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Official Website
History
Bradley County was likely first seen by Europeans on June 2, 1540 by Hernando De Soto and his expedition while traveling through the North American continent. Until the early 19th century, the land that is now Bradley County was part of the Cherokee Nation. In anticipation of forced removal of the Cherokee, white settlers began to move rapidly into the area. In 1821, the Cherokee Agency, the official liaison between the U.S. Government and the Cherokee Nation, was moved to present day Charleston. Between 1832 and 1838, the Red Clay Council Grounds on the southern border of Bradley County with Georgia served as the capitol and the last council grounds of the eastern band of the Cherokee Nation. This is now Red Clay State Park. The Cherokee Removal began with the Treaty of New Echota, signed on December 29, 1835. General Winfield Scott was given the task of removing the Cherokee from the area, and set up the headquarters at Fort Cass in Charleston. Several internment camps were established in Bradley County in the valleys between Charleston and Cleveland where the Cherokee were held in preparation for the journey westward, which became known as the Trail of Tears. Two of the largest were located at Rattlesnake Springs.
Bradley County was established on February 10, 1836. It was named to honor Colonel Edward Bradley who served in the War of 1812. The first election in Bradley County took place on April 2, 1836. On January 20, 1838, Cleveland, a township with a population of 400, became the seat of Bradley County. Cleveland was incorporated on February 2, 1842.
Like most East Tennessee counties, Bradley County was largely opposed to secession on the eve of the Civil War. In Tennessee's Ordinance of Secession referendum on June 8, 1861, the county's residents voted against secession by a margin of 1,382 to 507. No major battles were fought in Bradley County, but several major skirmishes between Union and Confederate troops took place within the county, including a failed attempt by Confederate soldiers to destroy a Union train near the Tasso community that instead resulted in the destruction of a Confederate train. The bridge over the Hiwassee River was burned on November 8, 1861, by members of the East Tennessee bridge-burning conspiracy led by Alfred Cate. On November 4, 1862 a train accident south of Cleveland near the Black Fox community killed 17 members of the 33rd Regiment Alabama Infantry who were being transported to Chattanooga. The city of Cleveland was occupied by the Confederate Army from 1861 to 1863.
Adjacent Counties
- Meigs County
- McMinn County
- Polk County
- Murray County, Georgia
- Whitfield County, Georgia
- Hamilton County
Cities & Communities
- Cleveland (County Seat)
- Charleston
- Coalhill
- East Cleveland
- Georgetown
- Hopewell
- Hopewell Estates
- McDonald
- Misty Ridge
- Prospect
- South Cleveland
- Tasso
- Waterville
- Wildwood Lake
Links
National Register of Historic Places
Tennessee Genealogy ~ Bradley County
