The overmountain counties
Before 1790, the land that is now Tennessee was claimed by North Carolina. Its settlements along the Watauga, Holston and Nolichucky rivers sat across the Appalachians from the state’s government. North Carolina voted to cede the western lands to Congress in 1784, repealed that act before Congress could accept it, and then watched the State of Franklin rise and fall.
Five years later, with a nearly empty treasury and a share of the national war debt calculated by land area, North Carolina tried again: shrinking the state shrank the bill. Many eastern North Carolinians were also glad to be done defending the frontier, and the western settlers lobbied hard for cession, believing a federal territory would get federal protection. The state ceded the land on December 22, 1789.
The Southwest Territory
On May 26, 1790, Congress created the Territory of the United States South of the River Ohio — the Southwest Territory — governed under the Northwest Ordinance with one notable exception: slavery was permitted. President Washington appointed William Blount governor. The first capital was William Cobb’s home, Rocky Mount, near the Watauga River; in 1792 Blount moved it to his own house in the new town of Knoxville. Knox (1792), Sevier (1794) and Blount (1795) were among the counties organized under the territory.
A territory could ask for statehood once it passed 60,000 people. The 1795 count — taken by sheriffs whose pay was tied to the totals — reported 77,262. Delegates met in Knoxville on January 11, 1796, wrote a constitution, and on February 6 unanimously approved it and the name Tennessee — taken from the Cherokee town of Tanasi. After a fight in the Senate, Tennessee was admitted on June 1, 1796, as the sixteenth state and the first created from a federal territory, with John Sevier as its first governor.
- 1784 First cession — and repeal
- 1784–89 State of Franklin
- Dec 22, 1789 North Carolina cedes the western lands
- May 26, 1790 Southwest Territory created
- 1792 Capital moves to Knoxville
- Feb 6, 1796 Constitution and the name “Tennessee” approved
- June 1, 1796 Tennessee becomes the 16th state
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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.