Oneida
Oneida is the largest incorporated town in Scott County, with a population of 3,787 at the 2020 census. It is also the economic hub of the northern Cumberland Plateau region.
See Also: Communities of Scott County
Geography & Demographics
The Oneida zip code (37841) encompasses more than 147 miles of northern Scott County, with a population of 9,443 and a population density of 64 people per square mile. It extends as far west as the Scott-Fentress county line and the Scott-Pickett county line, though the western-most extent falls within the uninhabited Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area. To the north, it extends to the Tennessee-Kentucky state line on its west side, and to the Winfield (37892) zip code on its east side. To the south, it is bordered by the Helenwood (37755) zip code just south of the Town of Oneida, and to the east it borders the Pioneer (37847) zip code, extending all the way to the Sugar Grove and Smith Creek areas of eastern Scott County.
This expansive area takes in several communities that make up Scott County, including Buffalo, Paint Rock, Black Oak, Station Camp, and the Grave Hill/Big Ridge/Foster Crossroads area. It is bordered by the Big South Fork River on the west side and the Chitwood Mountain section of the Cumberland Mountains on the east side.
The incorporated Town of Oneida encompasses 10.3 square miles roughly in the center of the 37841 zip code. It is an elongated area stretching mainly north to south. It extends as far north as Clifty Creek Road off Kingtown Road near Winfield, and as far south as Cherry Fork Road in Helenwood. It mostly includes the U.S. Highway 27 corridor, though it extends west along S.R. 297 (Coopertown Road) to include the Meadow Creek subdivision in the Coopertown area.
Oneida is drained by Pine Creek, which is what the community was known as prior to taking on the name of Oneida. Pine Creek flows through the industrial heart of town and eventually enters the Big South Fork NRRA before emptying into the Big South Fork River.
Oneida mostly sits at just under 1,500 feet in elevation. Key elevation differentials include Marcum Hill on the south side of town, Pine Hill on the east side of town, and High Point on the south side of town.
The population of Oneida was 3,787 as of the 2020 census. The median age was 37 years. The gender profile is 53% female, and the racial breakdown is 96% white. The per capita income was $30,150 as of 2020, and the median household income was $48,622. The poverty rate is 28%. Childhood poverty is 46%. The average home value is $170,600.
Business & Commerce
Oneida is the economic hub of Scott County, as well as the broader northern Cumberland Plateau region. Much of the commerce is centered around the Four Lane section of U.S. Highway 27 (Alberta Street), while much of the industry is centered around Industrial Lane and Tibbals Industrial Park on the south side of town.
Walmart is easily the largest retail business in Oneida, and has fundamentally changed the nature of the town. The corporation built its first store in the 1980s, leading to the development of Oneida Plaza, and expanded it into a Walmart Supercenter in 1999.
Other easily-recognized corporate players in Oneida include McDonald’s, Casey’s, Tractor Supply Co., Save-A-Lot Food Stores, Dollar General, Hardee’s, Sonic Drive-In, Pizza Hut, KFC, Wendy’s, Taco Bell, Lee’s Famous Recipe, Little Caesars, and Arby’s. The number of fast-food restaurants in Oneida continues to expand, with a Zaxby’s and Long John Silver’s slated to soon open.
Independently-owned restaurants in Oneida range from long-standing local traditions like Phillips Drive-In and Preston’s Steakhouse to well-established ethnic eateries like El Rey (Mexican) and Element Asia to newer establishments like County’s BBQ, Cowgirl Cafe, Just Pizza, Two Brothers Pizza, Polos (Italian), Eatin’ Good, and The Grizzly.
Specialty shops include Mary Belle’s Ice Cream and Gather Coffee.
Oneida now has its first brewery, South Fork Brewery, located in an historic bank building on Main Street. A second brewery is slated to open in the Ponderosa area on the south end of town.
