Town file
Mountain City, Tennessee
Mountain City, Tennessee (Johnson County, Tennessee) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 611, "Facebook Catfish Murders" (10 July 2025).
- Town
- Mountain City
- County
- Johnson County
- State
- Tennessee
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 611
- Approximate location
- 36.470, -81.805
Episode 611 / 10 July 2025 / 178 min / full
Facebook Catfish Murders
"We are going to Mountain City, Tennessee, in the far northeastern tip of Tennessee; this is in Johnson County." about 0:04:40
The case: Murders of Billy Payne and Billy Jean Hayworth (January 31, 2012). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2025
- Population
- 2,367
- Median age
- almost 45
- Median household income
- $29,155
- Median home value
- $183,800
- Two-bedroom rent
- $810
- Cost of living
- 73.4
- Religious
- exactly 50%
- Property crime
- ▼ about 20% below
- Violent crime
- ▼ about half
History, in brief
- The area was originally part of Carter County, but the county seat at Elizabethton was hard to reach over the hills. about 0:05:42
- Johnson County was created in 1836, and the town was made its county seat. about 0:05:53
- The land was platted and named Taylorsville after Colonel James P. Taylor. about 0:06:04
- In 1885 the town was renamed Mountain City at the urging of Congressman Roderick R. Butler, to reflect its position in one of the highest valleys in Tennessee. about 0:06:21
- Mountain City hosted the old-time fiddlers convention in 1925, attended by many musicians and with a contest. about 0:06:42
- Dudley Vance of Bluff City won first prize at the 1925 convention with Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. about 0:07:17
The reviews read out
4 stars
"The scenic views are lovely, the local restaurants are good and the service makes one feel at home even if one is not from the area."about 0:08:04
1 star
"The town is full of crime and crackheads, meth is the largest cash crop, the authorities cover it up, the people are uneducated bible thumpers and there is nothing to offer."about 0:08:31
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Marion, Virginia30 miles
- Baileyton, Tennessee58 miles
- Skygusty, West Virginia62 miles
- Pound, Virginia63 miles
- Mount Airy, North Carolina66 miles
- Hensley, West Virginia70 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.