Sweet Lips, Tennessee

Sweet Lips (or "Sweetlips") is an unincorporated community in Chester County, Tennessee, United States.[2]

Sweet Lips, Tennessee
unincorporated community
Sweet Lips
Sweet Lips
Sweet Lips, Tennessee is located in Tennessee
Sweet Lips, Tennessee
Sweet Lips, Tennessee
Sweet Lips, Tennessee is located in the United States
Sweet Lips, Tennessee
Sweet Lips, Tennessee
Coordinates: 35°24′30″N 88°31′20″W
CountryUnited States
StateTennessee
CountyChester
Elevation
584 ft (178 m)
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
GNIS feature ID1303968[1]

The first settlers arrived in the 1820s.[3] Residents have claimed that the name comes from "settlers (or wandering hobos or thirsty Civil War soldiers, depending on whom you ask) who declared water from a creek to be 'sweet to the lips.'"[3][4][5] Alternatively, It may be named after Sweet Lips, the gun that a Tennessean soldier used to kill Patrick Ferguson who was leading an army of Loyalists to invade Tennessee on October 7, 1780.[6] It may also be named after George Washington's dog with the same name.[7] Sweet Lips has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names.[3][8][9]

A 1986 profile on the community reported a population of 85, no stop signs or street lights, no post office, and that the former two-room school house was now the "Sweet Lips Grocery" store.[10][11] The school closed in 1960.[12]

Some scenes from the 1973 movie Walking Tall were filmed in Sweet Lips.[13]

References
  1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Sweet Lips, Tennessee
  2. Boothby, Karen J. (18 February 2009). Sweet Lips with a sense of humor, The Jackson Sun (article on this "Chester County community" notes that "when your community's named Sweet Lips, you learn to have a sense of humor.")
  3. (14 July 1991). Toad Suck, 10 miles, Stop laughing - that's the town's name, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ("The village, settled about 170 years ago, once bustled. Now the community's lone business is Sweet Lips Store.")
  4. Boyd, L.M. (20 July 1995). Greater Singers, Daily Record (Washington)
  5. "From Panic to Tranquility". Reading Eagle. April 7, 2003. pp. B7. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  6. "The American Revolution". Tennessee4me. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  7. "George Washington: Founding Father—And Passionate Dog Breeder". HISTORY. December 3, 2019. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  8. Rose, Allen (12 June 1993). LIZARD LICK IS ODD NAME FOR TOWN, BUT MAP IS FULL OF OFF-BEAT NAMES, Orlando Sentinel
  9. (28 August 1886). A Nation of Humorists, The Atlanta Constitution (1886 article notes name -- "In Tennessee we find Sweet Lips, Defeated, Regret, Peanut, Quiz and Tut.")
  10. (25 June 1986). A Sweet Lips, Tennessee Homecoming, Tri-City Herald (reprint from the Los Angeles Times
  11. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Sweet Lips TN post office
  12. Chester Co. Historical Society. Chester Co, TN - Vol II - Pictorial, p. 135 (2001)
  13. Pusser, Dwana. Walking on: A Daughter's Journey With Legendary Sheriff Buford Pusser, p. 159 (2009)
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