Before the formation of Anderson County, Tennessee, that territory was initially land of what is today called the Eastern Band of Cherokee which had been settled by several pioneer families. Although the Treaty of Holston, signed in 1791, was intended as a negotiation with the Cherokee to prohibit settlement of the area including what is today Anderson County, the treaty became ineffective as more settlers moved through the Appalachian Mountains from Virginia and North Carolina into Tennessee. The flooding of white settlers into the Indian domain was cause for several skirmishes, which eased after the Treaty of Tellico in 1798.

In 1801 Anderson County was partitioned from a portion of Grainger County as well as a portion of Knox County in 1801.   Roane County was also formed from a portion of Knox County, Tennessee, in 1801. Anderson County was named in honor of Joseph Anderson(1757-1847), who was a U S Senator from Tennessee, and whose career also included judge of the Superior Court of the Territory South of the River Ohio.  This is just the beginning of this web site. If you have information to contribute, please contact me at [email protected].