"The earliest reference to a permanent location in Blount County is the gathering of troops at Houston's Station in 1786.... In July 1795, the General Assembly of the Territory South of the Ohio River erected a new county from Knox to be called Blount in honor of Governor William Blount." In this detailed narrative history, the author has reached back into "the misty shadows of history to show why events developed as they did." This well-researched and well-written work covers a wide range of topics: the pre-settlement period; the settlement period; the county government; the county's role in the wars; early inns and watering places; the churches of Blount County; education; medical men and institutions; courts, public offices and men of law; industries and occupations; and communities. The data-rich appendix includes a list of Blount County Revolutionary War soldiers; a list of persons who were issued permits to enter Cherokee lands in 1798; North Carolina land grants which were registered in Blount County; militia captains who served in Blount County; a list of taxable property and tax for Blount County (1801); a Blount County tax list (1800); lists of those who served during the War of 1812 for numerous companies; Cherokee removal; Captain Julius Caesar Fagg's company (Mexican War); delegates to the Union convention; 1862 and 1863 accounts of salt sold in the 7th District for Blount County; muster roll of the home guard (1861-65); Sultana survivors from Blount Count still living in 1892; school directors (1869); lists of those who served during the Spanish American War; post offices; Company "B" 117th Infantry, 30th Division (1919); families about whom data may be found in the Parham Papers; cemeteries; and Blount County officeholders. Several illustrations and an index to full-names, places and subjects add to the value of this work.