The town’s oldest business is First National Bank, which dates back to 1904. Other banks include United Cumberland Bank and One Bank of Tennessee. Lay Family Furniture is the town’s oldest retail tradition, dating back to 1921 as Lay’s Oneida Furniture Co., which was founded by Arlie Lay and was part of the Lay-Simpson brand of furniture stores that sprang up throughout the Tennessee and Kentucky region. Lay Family Furniture opened in the early 2000s and is managed by Jerry Lay, grandson of Arlie Lay.
In addition to Lay, another prominent early businessman in Oneida was H.F. Cooper, who owned several businesses in the old downtown area.
Major industry in Oneida long centered around the Tibbals/Hartco hardwood flooring plant, which opened just after World War II and continued until beginning to shutter operations in 2010. Today, the former Tibbals site is a growing industrial park adjacent to the Norfolk-Southern Railroad on the south side of town. The largest industrial employer in Oneida today is HBD/Thermoid.
Shopping centers include Oneida Plaza, Northtown Plaza, LaStanCo, and Scott Plaza.
Post Offices
The Oneida Post Office opened in 1880. There were other post offices in the community through the years, as well. The Fogal Post Office opened in March 1905 with Alvin C. Terry serving as postmaster. It closed in December 1908. The last postmaster was William Stanley. Higgins Post Office opened in June 1892 with George King serving as postmaster. It closed in September 1893 and moved to Oneida. Roberta Post Office opened in October 1909 with James B. Craig serving as postmaster. It closed in October 1931 and moved to Winfield. The last postmaster was Louis E. Bryant.
Health Care
Scott County has the northern Cumberland Plateau region’s only hospital, Big South Fork Medical Center, which is owned by Florida-based Rennova Health Services. It opened as Scott County Community Hospital in 1955 and has undergone many changes through the years. It has faced several ownership changes and closures in recent years. It was once owned by Scott County Government, though ownership was transferred to private enterprise in the 2000s.
Mountain People’s Health Councils Inc. is a significant player in Oneida’s health care industry. It was formed in 1973 with three locations that have since expanded to six locations, including clinics in Huntsville, Winfield, Norma, and Elgin. Its sprawling primary campus on Industrial Lane in downtown Oneida has grown to include a medical clinic, a dental clinic and pediatric clinic, and a diagnostic imaging center that opened in 2025. MPHC’s business offices have expanded to include the former First National Bank main office at the intersection of Alberta Street and Depot Street.
Other medical clinics include Thompson Medical Clinic (Dr. Josh Thompson), Circle of Life Clinic, Family and Pediatric Care (Alisha Shoemaker, APN) and Fast Pace Urgent Care. Specialists include Brennan’s Foot & Ankle Care and University of Tennessee Medical Center (rheumatology and women’s health).
Schools
Oneida Special School District was created by the Tennessee General Assembly in 1905, and predates the Town of Oneida as an incorporated town. (However, it was originally the Oneida City Schools. That system was abolished in 1913, and the legislature passed Bill No. 1064 in May 1915, creating the Oneida Independent School District. It was not named the OSSD until a separate act of the legislature in 1975.) Today, it includes an elementary school, middle school and high school. The elementary school is located off the Four Lane near the heart of the town’s retail district, while the middle and high schools are located on North Main Street. The school district is governed by an independent, five-person school board.
The OSSD’s boundaries are not the same as the town’s boundaries. The 1915 legislation set boundaries that essentially followed the ridgetops surrounding the town, creating a district that was eight square miles.
In 1916, the people of Oneida persuaded the state legislature to authorize the issuance of bonds, up to $50,000, for the school board to build a new school building. That building was completed in 1920, and Oneida High School had its first home. It was located at its current site, on five acres of land purchased from Alvin C. Terry. The high school was partially destroyed by a fire in 1941. A second fire later destroyed part of the elementary school.
In West Oneida is Burchfield School, a K-8 school of the Scott County School System that dates back to the 1920s and is Scott County’s largest K-8 school.
