Sevier County, Tennessee

Sevier County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Sevierville
Year Organized: 1794
Square Miles: 592

Court House:

125 Court Avenue
County Courthouse
Sevierville, TN 37862-3543

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Named in honor of John Sevier (1745-1815), governor of the State of Franklin, territorial militia officer, US congressman from North Carolina and Tennessee, state senator and first governor of Tennessee.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History of Sevier County

Created 1794 from Jefferson County; named in honor of John Sevier (1745-1815), governor of the State of Franklin, territorial militia officer, US congressman from North Carolina and Tennessee, state senator and first governor of Tennessee.

Sevier County was formed in 1794 from Jefferson County. (Acts of Tennessee 1794 [1st Session], Chapter 11).

There was a fire at the Sevier County courthouse in 1856.

Located in East Tennessee, Sevier County has the distinction of having three birthdays: in 1785 under the State of Franklin, in 1794 under the Southwest Territory, and in 1796 under the State of Tennessee. Sevierville, the county seat, and the county were named in honor of John Sevier. The land area of 592.3 square miles has a varied topography which consists of fertile lowlands along the French Broad and Little Pigeon Rivers, the hilly portion drained by the Forks of Little Pigeon River, and the majestic peaks of the Great Smoky Mountains, including Clingman's Dome, the highest mountain peak in Tennessee.

The two branches of the Great Indian War Path which crossed the county became the chief migratory route for the early settlers in the 1780s. The signing of the Dumplin Treaty at Major Hugh Henry's Station in 1785 opened the area south of the French Broad for settlement.

The first court of Sevier County, State of Franklin, was held at Samuel Newell's Station on Boyds Creek in March 1785. The first court of Sevier County, Southwest Territory, was held at the home of Isaac Thomas on November 8, 1794. Magistrates present were Samuel Newell, Joseph Willson, Joshua Gist, Peter Bryant, Joseph Vance, and Andrew Evans. Absent were Mordecai Lewis and Robert Pollock. On January 11, 1796, Spencer Clack, John Clack, Samuel Wear, Peter Bryant, and Thomas Buckingham were sent to help prepare a state constitution at the convention in Knoxville. John Clack was elected to the Senate and Spencer Clack and Samuel Wear to the House of Representatives.

Find more from the Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture: SEVIER COUNTY

Geography

Mountains over Sevier County at sunset from the Great Smoky Mountains National ParkAccording to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 598 square miles (1,548 km²), of which 592 square miles (1,534 km²) is land and 5 square miles (14 km²) (0.91%) is water.

As one of the largest counties in Tennessee, Sevier County's terrain varies from one of the most rugged portions of the Appalachian Mountains to the river valley of the French Broad River and Douglas Lake. The maximum elevation differential in Sevier County is the greatest in Tennessee, ranging from a high of 6,643 feet (2,025 m) at Clingmans Dome (the highest point in the state) to a low of 850 feet (259 m) at the French Broad River.

Neighboring Counties:

Jefferson County, Tennessee - north
Cocke County, Tennessee - east
Haywood County, North Carolina - southeast
Swain County, North Carolina - south
Blount County, Tennessee - west
Knox County, Tennessee - northwest

Cities and Towns:

- Gatlinburg	city	Incorporated Area
- Pigeon Forge	city	Incorporated Area
- Pittman Center	town	Incorporated Area
- Sevierville (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resources

The history of our nation was a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names given the counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of this country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."