Visitor directory
Marion County directory
Foster Falls and the climbing walls of Denny Cove, the Snoopers Rock overlook in Prentice Cooper State Forest above the Tennessee River Gorge, Nickajack Lake, the cast-iron town of South Pittsburg, the Children’s Holocaust Memorial in Whitwell and Ketner’s Mill on the Sequatchie River, with Jasper as the county seat — on Central time, an hour behind Chattanooga and Knoxville.
Cities: Jasper (county seat) · South Pittsburg · Whitwell · Kimball · Powells Crossroads · New Hope · Orme · Monteagle (also Grundy & Franklin)
Communities: Griffith Creek · Haletown · Sequatchie · Victoria · Whiteside
Official tourism, parks & attractions
Tourism
- Marion County Chamber of Commerce ↗302 Betsy Pack Dr, Jasper · (423) 942-5103 · community events calendar and a member directory of places to stay, eat and shop · South Pittsburg’s National Cornbread Festival is the last full weekend of April.
Parks & outdoors
- Prentice Cooper State Forest & Wildlife Management Area ↗Above the Tennessee River Gorge off TN 27 (Suck Creek Rd) west of Signal Mountain — maps often label it Chattanooga, but the forest is in Marion County · the Snoopers Rock overlook, 35 miles of hiking trails including the Cumberland Trail’s Prentice Cooper section, two camping areas, rock climbing, mountain biking, horseback riding and OHV riding in designated areas · the Hicks Gap Natural Area protects the rare large-flowered skullcap · no entry between sunset and sunrise · during scheduled big-game hunts the WMA is closed to everyone but hunters — check the TWRA hunt dates before you go (fall 2026: Oct 29–31, Nov 6–8 and Nov 28–Dec 3) · managed by the Tennessee Division of Forestry with TWRA.
- Foster Falls & Denny Cove (Fiery Gizzard State Park) ↗On the Cumberland Plateau in the northwest of the county, between Jasper and Tracy City · Foster Falls, a 60-foot waterfall in a forested gorge, has an overlook near the parking area, trails, a campground and popular sandstone climbing · Denny Cove has about 150 climbing routes and Denny Falls · both were part of South Cumberland State Park until October 2025, when Fiery Gizzard State Park (Marion and Grundy counties) became a park of its own · check the park page for trail, water and campground status.
- Marion County Park on Nickajack Lake ↗9696 US 41, near Haletown · the county’s campground on Nickajack Lake, with tent and RV sites, a boat ramp, swimming, fishing, pavilions and a stage · (423) 942-6653 · nearby: TVA’s Little Cedar Mountain Small Wild Area trail, a 3-mile loop rated difficult, with an overlook, about 3 miles northwest of Nickajack Dam.
Attractions
- Whitwell hang gliding & paragliding launch (Tennessee Tree Toppers) ↗4025 Mount Olive Rd, Whitwell, above the Sequatchie Valley · the Tennessee Tree Toppers, a club of hang gliding and paragliding pilots, keep this launch and the Henson Gap launch in Sequatchie County · visiting pilots need USHPA and club membership and a site briefing before a first flight at Whitwell; site rules and weather on the club site.
- The Princess Theatre (South Pittsburg) ↗215 S Cedar Ave, downtown South Pittsburg · concerts, touring shows and community events on the downtown stage; schedule and tickets on the theatre site.
Museums & history
- Children’s Holocaust Memorial & Museum (Whitwell Middle School) ↗1 Butterfly Ln, Whitwell · grew from the Paper Clips Project, begun in 1998 when Whitwell Middle School eighth-graders and their teachers set out to collect six million paper clips to grasp the scale of the Holocaust; more than 30 million arrived · 11 million clips fill an authentic German railcar and another 11 million are in a monument to the children of the Holocaust · on an active school campus: guided tours by appointment only, booked at least 7 days ahead; families and groups under 20 Mon and Wed 8:30–9:30 AM CT, larger groups Fri 9–10:30 AM CT, September–March; $5 per person, cash or check; adults bring a driver’s license · closed in August.
