City Profile: Lakesite

photo Lakesite got its start as a single subdivision but has grown to include shops and restaurants in a commercial area.

* Population: 1,940.

* Geographic area: Lakesite is about 15 miles north of downtown Chattanooga. The tiny town hugs the western shore of the Tennessee River between Dallas Bay, Hixson Pike and the Rocky Point.

* Date founded: 1972.

* Landmarks or geographic features: Rocky Point, Dallas Bay in the Chickamauga Lake section of the Tennessee River.

* Median income: $59,591 per household.

* Most famous residents: Mayor Ken Wilkerson has been the chief of Hamilton County Emergency Medical Services for 18 years. Former Mayor Bernard Gloster is a retired Chattanooga assistant police chief.

* History: The city was incorporated in 1972, primarily through the efforts of two men - Ray Dodson and Hans Bingham. The original incorporation included only the subdivision of Lakesite with 200 homes and a population of 500.

By 1994, the population of the city had grown to around 900. That year, a group representing residents of neighboring subdivisions approached the Lakesite City Commission to petition for annexation. With a yes vote, the city population jumped to 1,499, and it added 66 percent more land area, including a commercial area at the intersection of Hixson Pike and Daisy-Dallas Road. In 1997, another annexation increased the city's population to 1,551. By 2000, the number of Lakesite residents had grown to 1,845.

* Schools: None.

* Fun fact: Lakesite could develop a new municipal park on the Chickamauga Lake later this year on 49 acres it hopes to lease from the Tennessee Valley Authority.

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