History of Blount County Tennessee
by Inez E. Burns
 
From the Book “History of Blount County Tennessee” by Inez E. Burns  1957
Benson Printing Company, Nashville Tennessee
Excerpts from book typed, 10 Dec 1999  and from;  "Goodspeed's History" Published 1887.
                                                             

1772 -  Pg 9 -  Watauga Association formed boundary lines beyond Va. & N.C. This was the first independent governmental body organized by native Americans in America.

1774 -  Pg 9 -  John Logan, a renegade white chief, appeared in the Tennessee Country at the head of an army of some Northern Indians and began to make scattered forays.

1775 -  Mar 17 - Pg 10 - deed, conveying all lands between waters of Kentucky and Cumberland rivers.

1775 - Late - Pg. 10 & 11 - Settlements formed Washington District.
1776 - Early Summer, Isaac Thomas & Wm. Falling brought word given by Nancy Ward, Indians gathering for invasion in Watauga Settlement.
1776 - Nov - Petitioned to be annexed to N. Carolina.

1783 - Armstrong Land Office opened for sale of lands to pay off Rev. War Soldiers at Hillsboro, N. C.

1777 -  Pg 13 - Washington District became Washington County, N. Carolina. Head of  family allowed 640 acres and 100 acres for his wife and each child.

**1778** - Entries made in 1778, 2 recognizable as Blount Co. locations; 640 acres surveyed for Andrew Greer, (later surveyed in 1790) on Four Mile Creek, entered by William Randolph for Daniel Shine.

1792 - 200 acres surveyed for Archibald Sloan at Blue Spring in the center between Little River and the TN. River. Entered by John Clinkenbeard.

1793 -  Settlements extended as far as Big Island in French Broad River, 30 miles above Knoxville.

Pg. 13 - The Blount County considered in the settlement period is bounded on the South and West by the Little Tennessee River, Cherokee’s lived along the banks. Land was taken from them. Northwest was the Holston from its junction with Little River followed established lines of Knox and Sevier County to North Carolina Line and back to Little Tennessee River.

Pg. 14 - Parts of Blount Co. used in formation of Monroe and Loudon Counties. Later, large landowners preferred taxes to be paid in Monroe Co. so the line was shifted several times.
1785 - Blount was part of Greene Co.
1792 - Blount was also Part of Knox Co., until 1795 when Blount Co. was formed.
Pg. 15 - Spencer, now Hawkins Co., Caswell now Jefferson Co., and Sevier, included part of Blount.

1785 May 13 - Treaty with Cherokee’s at Henry’s Station, (State of Franklin related to Blount) at Dumplin Creek.  All lands South side of French Broad and Holston Rivers dividing ridge between Little River and Great Tennessee.

1785 -  People flocked down the Great War Path - McTeer, Craig, Houston, Gamble and others who later had forts went straight to the claims they had no doubt marked in 1776 or in 1779 when they marched against the Cherokee’s with Col. Christian and Col. Shelby.

1786 -  Earliest reference to a permanent location in Blount County is the gathering of troops at Houston’s Station.
Two Presbyterian Churches:  Eusebia, near McTeer’s and New Providence near Fort Craig

1788 Aug 8 -  Pg. 15 -  Maj. James Houston’s Station, in North Carolina, attacked by Indians. (Probably Houston's Station in area of what is now Blount County, formed in 1795.)

1788 Oct 17 - Pg. 18 -  Gillespy’s Station on waters of Pistol Creek near Little River, attacked.

The fall of the State of Franklin resumed relations with North Carolina. Franklin Co., N. Carolina - Western Counties of North Carolina.

1790 Feb 25 -  deed made of Western N. Carolina to the U.S. Became what is now Tennessee 25 May 1790. Territory South of the Ohio.


1790 Pg. 19 -  Only Indian Attack in what is now Blount Co. took place at Houston’s `Station. Several families were there, but only seven gunmen. “The fort as being described as being a single story cabin with portholes. Two or three hundred Indians approached the place to attack it. The men withheld their fire until the assailants were near enough for certain aim. All fired at once and repeated as soon as possible giving the effect of a much larger force. The Indians thought that it was defended by a large force, and picking up their dead, retired.

from "Goodspeeds", pg. 828;

"The settlement of Blount County was begun in 1785. The first fort or station was established by Robert McTEER. "It stood about one and one-half miles south of Eusebia Church."


"John CRAIG'S, situated on the present site of Maryville, near where the depot now is; David CRAIG's, near Brick Mill; HOUSTON's, about six miles south of Maryville; KELLY's, near Rockford; KIRK's, on Little River, a few miles above KELLY's; THOMAS', about three and one-half miles southeast of Maryville; MARTIN's, at SANDERSON's Mill, on Nails Creek; HUNTER's, on Nine Mile Creek; GAMBLE's, near where George SNYDER now lives; HENRY's, on Little River; CALVIN's on Crooked Creek; BLACK's, at the head of Crooked Creek; GILLESPIE's, south of Little River; and ISH's, in the northwest part of the county, near the Tennessee River."
 