- Ketner’s Mill and Bridge (National Register) ↗658 Ketner Mill Ln, on the Sequatchie River near Whitwell · a historic gristmill and bridge on the National Register since 1977 · home of the Ketner’s Mill Country Arts & Crafts Fair each October (Oct 3–4 in 2026), when the mill grinds meal and craftspeople demonstrate — the fair posts its hours an hour ahead of local Central time, for its Chattanooga visitors.
- Jasper Regional History Museum ↗715 Phillips Ave, Jasper · free · Sat 10 AM–noon CT and by appointment · Civil War artifacts, a room on the Pryor Institute, Marion County High School annuals, veterans’ displays, heirloom quilts and Jasper’s first modern fire truck.
- South Pittsburg Heritage Museum ↗316 S Cedar Ave, South Pittsburg · run by the South Pittsburg Historic Preservation Society · old photographs, an antique gas range made in South Pittsburg in the 1920s, locally made cast-iron cookware and research materials · free · Fri and Sat 9 AM–noon CT and by appointment.
- Marion County Coal Miners Museum (Whitwell) ↗900A Main St, Whitwell · free · Mon–Fri 8 AM–5 PM CT, Sat 8 AM–noon CT · the story of coal mining in Marion County, which began in small quantities in the 1840s.
Government
- Marion County government ↗Marion County Courthouse, 1 Courthouse Square, Jasper · County Mayor’s Office (423) 942-2552 · Mon–Fri 8 AM–4 PM CT · county news, events and the parks, museums and outdoors pages.
- Town of Jasper (county seat) ↗Town offices, 32 Courthouse Square · (423) 942-3180 · town news and announcements · Jasper Public Library, 14 W 2nd St, (423) 942-3369, Mon 8:30 AM–8 PM CT, Tue, Wed and Fri 8:30 AM–5 PM CT, Sat 8:30 AM–2 PM CT.
- City of South Pittsburg ↗City Hall (423) 837-5012 · city departments and meetings · Beene-Pearson Public Library, 208 Elm Ave, (423) 837-6513.
Shared with neighboring counties
- Cumberland Trail State Park (TN State Parks) — shared with other counties; listed under East Tennessee (general)
Local resources
- Emergency (police · fire · EMS)911Call 911 for any emergency.
- Marion County Sheriff’s Office(423) 942-25255 N Oak Ave, Jasper · non-emergency dispatch for the Sheriff’s Office and the county’s police departments · Sheriff Chris Webb ⓘ source
- Parkridge West Hospital(423) 837-95001000 TN 28, Jasper · emergency department · for emergencies call 911 ⓘ source
- Marion County Health Department(423) 942-223824 E 7th St, Jasper · Tennessee Department of Health ⓘ source
- Marion County Mayor’s Office(423) 942-2552Courthouse, 1 Courthouse Square, Jasper · County Mayor David Jackson ⓘ source
- Marion County Schools(423) 942-3434204 Betsy Pack Dr, Jasper · calendars, closings ⓘ source
- Marion County Election Commission(423) 942-2108109 Academy Ave, Jasper · Election Day Tue Nov 3: polls open 8 AM–7 PM CT at your own precinct ⓘ source
- Highway emergency (cell)*THP (*847)Tennessee Highway Patrol ⓘ source
Checked Oct 28, 2026 · official sites only · phone numbers copied from each agency’s own page — tap ⓘ to confirm. In an emergency, call 911.
Area news
Headlines from local outlets · Marion County
At South Pittsburg's October Board of Mayor and Commissioners meeting, Commissioner Beth Duggar outlined ideas to beautify the US 72 median.
Read at Marion County Tribune →South Pittsburg's Board of Mayor and Commissioners approved a $5,000 donation to the city's Recreation and Jr. Pro Basketball League.
Read at Marion County Tribune →The City of Whitwell received a Budget of Excellence award from the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury.
