Volume 13 , Issue 43

Goodspeed's History of Rhea County

We have been looking for history books online at Google and Amazon for The History of Rhea County Tennessee to help in our Johnson-McGill (paternal) ancestry. Someone sent us a link to the following website for Goodspeed's History of Rhea County, published by Goodspeed Publishing Co. 1887. I will only put the first two paragraphs here and let you wonder over to the site to learn more.

It states, "RHEA COUNTY lies on the left bank of the Tennessee River, and is divided between the valley of East Tennessee and the Cumberland table-land. Parallel with the Tennessee River are a series of broken knobs, between which and Walden's Ridge is a narrow valley, extending the entire length of the county. The principal streams are White Creek, Clear Creek, Big and Little Richland, Sole Creek, Muddy Creek and Piney River. Like other counties through which Walden's Ridge passes, it is rich in coal, iron and limestone.

"The settlement of the county dates back to the beginning of the century. In 1805, by treaty. the Cherokees relinquished all right and title to the lands. An Indian agency was then established on the Tennessee River in the southern part of the county, where a fort covering an area of about two acres was constructed. It was used until 1819, when the agency was removed to the site of the present town of Charleston, in Bradley County. The Hiwassee purchase having been made in that year the limits of the county were extended south of the Tennessee River to include the greater portion of the present county of Meigs."   |  View or Add Comments (0 Comments)   |   Receive updates ( subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

---