 
1790 Jul 2 -  Gov. Blount met with the Cherokee’s at Knoxville and a Treaty was signed. All prisoners returned and the boundary was officially fixed as the ridge dividing the  waters of Little River Tennessee from the Tennessee (which is about the middle of present Blount County.)

Indian attacks continued, killing on the 6th of Sep 1792, John Cochrane returning from Pistol Creek to his father’s house on Little River. Gillesby and a son were killed. On the 3rd of Oct., Black’s Blockhouse at the head of Crooked Creek, a branch of Little River, was attacked by surprise. More people died and horses stolen. Lashley a white man was leading the Indians. He was the son of a Scotsman in the Creek Nation.

1792 - Pg 20 -  Another attack at Black’s Blockhouse was at the head of Crooked Creek and was in Knox County, which in 1795 became Blount Co.

Pg. 20 - “The Forts in what is now Blount Co. were reinforced and guarded by men from Knox County Militia. Some were left at Henry’s, Craig’s and Ish’s stations and afterwards at Tellico Blockhouse. This blockhouse was a strong fort considerable size with a projection on each square, furnished with portholes, and calculated to stand a siege by an enemy provided with small arms only. Colonel James Scott commanded the troops of this frontier in the absence of Sevier.

1792 Dec 22 - Pg 21 -  Blount Co. Stations and their strength:
                                              Gambel’s Station - William Ragan, Lieut.; men 13, on furlough, 5.
                                              Black’s Station - Joel Wallace, Ensign; men 4
                                              Henry’s Station - George Huffacre, Corp. men 6
                                              Well’s Station - Richard De Armond, Corp., men 6
                                              Ish’s Station - Mattew Karr, Sgt., men 8

                                [Remember, it is 1792 and this is not formally Blount Co. until 1795.]

End note -- "Ramsey, Annals," 568, (Blount Co. was formed from Knox three years from this date. [1792] What is now Blount Co. was included in Knox Co. when Knox was erected in 1792.)

My notes;
1793 - By now our Jacob Nimon and his wife the former, Margaret Thomas were reportedly at McTeer’s Fort where Jacob Nimon was accidently shot and killed leaving Margaret a widow with young George who was born in 1791, making him 2 years old. This indicates our Neiman’s and Thomas’ most likely in Knox Co., now Blount Co., TN. Maryville area.

1793 - “On Tues. the 22nd of January, 1793, the Indians killed and scalped John Pate on Crooked Creek. On the 29th they returned to the same neighborhood and stole three of William Davidson’s horses from Gamble’s Station on Little River.” (This from Haywood, 293-5)

“In April 1793, a party of Creeks led by young Lashley burned the house of James Gallaher on the south side of the Holston.”

1793 Jun 30 -  Pg. 25 - Lt. Tedford’s party of four Ranger’s were fired upon near Well’s station. John McAlister and James Gillespy were wounded slightly.

1793 - Jul 01 - ...... “Indians burned two houses on a Mr. Hogg’s plantation [see end not] on Baker’s Creek including all his household goods and a quantity of corn belonging to a Mr. Logan. The next day they burned a Mr. Logan’s house on Nine Mile Creek and destroyed his flax crop in addition to part of his corn crop. They also fired on a man on Pistol Creek the same day. They stole 7 horses from Bird’s station the same day, and the clothes of four families which were washed and hanging on the line. Near Kelly’s Station the Indians cut up a plow belonging to Mr. Conner and carried off the irons, and the following day six Indians fired on Ensign Joel Wallace at the head of Pistol Creek. He was uninjured except for cuts from a shattered knife handle.”
[endnote - Haywood, 302, (Hogg’s is the farm later bought by Major Sam Houston and where General Sam Houston, of Texas fame, spent his boyhood and youth.]  [Further reading; Will A. McTeer, "History of New Providence Presbyterian Church", (Maryville, 1921, Knoxville Gazette, June 29, 1793.]

{Who was in the Tedford Ranger’s from Knox Co.?}

1794 -  Pg 30 -- Jefferson Co. divided into 2 counties, Sevier. First court held at the home of Isaac Thomas.

1795 - Pg 30 --  Early 1795, Indians into Blount Co. again. Col. Alexander Kelly raised 40 -50 men.......

Blount Co. erected out of the part of Knox Co., south of the Holston River and West of Stock Creek.

County Government
Pg 39

The first Circuit Court was organized 2 Feb 1810 by James Trimble, who appointed Robert Houston, clerk. About this time, Sam Houston of future Texas fame was in town and he and Capt. John B. Cusick disturbed the court with a drum to the extent that they fined Houston $5 and Cusick $10 (fine was suspended the next day). This was, of course, leading up to the time that Captains McKamy, Duncan, Tedford, Trimble, Tipton, Walker, Buchanan, Gillespie, and others recruited men locally and went to the battles of the Horseshoe and New Orleans.
 
Source: http://www.geocities.com/blynnfitzz/Blountareahistory.html