Whitwell

Established in 1910, the Marion County School District consists of only 10 schools serving the 4,000 students living in Ketner Mill and the surrounding communities. While small in size, the school district has made an enormous impact on the lives of its students, none more significant than the “Paper Clips Project.” While studying the Holocaust in 1998, students at Whitwell Middle School struggled to grasp the enormity of the six million people who died, so they set out to collect six million paper clips, a nod to the Norwegians who wore paper clips as a symbol of resistance against Nazi occupation. Ultimately, the students collected more than 30 million paper clips, drawing media attention from around the world and leading to the establishment of a Children’s Holocaust Memorial in Whitwell. A 2004 documentary entitled Paper Clips tells the story of these children from Ketner Mill and the many lives they touched worldwide. Most of the homes in Ketner Mill are located within a narrow strip of rural land between Highways 27 and 28 on the banks of the Sequatchie River, where the houses are scattered throughout the woods along narrow country roads meandering through dense forests. Home buyers can expect to find rustic homes on multiple acres of land, including Craftsman, Cape Cod and split-level homes ranging from $150,000 to $300,000. The rest of the housing market consists of mountain retreats on the bluffs overlooking the Tennessee River and waterfront properties with private beaches on Nickajack Lake. These rustic estates can sell for upwards of $800,000. “Ketner Mill is probably the most rural community within 25 miles of Chattanooga,” says Rommel Ramos, a Realtor with Keller Williams Realty Chattanooga who has worked in the local real estate market for over 20 years. “The community is popular among buyers seeking more acreage, more privacy and a lower cost of living.” Ketner Mill is located in the Sequatchie Valley, a scenic narrow divide between the Cumberland Plateau and the Tennessee River with endless outdoor opportunities. Residents can access the waters of the Tennessee River and Nickajack Lake from any one of the multiple boat ramps and marinas along Ketner Mill’s eastern border, climb to the top of the lookouts at Snooper’s Rock and Insurance Bluff or hike the miles of wooded trails throughout Prentice Cooper State Forest. The community comes together at Jasper City Park, a municipal park near Marion County High School with playgrounds and multiple lighted ball fields. Marion County Park is located on the banks of a slow-moving corner of the Tennessee River, featuring swimming beaches, fishing piers and rustic campgrounds. Ketner Mill is a car-dependent neighborhood in the woods of rural Tennessee, and residents must drive into Jasper or Whitwell to access the nearest shopping, entertainment and dining. For groceries, locals can go north to Save A Lot or Castle’s Grocery in Whitwell, or head south to the Ingles Market in Jasper. Breakfast is served at Rebecca’s FarmHouse Restaurant, an old-fashioned roadside diner serving hearty homestyle breakfast meals, while Kanti’s Bar and Grill is Ketner Mill’s favorite dinner restaurant, serving authentic Mexican cuisine and craft cocktails in nearby Jasper. Students in Ketner Mill begin their education at Whitwell Elementary School, a B-rated school on Niche with a student-teacher ratio of 16-to-1. From there, students progress to Whitwell Middle School — which earns a C-plus-grade on Niche — and Whitwell High School, a C-plus-rated school with a competitive athletics program and a graduation rate of nearly 90 percent. Situated in the southwestern Sequatchie Valley at the base of the Cumberland Plateau, Ketner Mill is 24 miles northwest of Chattanooga in Marion County, Tennessee. The community’s residential district sits along Highway 28 between the nearby towns of Jasper and Whitwell on Tennessee’s southern border with Georgia. Residents can drive to the Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport in less than 45 minutes, which offers direct flights to Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago and Charlotte.