Blood, Trauma, and Biohazard Cleanup in Unicoi, TN

Unicoi is an incorporated town in Unicoi County in northeastern Tennessee, part of the Johnson City metropolitan area in the Tri-Cities region; the county seat is Erwin, not Unicoi.

The community was originally known as Greasy Cove.

In 1851 the Swingle brothers opened a post office in the community called Swingleville, and in 1876 Dr. F. H. Hannum changed the post office name to Limonite.

When the railroad arrived in the late 1880s the name became Unicoi City, later shortened to Unicoi, a name derived from Unaka, a Cherokee word meaning white.

Unicoi developed in the early 20th century as a shipping point for area mining and logging operations.

Residents voted to incorporate Unicoi as a town in 1994, spurred by fears that Johnson City would annex into the area after it bought the Buffalo Valley Golf Course in upper Unicoi County for $1.52 million.

The 2020 census counted 3,833 people in Unicoi.

The 2020 census recorded 1,570 households and 1,739 housing units in Unicoi, and the median age of residents was 45.7 years.

Unicoi covers about 16.2 square miles at an elevation of roughly 1,923 feet in the North Indian Creek valley, known locally as the Valley Beautiful.

The town is surrounded by the Cherokee National Forest, with Buffalo Mountain rising to the west and the outer Unaka Mountains rising to the east.