Halls: At a Crossroads

By staff | 9:53 am, 08/22/2007

Halls is a pastoral community in North Knox County, a high-growth location that ranks among the area’s 10 wealthiest ZIP codes.

The community’s annual median household income of approximately $58,000 is third highest in the Knoxville area. One-third of the household incomes are above $75,000.

With that kind of base, business analysts say Halls can support commercial and residential development. And that’s happening. New high-end subdivisions in the area include Timberlake and the adjoining Harbor Cove at Timberlake.

Businesses range from Halls Family Physicians to the headquarters of Prestige Cleaners, both located on Emory Road.

Halls started out as a little stop for settlers in the late 1700s. They were trickling over the mountains to set up homesteads on land grants from the State of Franklin.

The old buffalo trail they used cut across Black Oak Ridge. Previously Native Americans traveled through there to hunt and live.

Thomas Hall, for whom the community is named, was one of the earliest settlers. He arrived in the valley from Orange County, N.C. He had fought for freedom, but the British captured him in the siege of Charleston. To thank Hall for his service, the U.S. government gave him a piece of land in what’s now called East Tennessee.

A grandson’s general store became known as Halls Crossroads during the Civil War. Northern and Southern troops used the house as a military outpost, according to A History of Halls.

In 1903 the Avondale Farms Creamery sprang up on the corner across from where Hall’s store had been. Small farms played a big role in the community. By the late 1900s, Halls was booming with businesses, from fast-food restaurants to shops and movie theaters.

Geographically, Halls still lies at a crossroads: the intersections between busy Maynardville Highway, Emory Road and Norris Freeway. The growing community is also at a crossroads in time – between a sleepy past and a dynamic future.

  • A 3/4-mile Halls Greenway Trail is under construction. It will connect the Halls Community Park, a new Knox County Environmental Education Park and the library on Emory Road. The trail runs along Beaver Creek and crosses wetland areas.
  • Schools in the community include Adrian Burnett Elementary, 4521 Brown Gap Road, 689-1474; Brickey-McCloud Elementary, 1810 Dry Gap Pike, 689-1499; Halls Elementary, 7502 Andersonville Pike, 922-7445; Halls Middle, 4317 E. Emory Road, 922-7494; and Halls High School and North Knox Vocational Technology Center, 4321 E. Emory Road, 922-7757.
  • Halls is one of the most populated suburbs of Knoxville.
  • Beaver Dam Baptist Church in Halls is the oldest church in Knox County.
  • The Halls Branch Library (4518 E. Emory Road, 922-2552) features play readings, storytimes and other events.
  • Knoxville Area Transit’s Route 100X-Halls Express bus serves Halls Plaza, Black Oak Plaza, TVA Towers, and downtown. (215-7800)
  • Black Oak Plaza, started in 1980, houses Goody’s, Kmart, Kroger and other businesses.
  • In 1980 land was secured north of Halls High School for the Northside YMCA. The Y opened on Maynardville Highway in 1981. (922-9622)

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