The Marion County Courthouse is in Jasper, Tenn., on U.S. Highway 41.

"It's really a community. There's a lot of heart in the people of this town."

- Jonathan Ramsey, new resident and server at Dutch Maid Bakery

Location: In the south-central portion of Marion County near the Sequatchie River on U.S. Highway 41

Size: 3.07 square miles

Population: 3,279

Founded: Incorporated 1854

Government: Billy Simpson is mayor. City aldermen are Paul W. Evans, Steve Looney, Leon Rash and Chip Wampler.

Schools: Jasper Elementary, Jasper Middle, Marion County High

Attraction: Jasper Regional History Museum

Place in history: Jasper was a boomtown during the building of Hales Bar Lock and Dam, which was the first multipurpose structure used as a dam and power source in the world in 1905 when construction began. During the project, there were 3,000 men working around the clock, seven days a week, to build the dam.

Famous landmark: A restored map hanging in the Marion County Courthouse is the oldest piece of history created in the community in 1895. It was drawn as an overview of the earliest settlers, Civil War and Indian history. More details can be found in "The Cherokees and First Settlers: Volume II of Marion County" by local historian Nonie Webb. Copies can be found at public libraries in Chattanooga and Jasper.