Gallatin, Tennessee
Gallatin is a city in and the county seat of Sumner County, Tennessee, United States.[5] The population was 30,278 at the 2010 census and 44,431 at the 2020 census.[6] Named for United States Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin, the city was established on the Cumberland River and made the county seat of Sumner County in 1802. It is located about 30.6 miles northeast of the state capital of Nashville, Tennessee.
Several national companies have facilities or headquarters in Gallatin, including Facebook, Gap, Inc., Beretta and Servpro Industries, Inc. Gallatin was formerly the headquarters of Dot Records. The city is also the site of Volunteer State Community College, a two-year college with more than 70 degree programs. In 2017, Gallatin was ranked as "The Nicest Place In America" by Reader's Digest.[7]
Economy[edit]
In May 2007, the unemployment rate in Sumner County was 3.8%, which was 0.7% below the national rate. The total number of workers in the county was 79,620.[10]
The top four major employers in Gallatin, in order, are GAP, Inc., Sumner Regional Medical Center, Volunteer State Community College, and RR Donnelley. Gap employs 1,250 workers[25] The Tennessee Valley Authority operates a coal-fired power plant in Gallatin.
In 2015, the Italian firearms manufacturer Beretta moved its U.S. production facility to Gallatin from Accokeek, Maryland.[26]
Parks
Gallatin has six parks that allow for various sports and activities, including: baseball, basketball, beach volleyball, disc golf, fishing, American football, horseshoes, skateboarding, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, walking and volleyball. These parks are:
Old Hickory Lake is also available for boating, fishing, swimming and related activities.
Recreation
Gallatin offers Cal Ripken and Babe Ruth baseball for ages 5–15 with the Kiwanis Club and Little League Baseball with the American Legion. Slow-pitch girls' softball leagues are also present. Basketball, American football, tennis, and soccer leagues are also available for various ages.
The Gallatin Civic Center has a swimming pool, a running/walking track, racquetball court, and basketball courts.
Gallatin has three golf courses:
Gallatin has one disc golf course:
Triple Creek is maintained by the City of Gallatin with assistance from the Sumner County Disc Golf Association (SCDGA). The SCDGA holds several events a month at Triple Creek DGC including Wednesdays Random Draw Doubles and a SCDGA Bag Tag that rotates between Triple Creek DGC and Sanders Ferry Park DGC.
Education[edit]
Board of education[edit]
Gallatin's schools are governed by the Sumner County Board of Education. The board consists of eleven elected representatives from each of the eleven single-member districts in the county. The members serve staggered four-year terms. They oversee the Director of Schools, Del Phillips, who serves under contract to the board. The board conducts monthly meetings that are open to the public. The school system's General Purpose School Fund budget during the 2020–21 school year was approximately $271 million.[30]
The county-wide school system consists of approximately 4,300 employees and 49 schools.[31] The system has more than 180 bus routes which cover more than 6,000 miles (9,700 km) per day.[31] The floor space in all of the county's schools totals more than 100 acres (0.40 km2). Approximately 29,400 students were enrolled in the county school system as of August 2020.[31]
Media[edit]
Print[edit]
One local newspaper covers events in Gallatin: The Gallatin Newspaper, published on Thursdays. The city's original newspaper, The Gallatin News Examiner, founded in 1859, ceased publication in 2017.
Radio and television[edit]
Gallatin received its first local radio station in August 1948 when WHIN 1010 AM, went on the air. Owned at one time by the record mogul Randy Wood, the station still serves Sumner County with country music, local sports and coverage of NASCAR racing.
WHIN broadcast only in the daytime. Starting in 1950, the on-air studios at night were the production site for Dot Records. Its original headquarters were in the town. Six years later, Dot moved to Hollywood, California.
WHIN was joined by an FM station in December 1960 when 104.5 came on the air. The FM station has broadcast under many call letters. Probably its most famous days were in the late 1970s and 1980s, when it was known as KX (pronounced Kicks) 104, a popular music station that battled with Nashville stations for top listenership. During that time the station was owned by Ron Bledsoe, a former employee in his younger years, who commanded CBS Records in Nashville.
In the early 21st century, the station is owned by Citadel sports radio station WGFX. It targets the Nashville market and is the flagship station for the Tennessee Titans and Tennessee Volunteers.
WMRO (1560) came to the air in 1994 to serve the community. It plays an automated Hot AC format, along with local religious programming on Sunday mornings.
Volunteer State Community College operates a radio and television station. The student-run radio station, WVCP, broadcasts on 88.5 MHz FM, and plays music of various formats.
The television station is broadcast on Comcast Cable channel 19. The channel displays local announcements related to the college and the Gallatin/Sumner County area. The audio portion of the channel is a simulcast of the radio station. The channel also airs educational programs, usually at high school or college levels. Gallatin City Council meetings, Sumner County School Board meetings and Sumner County Commission meetings are also broadcast by the station.
