The oldest county in Tennessee, Washington County was established by the North Carolina General Assembly in November 1777 and named for General George Washington. The original county boundaries once stretched from the crest of the Appalachian Mountains to the Mississippi River.
Its history began much earlier, however. “Longhunters” were hunters and explorers who were so named by their lengthy trips away from home. Daniel Boone was one of these, and may have been the first white man to walk the land of what we now know as Washington County. Boone left his mark on a tree in the area. It is said that he carved the inscription, “D. Boon CillED A. Bar on tree in the YEAR 1760.” The famous beech tree was located about a mile from the original William Bean campsite. The ancient tree unfortunately fell during a severe storm in 1916.
William Bean has been credited with being the first permanent white settler, who build a cabin near the Watauga River in 1769. The cabin site was about a mile from where the “Boone tree” was located. Bean and his wife Lydia were later joined by other families who found the area to be rich in resources, such as water, game, and fertile land.
By 1772, there were four main settlements in the area:
* Carter’s Valley (now Hawkins County)
* North-of-Holston (now Sullivan County)
* Watauga (Sycamore Shoals, now Carter County)
* Nolichucky River Settlement
The people south of the Holston River realized that they needed some type of government. They organized the Watauga Association, the first articles for government of a free and independent people in America. Lord Dunmore, Virginia’s royal governor deemed this a “dangerous example.”
In 1774, an agreement was signed between the settlers and the Cherokee that transferred nearly twenty million acres to the Transylvania Company. The settlers then had the opportunity to own and farm their own land.
In 1775, the people of the Watauga changed their name to “Washington District,” which was the first geographical division in the county to honor General George Washington.
In May 1776 the settlers petitioned Virginia to be admitted to their state, but the request was ignored. On July 5, 1776, a petition was drawn up and sent to North Carolina asking that they admit the area to that state as a county. North Carolina granted their wish, and the area became Washington County, North Carolina in 1777.
The first term for the Washington County, North Carolina Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions met in February 1778 at the home of Charles Robertson, near Sycamore Shoals. Two churches were established in the area, Buffalo Ridge Church and Salem Presbyterian Church.
In 1779, Sullivan County was created from a portion of Washington County, North Carolina, as was Greene County in 1783. On August 23, 1784, a meeting was held at the courthouse in Jonesborough with delegates from the three counties. It was decided that the area would form themselves into a “separate and distinct state, independent of the State of North Carolina.” Thus began the State of Franklin. Not everyone in the area agreed with this idea, and the state was short-lived, ending in 1788.
When George Washington became President in April 1789, North Carolina and Rhode Island still had not joined the union. Leaders of the “State of Franklin” helped change the North Carolina position; delegates to the Constitutional Convention voted in favor of union and North Carolina became the twelfth state. In May, 1790, our area became the “Territory of the United States South of the River Ohio.” This area included the counties of Washington, Greene, Sullivan, Hawkins, Davidson and Sumner.
On June 1, 1796, Tennessee became the 16th state.