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Please add profiles of those who were born, lived or died in Claiborne County, Tennessee.
History
Claiborne County was established on October 29, 1801, created from Grainger and Hawkins counties and extended the southern boundary to Anderson County. It was named for Virginia tidewater aristocrat William C. C. Claiborne, one of the first judges of the Tennessee Superior Court and one of the first representatives in U.S. Congress from Tennessee.
Like many East Tennessee counties, Claiborne 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 1,243 to 250.
The Four Seasons Hotel was built on the location of present-day Lincoln Memorial University in 1892 by an English land company, the American Association Limited, which was led locally by flamboyant businessman Alexander Arthur. At the time, it was reported by its promoters to be the largest hotel in the United States. The main building was four stories high with a lobby 75 feet square and a dining room 50 feet by 160 feet. It was reported to contain 700 rooms. Also included in the complex were a hospital, an inn, a sanitarium, and other smaller buildings. The hotel was not a success and was demolished in 1895. During its operation, the Four Seasons Hotel offered buggy rides to nearby English Cave, which had been improved with wooden stairways, walkways, and bridges. The rotting remains of these wooden structures can still be seen in the cave.
Adjacent Counties
- Bell County, Kentucky
- Lee County, Virginia
- Hancock County
- Grainger County
- Union County
- Campbell County
- Whitley County, Kentucky
Cities, Towns & Communities
- Arthur
- Clairfield
- Clouds
- Cumberland Gap
- Eagan
- Goin
- Harrogate
- Hopewell
- Little Sycamore
- Lone Mountain
- Midway
- New Tazewell
- Pruden
- Reliance
- Shawanee
- Speedwell
- Springdale
- Tazewell (County Seat)
Links
Cumberland Gap National Park (part)
National Register of Historic Places
Tennessee Genealogical Society - Claiborne County
