Thorn Grove, Tennessee

Thorn Grove is an unincorporated community in eastern Knox County, Tennessee, United States. It is located east of Knoxville and north of [Midway, Knox County, Tennessee|Knox County, Tennessee|Midway]. It is included in the Knoxville Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

Thorn Grove is located adjacent to the Interstate 40 interchange at Midway Road, with I-40 connecting the community to Downtown Knoxville, and Midway Road connecting the community to Midway.
The interchange, along with tracts of land on Thorn Grove Pike and Midway Road were annexed by the City of Knoxville.

History

Throughout its existence, Thorn Grove has been predominantly rural, residents of the community have cited to preserve bucolic lifestyle despite the construction of I-40 in the mid-20th century.
Since its earliest proposals in the 2000s, Thorn Grove is the location of the long-argued Midway Business Park, a commercial development project.
The project, blocked by a 2008 lawsuit, was eventually approved for construction in 2015 by the Knox County Commission. In late 2018, the business park broke ground, with an estimated completion date of its first phase in mid-2020.
The first phase of the Midway Business Park is expected to have the potential to create an estimated 1,800 to 2,000 jobs in the region.