Visitor directory
Union County directory
Maynardville, Luttrell and Plainview: Norris Lake’s longest shoreline, Big Ridge State Park, Chuck Swan State Forest on the Sharps Chapel peninsula, and the hometown country of Roy Acuff, Chet Atkins and Kenny Chesney.
Cities: Maynardville (county seat) · Luttrell · Plainview
Communities: Sharps Chapel · Paulette · Braden · Alder Springs · New Loyston · Cedar Grove · Brock
Official tourism, parks & attractions
Tourism
- Union County Heritage Festival ↗Maynardville’s Appalachian heritage festival each October: music, crafts, quilt and art shows.
Parks & outdoors
- Big Ridge State Park (TN State Parks) ↗3,687 acres on Norris Lake with 1930s cabins, a lake beach, trails and the old Norton gristmill · 1015 Big Ridge Park Rd, Maynardville · 865-992-5523.
- Chuck Swan WMA (TWRA) ↗Hunting, fishing and firing range in the state forest. Quota deer hunts close parts of the forest Nov 13–14, Dec 4–5 and Dec 11–12.
- Norris Lake (TVA lake levels) ↗Union County holds more than 260 miles of Norris shoreline. Check TVA lake levels and release schedules before you launch.
- Powell River Blueway: Union County Boat Dock ↗Public ramp on the slack-water Powell River at Leadmine Bend.
Museums & history
- Union County Historical Society Museum ↗County history, genealogy library and the county’s country-music stars · 3824 Maynardville Hwy · (865) 992-2136 · Mon–Tue 10–4, Sun 1–5.
Government
- Union County government ↗County offices, commission and the mayor’s office · Courthouse, 901 Main St, Maynardville · 865-992-3061.
- City of Maynardville ↗County seat · City Hall, 125 Johnson Rd · (865) 992-3821.
- Luttrell (MTAS directory) ↗City Hall, 101 Park Rd · (865) 992-0870.
- Plainview (MTAS directory) ↗City Hall, 1037 Tazewell Pike · (865) 992-5841.
Shared with neighboring counties
- Chuck Swan State Forest & WMA — shared with other counties; listed under East Tennessee (general)
- Powell River Blueway — shared with other counties; listed under East Tennessee (general)
- Norris Lake (TVA) — shared with other counties; listed under East Tennessee (general)
Local resources
- Emergency (police · fire · EMS)911Call 911 for any emergency.
- Union County 911 non-emergency dispatch865-992-4062County-wide dispatch ⓘ source
- Union County Sheriff’s Office865-992-5212130 Veteran’s St, Maynardville · Sheriff Rick Carter ⓘ source
- Union County EMS & Emergency Management865-992-7607211 Mulberry Ave, Maynardville · for emergencies call 911 ⓘ source
- Union County Health Department(865) 992-38674335 Maynardville Hwy, Maynardville ⓘ source
- Union County Public Schools865-992-54663006 Maynardville Hwy — calendars, closings ⓘ source
- Maynardville Public Library(865) 992-7106296 Main St, Maynardville ⓘ source
- Union County Veterans Service Officer865-661-7243298 Main St (Senior Citizen Center) · by appointment ⓘ source
- Union County Mayor’s Office865-992-3061Courthouse, 901 Main St, Suite 100, Maynardville · Mayor Jason Bailey ⓘ source
- Union County Election Commission(865) 992-3471901 Main St, Suite 108 · Election Day Tue Nov 3 ⓘ source
- Highway emergency (cell)*THP (*847)Tennessee Highway Patrol ⓘ source
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 · Union County
The Union County Christmas Tree Lighting returns Nov 28 at the courthouse with a car cruise-in, choirs, Santa and a toy drive.
Read at Historic Union County →The Union County Jail is housing inmates again after an August staffing crisis sent all 55 to neighboring counties; the sheriff's office used the closure to redo floors, plumbing, lighting and fire alarms.
Read at WBIR 10 →The 11th Clays for Children sporting-clays tournament raised a record $137,000 for the children's advocacy centers serving Union, Campbell, Claiborne, Fentress and Scott counties.
Read at Historic Union County →Union County 4-H Grill Masters' senior team won the regional championship after a strong county competition.
Read at Historic Union County →At a veterans breakfast, Mayor Jason Bailey highlighted the new $42 million middle school and TCAT training now offered on the high school campus.
Read at Historic Union County →Plainview's police force is fully staffed again after the city swore in a new chief and a part-time officer in September.
Read at Historic Union County →Students moved into the new Horace Maynard Middle School in Maynardville, with a secure entrance, new cafeteria, library, media rooms and band room.
Read at WVLT 8 →
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
Union County was carved in 1850 from parts of five counties: Anderson, Campbell, Claiborne, Grainger and Knox. Lawsuits held up the new county for years, and it was not formally organized until 1856. One story says the name honors that union of five pieces; another says it reflected local support for the federal Union in the debates of the day.
A small community called Liberty near the middle of the new county became the seat. It was renamed Maynardville for Horace Maynard, the young Knoxville lawyer who defended the county’s creation in court and later served in Congress.
In the 1930s Norris Dam backed the Clinch and Powell rivers across the county. TVA moved hundreds of families, and the town of Loyston went under the water; many of its families rebuilt at New Loyston. TVA also built Big Ridge as one of its first demonstration parks. Union County’s music runs deep too: Roy Acuff, Chet Atkins, Carl Smith and Kenny Chesney all called it home.
Towns & communities
- Maynardville — county seat, renamed from Liberty for Horace Maynard
- Luttrell — small city on Tazewell Pike, incorporated in 1925
- Plainview — the county’s newest city, incorporated in 1992
- Sharps Chapel (community) — the peninsula between the Clinch and Powell arms of Norris Lake, home of Chuck Swan State Forest
Our place stories in and near Union County
Go deeper
Neighboring counties: Anderson County · Campbell County · Claiborne County · Grainger County · Knox County · All counties →
Official visitor links
Checked Oct 27, 2026 · hours, fees and events live on these pages.
Videos
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.
- Tennessee Encyclopedia — Union County (Bonnie Heiskell Peters) ↗
- UT CTAS — Union County profile ↗
- UT MTAS — Maynardville ↗
- UT MTAS — Luttrell ↗
- UT MTAS — Plainview ↗
- US Census — 2020 places by county (TN) ↗
- Historic Union County — Norris Reservoir relocations ↗
- The Tennessee Magazine — Tennessee’s underwater ghost towns ↗
- TN State Parks — Big Ridge ↗