Jonesborough

By Sonya A. Haskins

Jonesborough, as the oldest town in Tennessee, was once the capital of their own state, Franklin. Although that did not last, the history of this town was impactful in many of the important events of the young country.

Originally established in 1779 as the seat of Washington County, North Carolina, Jonesborough is the oldest incorporated town in Tennessee. Early pioneers were given land grants to settle west of the mountains, but by 1784, they no longer trusted their political leaders in North Carolina. They created their own local government and established the state of Franklin, naming Jonesborough the original capital of the "lost" 14th state. Never recognized by Congress, Franklin eventually fizzled out and Tennessee was formed. Although Tennessee was a slave-holding state prior to the Civil War, Jonesborough produced the earliest regularly published periodical devoted to abolishing slavery. Today, Jonesborough is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with many buildings fully restored. In this volume, readers will see the Christopher Taylor House, which was built about 1778, and the Chester Inn, which hosted many famous guests in its original days, including Presidents Andrew Jackson, Andrew Johnson, and James K. Polk.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Release date: Jun 8, 2005
• ISBN: 9781439612958

Sonya A. Haskins

Author Sonya A. Haskins lives in Jonesborough, Tennessee, with her husband and children. In Jonesborough, she takes the reader on a fantastic photographic journey, detailing many facets of Jonesborough life from the late 18th through the early 20th centuries. Sonya is also the author of Images of America: Johnson City.

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Hannah.

INTRODUCTION

In the late 1700s, American pioneers were eager for land and anxious to explore. They began to leave the areas already settled by white men and stretch into this area we now call Upper East Tennessee. The first permanent settlement was made in 1769 by Capt. William Bean on what is now called Boone’s Creek. Around the same time, other settlers from Virginia and the mountains from North Carolina were building small log cabins in the area of Jonesborough.

Word had come from England that settlers were not supposed to colonize west of the Appalachian Mountains. Rebellious pioneers anxious to test their limits continued to stream over the mountains. In 1772, the settlers of what are now the Jonesborough, Johnson City, and Elizabethton areas met and established the Watauga Association.

The population increased rapidly as did the tension with the British authorities ruling North Carolina, who were dictating to the settlers what they could and couldn’t do. One of the largest land purchases was the very controversial Transylvania Purchase, which was soon declared illegal by the Continental Congress.

In 1779, Maj. Jesse Walton introduced a bill to the North Carolina legislature to lay out a town in Washington County called Jonesborough. The legislature accepted the bill, and Jonesborough was established. Named in honor of Willie Jones, a North Carolina man who had supported the cause of the overmountain men, Jonesborough became the first town west of the mountains. The site for the town was selected for the convenience of settlers who were living near the Watauga and Nolichuckey Rivers. Communication was impossible without travel, and travel was difficult, so a central location for the county seat was selected.

In the summer of 1780, tensions had risen to the point that Maj. Patrick Ferguson sent a threatening message to the overmountain men. If they didn’t pledge loyalty to the king, he declared, troops would be sent to destroy their homes and hang the leaders. With that, mountain men from all over the region, including Jonesborough, met at Sycamore Shoals in Elizabethton for a trek across the mountains to defend their land. This march ended at Kings Mountain, South Carolina, where a vicious battle took place, marking an enormous victory for the patriots in the American Revolution.

With only Native American footpaths to journey upon, travel to the area from Virginia and especially North Carolina was difficult. However, the political road also would be tumultuous. By 1784, local citizens were dissatisfied with their representation in the North Carolina government. They were building their own schools, roads, and courthouses. In addition, there were frequent Native American attacks by the Cherokee and other frontier tribes that had to be combated without the help of the North Carolina militia. It seems that even if quick communication hadn’t been an issue, the mountains would have been.

Since they had previously governed themselves under the Watauga Association, which had proven successful, the disgruntled citizens west of the mountains held at least a couple of meetings in Jonesborough in 1784. The government of North Carolina had recently ceded all of its overmountain territory to the United States government, which further fueled the fires of dissatisfaction with the state. The citizens living in the western country decided to secede from North Carolina and form their own government. Jonesborough was chosen as the first capital of the state of Franklin, named in honor of founding father Benjamin Franklin, but by 1789, it had collapsed. It wasn’t until seven years later, in 1796, that a congressional assembly admitted Tennessee as the 16th state of the union.

In the late 1700s and early 1800s, Jonesborough was visited by some of the most outstanding settlers, explorers, and leaders in our nation’s history. Andrew Jackson came to Jonesborough in 1788 to practice law. David Crockett was born only a few miles away, though the exact location is undetermined. Andrew Johnson gained political expertise at our courthouse. Soldiers from the North and the South traveled through the area that was divided in sentiment on the issue of slavery. James K. Polk visited Jonesborough on numerous occasions as he campaigned for political office. Physicians built their homes here as they traveled throughout the area treating the sick, and the town was a perfect place for lawyers to make their homes as the county courthouse is located here.

Since settlers began arriving in this area, there have been a few names, in addition to presidential ones, that stand