. Career In 2017, Chaney reached the Last 80 of the World Masters and Last 32 of the BDO World Trophy. He qualified for the 2018 BDO World Darts Cha ...

, darts player * Ron Cox, racing driver *

Terry Gordy Terry Ray Gordy Sr. (April 23, 1961 – July 16, 2001) was an American professional wrestler from Soddy-Daisy, TN. Gordy appeared in the United States with promotions such as Mid-South Wrestling, Georgia Championship Wrestling, World Class Ch ...

, professional wrestler *

Bryan Harvey Bryan Stanley Harvey (born June 2, 1963) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher who played nine seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the California Angels of the American League and the Florida Marlins of th ...

, former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

Ralph McGill Ralph Emerson McGill (February 5, 1898 – February 3, 1969) was an American journalist and editorialist. An anti-segregationist editor, he published the ''Atlanta Constitution'' newspaper. He was a member of the Peabody Awards Board of Ju ...

, journalist

In popular culture

In the "I'm a Guest Here" episode of the ABC TV series ''

Will Trent ''Will Trent'' is an American police procedural television series developed by Liz Heldens and Daniel T. Thomsen based on the series of novels by Karin Slaughter. The series, starring Ramón Rodríguez in the title role, premiered on January ...

'' (season 3, episode 1, first broadcast on January 7, 2025), Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent Will Trent has escaped from his personal and professional problems to Soddy-Daisy before he is convinced to return to help solve a crime in Atlanta.

References

External links

City of Soddy-Daisy official website
{{authority control Cities in Tennessee Cities in Hamilton County, Tennessee Cities in the Chattanooga metropolitan area Populated places established in 1969 1969 establishments in Tennessee Coal towns in Tennessee Tennessee populated places on the Tennessee River