Read at Marion County Tribune →Leaders in Marion County updated cleanup after severe storms knocked down trees and power lines and tore the roof off the Chester Powell Senior Citizens' Apartments in South Pittsburg.
Read at NewsChannel 9 →
Short summaries in our words — tap through to read the full story at the outlet. All area news → · Outlet requests: [email protected]
A short history
The Tennessee River cuts through the mountains here, and Native peoples lived along it for thousands of years; soldiers from Tristán de Luna’s Spanish expedition are thought to have reached the river towns of the Napochies in 1560. By the late 1700s the Cherokee towns of Nickajack, Running Water and Long Island stood near the river. Warriors from the river towns attacked the boat of Col. James Brown, bound for Middle Tennessee, killing the men and capturing the women and children; his young son Joseph later escaped and in 1794 guided the Cumberland settlers’ expedition that destroyed the three towns. Amos Griffith and William and James Standifer are thought to have been the first white settlers, arriving about 1805, and in 1817 the legislature created Marion County from Cherokee lands, naming it for Gen. Francis Marion, the Revolutionary War’s “Swamp Fox.”
The first county court met in 1817 at John Shropshire’s house, in what is now Whitwell. In 1819 the county seat moved to Jasper, named for Sergeant Jasper of Revolutionary War fame, on land bought from Betsy Pack, a Cherokee woman, and the first courthouse went up there in 1820. The Civil War divided Marion County families between the two armies. In 1877 James Bowron and English investors began developing the county’s iron and coal: mines opened at Whitwell, coke ovens fired at Victoria, iron ore came from Inman and blast furnaces rose at South Pittsburg, where Lodge Cast Iron still makes cookware.
Richard City grew up in the early 1900s as the company town of the Dixie Portland Cement Company. Hales Bar Dam brought hydroelectric power to the river in the 1910s; TVA’s Nickajack Dam later replaced it, and Nickajack Lake covered the old dam, though its powerhouse still stands and is on the National Register. In 1998 Whitwell Middle School students began the Paper Clips Project, which grew into the Children’s Holocaust Memorial. Governor and U.S. Senator James B. Frazier and Judge John T. Raulston, who presided over the 1925 Scopes trial in Dayton, are among those buried in the county.
Towns & communities
- Jasper — county seat (a town) on Courthouse Square; the county courthouse, the Jasper Regional History Museum, the county schools office and Parkridge West Hospital
- South Pittsburg — city on the Tennessee River; Lodge Cast Iron, the Princess Theatre, the South Pittsburg Heritage Museum and the National Cornbread Festival each April
- Whitwell — city in the Sequatchie Valley; the Children’s Holocaust Memorial at Whitwell Middle School, the Coal Miners Museum, the Tree Toppers launch on Mount Olive Rd and nearby Ketner’s Mill
- Kimball — town on I-24 next to South Pittsburg and Jasper
- Powells Crossroads — town in the Sequatchie Valley between Jasper and Whitwell
- New Hope — city across the Tennessee River from South Pittsburg, near the Alabama line
- Orme — small town in the far southwest of the county, near the Alabama line
- Monteagle (also Grundy & Franklin) — town on top of the Cumberland Plateau at I-24, shared with Grundy and Franklin counties
- Sequatchie (community) — in the Sequatchie Valley north of Jasper — not to be confused with Sequatchie County next door
- Victoria (community) — in the Sequatchie Valley between Jasper and Whitwell, once home to coke ovens
- Haletown (community) — on Nickajack Lake near Marion County Park
- Griffith Creek (community) — at the north end of the county, near the Sequatchie County line
- Whiteside (community) — in the southeast corner on I-24, near the Georgia line
Our place stories in and near Marion County
Go deeper
- Tanasi: the town that named Tennessee — and the TVA waters
- How the World Was Made — a Cherokee account
Neighboring counties: Hamilton County · Sequatchie County · All counties →
Official visitor links
Checked Oct 27, 2026 · hours, fees and events live on these pages.
Videos
Sources
Checked Oct 27, 2026 · We summarize; follow these for the full history. No hours or fees on this page — check official sites before you go.