There have traditionally been several other schools in the outlying parts of Oneida, including Niggs Creek, Williams Creek, Pine Creek, and Bear Creek.
Adjacent to Burchfield School, off Eli Lane, is the Oneida campus of Tennessee College of Applied Technology Oneida/Huntsville, which enrolls both adult students and high school students. The college dates back to the 1960s, when it was created as Tennessee Technology Center. Two new buildings have just been completed on the campus, significantly transforming the school. Programs offered on the Oneida campus include Aviation Maintenance, Earthmoving Equipment Operator, Power Line Construction and Maintenance, Diesel-Powered Equipment Technology, Industrial Maintenance – Mechatronics, Building Construction Technology, Criminal Justice: Correctional Officer, Truck Driving, and Pharmacy Technology.
Churches
The largest church in Oneida is First Baptist Church of Oneida, which is located on Main Street and was founded in 1888 through a mission outreach effort by the New River Association. The church campus has expanded to include much of the Main Street area, including the former Lay’s Oneida Furniture Co. building. The pastor, as of 2026, was Dr. Sean Lee.
Another significant church in Oneida is New Haven Baptist Church on Coopertown Road. The pastor, as of 2026, was James Roberts.
Other major Baptist churches in Oneida include Bethlehem Baptist Church, located in the Oak Grove area at the heart of town. It is Oneida’s oldest church, founded on Buffalo Creek east of Oneida in 1834. It moved to near its current location in 1888, and the present building was constructed in 1981.
There’s also Bible Believers Baptist Church, among several others. (See the Church Directory.)
Non-Baptist churches in Oneida include the Oneida First United Methodist Church, Oneida Church of Christ, Oneida Church of God, and Little Charity Ministries. The oldest of these is the Methodist Church, which was founded by circuit rider Isaac Smith.
Origins
The Oneida area was originally known as Pine Creek, before the Cincinnati & Southern Railroad was built in the late 1870s. Prior to the railroad, Oneida was little more than forests and a few farms. In a grassy meadow where the railroad made a sweeping turn on its way south, a siding was established to allow trains to pass. It would grow to become one of the business depots in the Rathole Division of the Cincinnati-to-Chattanooga route, and a town grew around it — first concentrated along the Depot Street area facing the railroad, then up Main Street, expanding into the Oak Grove area that is today the mid-town area of Oneida, and, finally, in the latter part of the 20th century, the Four Lane area that has since become the economic hub of the town.
There is no longer a depot at Oneida, and none of the original businesses on Main Street or Depot Street are still in existence. Only one business remains that predated the town: First National Bank, which was established in 1904. But its headquarters have moved away from the former downtown area to the Oak Grove section.
Oneida is often said to have gotten its name from railroad executives who were reminded of their hometown in Oneida, N.Y. That is what WBIR TV in Knoxville recently reported in a feature on Oneida, but many others have made the same mistake.
That’s only partially true.
Research by the late G. Allen Storey, who wrote extensively about the Southern Railroad for the FNB Chronicle, shows that Oneida took its name from Oneida, Ohio. He wrote: “The railroad entered the county in 1879, passing through Isham and then along its course to the small trestle at Bear Creek. It would then take a gentle westerly curve in an open plain and then turn south again a mile later. A siding and a branch line switch in this meadow would give cause for one of the Cincinnati Southern’s Chattanooga lawyers, Charles D. McGuffy, to name the place ‘Oneida,’ after his hometown of Oneida, Ohio.”
Charles D. McGuffey wasn’t actually from Oneida, Ohio, but his wife was. Born Charles Drake McGuffey on June 12, 1842, he was an attorney for the town of Cincinnati who was involved with building the Cincinnati & Southern Railroad. His father was Alexander Hamilton McGuffey, who co-wrote the McGuffey Readers with his brother, William Holmes McGuffey. The McGuffey Readers were popular reading textbooks in American public schools in the 19th century, and are believed to have helped teach millions of children across the U.S. to read.
