Hohenwald is a city in and the county seat of Lewis County, Tennessee. The population was 3,754 at the 2000 census. The name "Hohenwald" is a German word that means "High Forest". The town was founded in 1878 and later merged with a town named "New Switzerland" to the south. New Switzerland was founded in 1894 by Swiss immigrants in conjunction with the Nashville, Chattanooga and St.