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Hamblen County, Tennessee

Cherokee Lake’s south shore at Panther Creek State Park, Davy Crockett’s boyhood tavern, Longstreet’s winter headquarters and downtown Morristown’s overhead sidewalks.

Formed 1870Seat: MorristownVisitor directory ↓Area news ↓

Checked Oct 27, 2026 · sources at the bottom

Visitor directory

Hamblen County directory

Morristown and the south shore of Cherokee Lake: Panther Creek State Park, Cherokee Park, Davy Crockett’s boyhood tavern, the Sky Mart walkways downtown, and Civil War sites at Russellville.

Cities: Morristown (county seat; also Jefferson) · White Pine (mostly Jefferson)

Communities: Russellville · Whitesburg (also Hawkins) · Talbott (also Jefferson) · Witt · Lowland · Springvale

Official tourism, parks & attractions

Tourism

Parks & outdoors

  • Panther Creek State Park (TN State Parks) ↗1,444 acres on Cherokee Lake: 28+ miles of trails, the Point Lookout overlook, disc golf, a boat ramp and campground · 2010 Panther Creek Park Rd, Morristown · 423-587-7046. A new day-use lodge and playground are under construction until mid-2027, so some lots, courts and the playground are closed.
  • Cherokee Park (Visit Morristown) ↗178-acre county park on Cherokee Lake with lakeside camping, a public boat dock and Hamblen Marina, an 18-hole disc golf course and an amphitheater · 3075 Floyd Hall Dr · 423-586-5232.
  • Morristown city parks (Visit Morristown) ↗Fourteen city parks, including Fred Miller Park on the greenway, Frank Lorino Park (BMX, disc golf, ballfields) and the inclusive playground at Jolley Park.

Attractions

Museums & history

Government

Shared with neighboring counties

Local resources

Schools, libraries & hospitals — coming soon. We’ll add official district and facility links county by county.

Checked Oct 28, 2026 · official sites only · phone numbers copied from each agency’s own page — tap ⓘ to confirm. In an emergency, call 911.

Area news

Headlines from local outlets · Hamblen County

  • Walters State · Oct 23, 2026

    Walters State's Morristown campus fills November with a whodunit play, an Empty Bowls sale for Second Harvest, a jazz concert and a poetry slam — most of it free.

    Read at Walters State →
  • Citizen Tribune · Oct 22, 2026

    Morristown Landing's fourth annual Halloween Bash is free, with a candy trail, costume contest and pumpkin decorating, plus a new Express Pass option.

    Read at Citizen Tribune →
  • WBIR 10 · Oct 20, 2026

    Morristown's city council adopted new rules for data centers, including a 500-foot buffer from homes and schools.

    Read at WBIR 10 →
  • Citizen Tribune · Oct 14, 2026

    Tennessee State Parks rangers made their case for improvements at Panther Creek State Park at a public hearing on the park's management plan.

    Read at Citizen Tribune →
  • Citizen Tribune · Oct 12, 2026

    Entries are open for Morristown's Dec. 3 Christmas parade, themed “Christmas at the Movies”; the deadline is noon Nov. 12.

    Read at Citizen Tribune →
  • Citizen Tribune · Oct 11, 2026

    The Morristown Tree Board is planting native Tennessee trees along the city greenway.

    Read at Citizen Tribune →
  • Citizen Tribune · Oct 6, 2026

    Morristown firefighters used Fire Prevention Week to focus on lithium-ion battery safety.

    Read at Citizen Tribune →

Short summaries in our words — tap through to read the full story at the outlet. All area news → · Outlet requests: [email protected]

A short history

Settlers reached the land that became Hamblen County in 1783, when Robert McFarland and Alexander Outlaw claimed ground at the Bend of Chucky on the Nolichucky River. Gideon Morris and his brothers Daniel and Absalom took land where Morristown stands and gave it their name. A road linking the Abingdon and Knoxville stage routes followed in 1792, and John Crockett kept a tavern on it, where his son Davy grew up. By 1800 Russellville, Whitesburg, Springvale and Panther Springs were established communities.

Hamblen County was formed in 1870 from parts of Jefferson and Grainger counties and, after much controversy, named for Hezekiah Hamblen, a Hawkins County lawyer. Its courthouse, designed by A. C. Bruce, is on the National Register. During the Civil War, Confederate Gen. James Longstreet wintered at Russellville in 1863–64, and Bethesda Church served as a hospital for both armies. DeWitt Senter, governor from 1869 to 1871, and U.S. Senator Joseph Anderson, who lived at Lowland, are among the county’s notable residents.

Shields’ Paper Mill on the Holston was the county’s first industry; JFG Coffee started in Morristown, and textile mills and furniture plants led the 20th century. TVA’s Cherokee Dam backed Cherokee Lake along the northern edge, where Panther Creek State Park and Cherokee Park now sit. Morristown College, founded in 1881 as a school for African American students, Walters State Community College and the Rose Center, in the town’s oldest school (1892), anchor learning and the arts.

Read the full East Tennessee history →

Towns & communities

  • Morristown — county seat and the only city mostly in the county, named for the Morris brothers; a small piece reaches into Jefferson County
  • White Pine — Jefferson County town with a sliver inside Hamblen
  • Russellville (community) — early settlement; General Longstreet’s 1863–64 headquarters
  • Whitesburg (community) — eastern Hamblen on the Andrew Johnson Highway, reaching into Hawkins

Our place stories in and near Hamblen County

    Go deeper

    Neighboring counties: Cocke County · Grainger County · Greene County · Hawkins County · Jefferson County · All counties →

    Official visitor links

    Checked Oct 27, 2026 · hours, fees and events live on these pages.

    Videos

    Video stories for Hamblen County are on the way.

    Sources

    Checked Oct 27, 2026 · We summarize; follow these for the full history. No hours or fees on this page — check official sites before you go.