In 1876, just before construction of the railroad began, McGuffey married Mary E. Hull, the daughter of Patrick Clark Hull and Harriet A. Beess. Their only son, Charles Hull McGuffey, died in 1881, at the age of three.
McGuffey was from Cincinnati, but his wife, Mary, was from an unincorporated village further north — a tiny place southeast of Canton, Ohio, that was named Oneida Mills. It was named by George Hull, Mary’s uncle, who built a grist mill there in 1840. The mill was later operated by Mary’s father, Patrick Clark Hull.
George and Patrick were from Oneida County, N.Y., and they named the site of their new mill after their old hometown. The home Patrick owned — where Mary grew up — still stands and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Oneida, Ohio.
Despite them both being from Ohio, Charles McGuffey and Mary Hull did not meet in Ohio. Rather, they met in Knoxville. Charles was on business associated with planning for the new railroad. Mary, a schoolteacher, suffered from poor health and traveled south during the winter months in an attempt to improve her condition. She was visiting Knoxville when she met Charles, and they were married in 1876.
While her husband worked on the railroad, Mary continued to live with her father in Oneida, Ohio. Meanwhile, when the railroad construction rew reached the meadow near Pine Creek where the railroad siding would be built, McGuffey chose to name it Oneida — after his wife’s home in Oneida, Ohio, which her father had named after his home in Oneida County, N.Y.
With the building of the railroad, the rich coal deposits of the Cumberland Mountains were discovered, and the Oneida area quickly began to grow. The Paint Rock Coal & Coke Co. was established in the 1890s and began a railroad (later to become the Tennessee Railroad) from the Oneida depot to the headwaters of Paint Rock Creek. Businessmen who owned mills at Glenmary and Verdun began building the Oneida & Western Railroad to Jamestown shortly after that.
By 1915, the Tennessee General Assembly had created the Oneida Special School District, and the town of Oneida was incorporated on fourth attempt on March 22, 1917. Previous attempts to incorporate the town had been made in 1905, 1909, and 1913. The first attempt was successful, but the state-issued charter was revoked in 1907. Leland Carson, manager of Jellico Grocery, was elected the town’s first mayor.
See More: Mayors of Oneida
It was in 1904, after Oneida’s growth had started but before it was yet a town, that businessman Claiborn Cross started First National Bank.
By 1921, Oneida had 20 retail establishments, along with a wholesale grocery and four churches. More than 500 students were enrolled in the town’s brick schoolhouse. A water system had been established in 1920, and a sewer system was in place by 1925. Electricity was also in place throughout the town by 1925. The Huntsville Road, which followed the old Tellico Indian Trail and would eventually become U.S. Highway 27, was built through town in 1925.
Two new hotels were constructed in the 1920s: The Gibson House, owned by Alex Gibson, and the Grandview, owned by Lucinda Williams. They joined The Commercial Hotel and the Cross Hotel, which predated the town’s incorporation in 1917.
Meanwhile, a farm owned by Frank Raynor was purchased by H.F. Cooper in 1926 and subdivided into residential lots. It was the fledgling town’s second subdivision.
The Oneida Kiwanis Club and the Scott County Fair were opened in the mid ’20s, and First Trust & Savings Bank (now United Cumberland Bank) was also established.
The town’s first city hall and jail were built at the corner of Main Street and Third Street, where the Scott County Senior Citizens Center is now located, in 1941. The current Oneida Municipal Services Building was built in the late 1970s.
First Baptist Church of Oneida was the town’s first Baptist church. It began meeting in April 1886 as one of the first orders of business of the New River Association, and its meeting house was built in 1903 on property donated by Claiborne and Connie Cross, where it is still located today. Shortly thereafter, in 1888, Bethlehem Baptist Church — which had originally been started at Buffalo before moving to about where Oneida City Park is located today — moved to Chester Street. First United Methodist Church of Oneida was established shortly after Rev. Isaac Smith, a circuit rider, visited Scott County in 1837 and secured a land grant in the Ponderosa area. The first Methodist church was built where the clubhouse now stands at the Oneida Municipal Golf Course between 1840 and 1845. The current Methodist Church on Main Street was built in 1917, on land secured from John Baker. The Oneida Church of Christ was started in 1910, when the congregation began meeting in the home of A.C. Terry. Its first permanent structure was built in 1913, at the corner of Third and Cross streets.
