Bean Station, Tennessee

Bean Station is a town in Grainger and Hawkins counties in the state of Tennessee, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,967. It is part of the Kingsport Metropolitan Statistical Area, Knoxville Metropolitan Statistical Area, and Morristown metropolitan statistical area. Established in 1776 as a frontier outpost by pioneer William Bean, it is considered one of the earliest permanently settled communities in Tennessee. It grew throughout the rest of the 18th and 19th centuries as an important stopover for early pioneers and settlers in the Appalachia region due to its strategic location at the crossroads of Daniel Boone's Wilderness Road and the Great Indian Warpath.

During the American Civil War, the town was the site of the final battle of the Knoxville campaign, before Confederate forces surrendered to a Union blockade in nearby Blaine. In the early 20th century, Bean Station experienced renewed growth with the development of the Tate Springs mineral springs resort, investment from U.S. Senator John K. Shields, and the Peavine Railroad, which provided passenger rail service connecting the town to Knoxville. In the 1940s, the town was completely inundated by the Tennessee Valley Authority for Cherokee Dam with nearly all of its residents removed via eminent domain and federal court orders. Following its inundation, it shifted to the new junction of U.S. Route 11W and U.S. Route 25E, becoming a popular lakeside community, and a commuter town for the city of Morristown in neighboring Hamblen County. Citing annexation attempts by Morristown, Bean Station incorporated into a town in 1996.