Loudon

Formed May 27, 1870 (88^th county)

Loudon County (54,887), Loudon (5,992), Lenoir City (10,122)

The 1872 dark red brick Colonial Revival courthouse was augmented with an annex in 1990.  It is on a square surrounded by Mulberry, Poplar, Cedar and Grove streets.  Mulberry Street is United States Highway 11 in the town.  Alexander C. Bruce provided the courthouse designs.  The structure features a small tower and veterans’ memorials.  The courthouse was destroyed by a fire in 2019.  A Justice Center was built in 1975.  Loudon County was established on May 27, 1870 from parts of Roane, Monroe, and Blount counties as the 88^th county with Loudon as the only county seat.  The county and county seat are named for the Earl of Loudoun. 

Loudon County government consists of a sheriff, a County Mayor, and 10 Commissioners.  Two Circuit Court Judges, One Chancery Court Judge, One General Court Judge, and One Juvenile Court Judge serve Loudon, Meigs, Morgan, and Roane counties.  The county is in eastern Tennessee.  The Tennessee River flows through the county.  Knoxville, Tennessee is northeast and Chattanooga, Tennessee is southwest of the county.  The county center is in Loudon 2.7 miles East of the city center.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Knox, Blount, Monroe, McMinn, and Roane counties. 

The area of the county is 229 square miles.  It is 85 out of 95 in the state.  It ranks 27 out of 95 in population in the state.  It has a density of 239.7 persons per square mile making it 15 out of 95 in the state.  Loudon County has 32.5% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 40 cuts the northern tip of the county from Knox County, northeast, to Roane County, northwest.  Interstate Highway 75 is joined with Interstate Highway 40 from Knox County, splits and heads southwest into Monroe County.  United States Highway 11 parallels Interstate Highway 75 from Knox to Monroe counties.  United States Highway 70 is joined with United States Highway 11 from Knox County, splits and parallels Interstate Highway 40 into Roane County.  United States Highway 321 comes from Blount County, east, and terminates.  The county looks like a triangle.  The City of Loudon is located in the southern quarter of the county.  Lenoir City is in the northeast quarter of the county.  Loudon is the county seat and Lenoir City is the largest city.  Loudon is 10.9% of the county population while Lenoir City is 18.4% of the county population.  The county and county seat are pronounced LOU-DON.  This county is in the Knoxville Metropolitan Statistical Area.