Some of Oneida’s earliest factories were the Boss Glove factory on Stanley Street, and Pearson Wood Flooring Co. across the tracks from the depot. Brothers Todd and Charles Tibbals moved to Scott County after World War II and purchased the Pearson plant, establishing the Tibbals brand of hardwood flooring that would dominate Oneida’s industrial scene for much of the 20th century. The Tibbals brothers discovered and patented a method for manufacturing parquet flooring using scrap pieces of wood in the late 1950s, which led to the Hardwood Tile Company, or Hartco. When Donald Trump built “Trump Tower” in New York, he used Hartco flooring for the lobby of the new structure. At its peak, Tibbals employed 520 people and pumped more than $30 million per year into the local economy.
Later, West Coal Company was formed by coal mining veteran Hubert Baldwin and his sons-in-law, Jack E. Lay and Roger West. It grew to become Tennessee’s largest coal manufacturer at its peak. Its headquarters were located where Casey’s is currently located at the intersection of Alberta Street and Depot Street.
In the mid 1970s, Hungarian native Jim Barna Sr. and a business partner established Barna & Danner Co. in north Oneida, which would later become Jim Barna Log Homes. The Barna brand became a world leader in the log home industry. Its headquarters are today Timber Rock Lodge.
First Families
The first person to settle present-day Oneida is said to be Josiah Terry, who moved from Botetourt County, Va. to Pine Creek in the early 1800s before eventually moving to Wayne County, Ky. Other early families of prominence in Oneida included the Carsons and Smiths, and may have included the Angels and Trammells.
Angels & Trammells
It was at some point prior to 1810 that Revolutionary War veteran Dennis Trammell and his son-in-law, Archibald Angel, moved to present-day Scott County. There is no conclusive proof that they settled in present-day Oneida, but survey records indicate that Trammell owned 216 acres on Pine Creek, while Angel owned 298 acres on Pine Creek. The Oneida area was known as Pine Creek at the time. However, if they settled on Pine Creek, they moved to Jellico Creek shortly thereafter. The farm they established at Gum Fork, east of present-day Winfield, is still known as Angel Valley.
Terrys
Josiah Terry was born in 1780, the son of John Terry (1760-1842) and Esther Brown (1765-1848). Along with his brother, Elijah Terry, he moved to present-day Scott County in the early 1800s. Exactly when he made that move isn’t certain, but he is believed to have married Nancy Thomas in Anderson County, Tenn., in 1806. His name first appears on an Anderson County tax list in 1805. At the time, Scott County was part of Anderson County.
According to the historian H. Clay Smith, in his book, Dusty Bits of the Forgotten Past, Josiah Terry was granted land from where Grape Rough Road is now located on the north end of town to about where the Scott Morgan Farmers Co-Op is located on the south end of town. Smith stated that Josiah and Elijah Terry were granted land in 1811.
Elijah Terry later moved to Parch Corn Creek in what is now the Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area, while Josiah Terry may have moved to the Sunnybrooke area just north of Pickett State Park, in Wayne County, Ky. That is where he was buried, at Smith-Penlon Cemetery, when he died in 1868. He was still living in Oneida when the 1860 census was taken.
Today, a granite plaque outside the Oneida Municipal Services Building recognizes Josiah Terry as the town’s first settler. His home was located about where North Star Drive-In would later be built on the Four Lane section of U.S. Highway 27 in Oneida. This is about where Hardee’s is located today.
Inman Terry, Josiah Terry’s great-grandson, served as Oneida’s fifth mayor during the Great Depression.
