The Department of Records Management and Archives preserves the oldest
public records of Tennessee in the state’s oldest town, Jonesborough. Located at
103 West Main Street in a yellow-brick former bank built in 1915, the archive
houses records to aid in researching family, local, and regional history.
Washington County Archives building, downtown Jonesborough, view
from the 110 ft. steeple of the Jonesborough Presbyterian Church, as
County Archivist Ned Irwin and Archives Associate Donna Briggs wave hello.
Photo taken by Gordon Edwards, April 18, 2019
New to our site–
EARLY WILLS (pre 1800) – Digital scans are now available on our website of the early wills of Washington County. To read the news article about this important addition to our site, click here: News and Events
Click here to view: Early Wills of Washington County
UPDATED COLLECTION GUIDE! – Tennessee State Court Records
All cases are appeals of cases from lower Tennessee courts, including Circuit Court and Chancery Court. Many types of civil and criminal cases are included dealing with such matters as land and estate disputes, divorce, debt, murders, among much else. Issues such as slavery, the Civil War, domestic relations, and other social and cultural aspects of Tennessee life are revealed in these cases. The existing online guide was updated on August 9, 2019 with 17 new cases. The copies of these cases were purchased by the Friends of the Archives from the Tennessee State Library and Archives.
View the guide here: Tennessee State Court Records
NEW COLLECTION GUIDE! – County Court –Judicial Case Files 1778 – 1825
This collection contains loose records for court cases handled by the justices of
the peace either collectively gathered in session as the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions (County Court) or individually as magistrates. Among the many types of cases handled were debt, bastardies, survey and land disputes, probate issues, theft, assaults, trespass, slander, broken covenants, etc.
Read more about this collection here: News & Events
*NOTE: This is an ongoing project and there are 25 boxes of records dating
from 1825 – 1950 yet to be processed.
