New Hope, Tennessee

Originally known as Antioch, New Hope incorporated in 1974 to avoid an annexation attempt by South Pittsburg, which most of the new city's residents opposed. The name "New Hope" was taken from a local church and cemetery.[4] It is located on the eastern shore of the Tennessee River at the Alabama/Tennessee state line. Early settlers and travelers reached New Hope from the western shore by the South Pittsburg Ferry[5] (called "Sharon") on the river until the construction of the Shelby Rhinehart Bridge (Blue Bridge) in 1981.[6]

New Hope is located at 35°0′0″N 85°39′12″W (35.000112, -85.653332).[7] The city occupies the south side of a U-shaped bend of the Tennessee River, mostly downstream from Nickajack Dam. The city's municipal boundary stretches southward to the Tennessee-Alabama state line. South Pittsburg lies across the river to the west, Kimball and Jasper lie across the river to the north, and Nickajack Lake lies to the east. State Route 156 spans New Hope from east-to-west, connecting the city with U.S. Route 72 in South Pittsburg and Interstate 24 near Haletown.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 10.4 square miles (27 km²), of which 10.3 square miles (27 km²) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km²) (0.58%) is water.

New Hope is governed by an elected body of aldermen and a mayor.[11] The City Hall of New Hope is located at 2610 Highway 156. The headquarters for the New Hope Fire Department is located across the highway from the Town Hall, where a trained group of volunteers serve in the community.[12] The station is also used as a polling location for Marion County during elections.[13] The New Hope City Park was formerly behind the Fire Station. On October 24, 2022, Charles and Michael King filed a lawsuit against New Hope requesting the removal of encroachments on property deeded by their father to the town for use of a volunteer fire department structure.[14][15][16]

Author William Least Heat-Moon mentions New Hope, Tennessee in Blue Highways: A Journey into America[17], published in 1982 by Little, Brown and Company, chronicling the author's 12000-mile trip in remote places around the United States.[18] Festival Opera presented Carlisle Floyd’s “Susannah,” July 12 and July 14, 2019 at the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek, CA.[19] Dubbed as “an American tale of innocence, lust, and social consequence,” the opera centers on the main character, 18-year-old Susannah Polk, a typical teenager entering womanhood in the quiet mountain town of New Hope, Tennessee, when she finds herself bereft of hope as she becomes the target of ruthless and malicious gossip.[20]

Nickajack Dam is located on the eastern edge of New Hope near Hwy 156 on the Tennessee River. It is a hydroelectric facility with four generating units with a summer net dependable capacity of 107 megawatts.[21]

New Hope is home to the Maple View Public Use Area, located adjacent to Nickajack Cave Wildlife Refuge and home to federally endangered bats. In one evening in June 2019, representatives from Tennessee Valley Authority and Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency counted 97,026 bats leaving to feed and returning to the cave.[22]

New Hope is also home to the Shrine of Our Lady Virgin of the Poor, built by Benedictine monks in 1982 for spiritual contemplation and open to anyone of any faith.[23] The Shrine is located on a 600 acre farm in New Hope[24] and opens from sunrise to sunset every day. It is a replica of the shrine in Banneaux, Belgium[25] and includes a lovely chapel, statuary, stations of the Cross, a small outdoor meeting area, a covered picnic area, a columbarium, and restrooms. New Hope is home to two protestant churches, Antioch Missionary Baptist Church[26] and Pine Grove Baptist Church.[27] There are three cemeteries, the New Hope Cemetery, the Kozelichki Memorial Wall, and the historic McDaniel-Moore Cemetery.[28]

New Hope is home to several large manufacturing and distribution facilities, including Colonial Chemical, Inc.[29] and Lodge Manufacturing Co.[30] Colonial Chemical, Inc. hosts a quarterly TDOT litter pick-up along a two-mile stretch of Highway 156.[29][31] A $500,000 Appalachian Regional Commission grant will assist with the construction of a rail spur to provide rail service into Nickajack Port Industrial Park in New Hope and enable Colonial Chemical Inc. to move forward with its planned expansion.[32] Groundbreaking for this project was held at Colonial Chemical on April 15, 2022.[33] Also located in New Hope is a manufacturing site for Tree Brand Packaging, Inc. producing high-quality pallets and skids[34] and H & P Meats, an Animal Welfare approved[35] meat processing and wholesale plant. Fox Trading Post[36] is a bait shop near the dam in HogJaw Valley. Tim and Nancy's Barber and Style[37] opened in 2013 and is located near the center of town in a renovated church building. In 2018, New Hope welcomed a Dollar General Store.[38]

In March of 2023, it was announced that Red Moon Development,[39] an Arizona-based RV park developer, has shown interest in building a 250 to 400 space facility alongside the Tennessee River, north of Highway 156.[40] A petition critical to rezoning this property[41] for commercial use was circulated among New Hope residents to be presented at a future Town Hall meeting.[42]

• Media related to New Hope, Tennessee at Wikimedia Commons
• Municipal Technical Advisory Service entry for New Hope — information on local government, elections, and link to charter