The Terry family remained very prominent in Oneida through the years. Josiah’s grandson was Alvin C. “A.C.” Terry (1866-1957), a prominent early businessman in Oneida (son of Milton Terry and Jane “Jennie” Thomas). He was a school board member, city alderman, and a director of First Trust & Savings Bank who helped start the Oneida Water Company. His son was William Claude Terry Sr., Oneida’s third mayor. He was also an early stockholder of First Trust & Savings Bank. During his tenure as mayor, Oneida was said to have “more paved streets than any town in Tennessee according to population and wealth.” He also oversaw construction of the town’s first sewer system. He later started Terry Motor Company. His son, William Claude Terry Jr., took over ownership of Terry Motor Company and was active in Republican politics. His daughter, Jane Terry, married Ralph Hoffman and they owned Oneida’s Western Auto for 28 years.
William Claude Terry Jr. sold the land where Walmart is now located.
A.C. Terry’s brother was William Abner Terry, who served as Scott County Judge.
Smiths
In 1837, Methodist circuit rider Isaac M. Smith (1795-1867) came to Scott County and fell in love with the Oneida.
Born in Washington County, Va., he is believed to be the son of Thomas Richard Smith and Jean Caruthers. He married Matilda Elliot in 1818.
The historian H. Clay Smith described Isaac Smith as a “fiery old circuit rider.” His circuit was from White Rock in his native Virginia to Campbell County, Tenn., along the Burnside Trail, which passed through Hazel Valley and Verdun west of Oneida, to present-day Ponderosa Estates.
In 1837, Smith secured a land grant that included present-day Ponderosa Estates east to Tunnel Hill.
It was at Tunnel Hill, the home of his son-in-law, James “Jim” Jim Terry, that Smith held the first Methodist services between 1840 and 1845. Later, the First Methodist Church was built where the Oneida Municipal Golf Course clubhouse is currently located at Ponderosa. Jim Terry was a son of Josiah Terry, who married Mary Matilda “Polly” Smith.
During the Civil War, Smith held allegiance to the South and shared his point-of-view from his pulpit. This alienated some of his church, including some of his own family, and an incident at his home that resulted in the wounding of a Union loyalist, Jeff Pemberton, forced Smith to leave Scott County and return to his native Virginia. Services ceased at the Methodist Church during his absence. One of his sons, Leonidas Smith, fought and died for the Confederacy during the war.
According to Paul Roy’s Scott County in the Civil War, Smith’s will was probated in August 1953. And he does not appear with his wife, Matilda, in the 1860 census. If Smith did indeed die in 1853, the Dusty Bits account of confrontation at his home during the Civil War and his return to Virginia would be nullified. There are no conclusive records to prove this.
Officially, Smith is said to have died on April 13, 1867, according to his stone. He was buried at the Carson Family Cemetery near his home. However, it should be noted that this modern stone was placed many years after his death.
Carsons
At some point in the early 1800s, John Linn Carson (1774-1850) moved to present-day Scott County with his wife, Margaret Biggs (1781-1857), settling in the Tunnel Hill area east of present-day Oneida.
The Carson family expanded to settle much of the area between Tunnel Hill and Ponderosa Estates and were the third prominent family in the Oneida area by the early 19th century, along with the Smiths and Terrys.
Rev. Isaac Smith’s daughter, Franky Elvina “Ellen” Smith, married James Bailey Carson, a son of John Linn Carson Sr.
The Carson family at Tunnel Hill included attorney general Arzo Carson, the first director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. He was a second-great-grandson of John Linn Carson. The Carson family has also included Scott County Sheriffs Jim Carson and Marion Carson.
Leland Gates Carson, Oneida’s first mayor, was a great-grandson of Rev. Isaac Smith and Johnn Linn Carson (a grandson of James Bailey Carson and Ellen Smith). Later, in the 1970s, Robert Lee “Bob” Carson served as Oneida’s mayor. He was a second-great-grandson of John Linn Carson.