History of Campbell County Tennessee United States of America

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Campbell County was erected on September 11, 1806, out of Anderson and Claiborne counties and was named for Col. Arthur Campbell. Powell's Valley,3 famous in the early annals of the state, runs through the entire county on the eastern side. The Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions was organized at the house of Richard Linville on the first Monday in December, 1806. Settlements had been made, however, ten or more years previously. The site of Jacksboro, the county seat, was owned by Hugh Montgomery, one of the earliest pioneers. His son, Maj. L. P. Montgomery,4 was killed in the battle of Tohopeka, or Horseshoe Bend in the Creek war.

William Lindsay built the first iron furnace in the county. This was for George Baker. But later he built others which were very successful for that time.

Statistics for Campbell County. Population, 1920, 28,265. Assessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $12,919,026. Area, 488 square miles. Number of farms, 1,892. Railway mileage, 89. Drained by Clinch River and tributaries of Cumberland River. Surface mountainous and covered with fine forests. Staple products: corn, oats and grass. Well adapted to live stock industry, which is increasing in importance. Rich coal deposits are found in county. Jacksboro, county seat, has a population of 638, and is thirty-three miles from Knoxville. Coal mines are in operation near Jacksboro. Has general stores, churches, schools, a bank, and weekly newspaper. Lafollette, with a population of 3,056, is a flourishing town, with mining industries, banks, weekly newspaper. One of the largest iron furnaces in the South is in operation there. Jellico City, with a population of 1,878, is another flourishing town in the county. Scholastic population of county, 11,005; high schools, nine; elementary schools, eighty.

From:
Moore, John Trotwood. Tennessee, The Volunteer State, 1769-1923. Vol. 1. Chicago, IL, USA: S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1923.

History of Campbell County Tennessee

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