Boundaries - Historical Notes

The following is a summary of acts which authorized boundary changes for Sevier County.

1. Acts of 1796, Chapter 34, appointed Joseph Greer, Abraham M’Clery and William Bailes, or a majority of them, as Commissioners to run the lines between Knox County and Sevier County according to the description in the 1794 Act creating Sevier County. They may start at any point they choose and each would be paid $2.00 per day, plus $1.00 per day for a marker, for each actual day worked which would be paid equally by the two counties.
2. Acts of 1805, Chapter 14, appointed Peter Bryan and Joshua Gid as Commissioners to ascertain the line between Jefferson and Sevier County, and Mordecai Lewis of Jefferson County who would work with them, all being given compensation at the rate of $2.00 per day. All chain carriers hired would be paid $1.00 a day.
3. Private Acts of 1832 (Ex. Sess.), Chapter 64, appointed John Mullendore of Sevier County and Robert Wier of Blount County to run and mark the line between the two counties in accordance with the acts of the assembly; and provided that the county courts of both counties compensate these men in an adequate fashion. They shall report to their County Courts, and the line they determine shall be the line between the two counties.
4. Acts of 1839-40, Chapter 36, required the county surveyors of Sevier and Blount Counties to run and mark the line which was changed between the two counties commencing at a point of said line on the top of Round Top Mountain and running from thence a due south course to the North Carolina line, at such compensation as their County Courts may direct. Either of the two counties may act independently of the other, and when completed, the line established from such will be the line between the two counties. This act was repealed by Acts of 1845-46, Chapter 98.
5. Acts of 1845-46, Chapter 174, changed the boundary between Sevier and Jefferson Counties so as to include all the lands of and the house of William Thompson in Jefferson County.
6. Acts of 1849-50, Chapter 98, expressly repealed Acts of 1839, Chapter 36, in its entirety.
7. Acts of 1851-52, Chapter 189, so altered the lines between Jefferson and Sevier Counties at Creswell's Creek, so as to include all the lands of Thomas Stringfield in Jefferson County.
8. Acts of 1853-54, Chapter 177, recites in the preamble that lawsuits have been filed in the Courts of Knox County to settle a boundary line dispute between that County and Sevier County. Therefore to settle same, all the lands belonging to William Moulden and to the heirs of D. Adams are declared to be in Knox County.
9. Acts of 1881, Chapter 54, transferred all the lands belonging to S.A. Sims from Jefferson County over to Sevier County.
10. Acts of 1883, Chapter 38, moved all the land and improvements belonging to John Russell, William Felker and Benjamin Manning from Jefferson County to Sevier County.
11. Acts of 1883, Chapter 54, also transferred lands belonging to B.C. Thornburgh, James A. Caldwell and John Caldwell from Sevier County to Jefferson County.
12. Acts of 1887, Chapter 51, provided that the land belonging to Andrew Creswell, deceased, and now belonging to W. G. Creswell and M. G. Creswell, formerly located in Sevier County, is now included in Blount County.
13. Acts of 1887, Chapter 132, changed the lines between Knox and Sevier counties so that all properties belonging to G. W. Underdown and George King be included in Knox County.
14. Acts of 1887, Chapter 136, transferred the entire farms belonging to W. P. Keener, J. G. Cannon, the heirs of William Thomas, deceased, and Rufus Kelly from Knox County into Sevier County.
15. Acts of 1889, Chapter 106, altered the boundaries between Jefferson and Sevier Counties so that the lands of S.A. Sims and Benjamin Manning be included in Sevier County.
16. Public Acts of 1895, Chapter 95, detached about 50 acres belonging to D.A. Ferguson from Sevier County and attached them to Knox County, thus placing all his land in Knox County and making the road running east and west on the boundary of his property the county line.
17. Public Acts of 1899, Chapter 117, reclassified the farm and residence of T.F. Adams from Sevier County into Knox County.
18. Public Acts of 1899, Chapter 256, changed the lines between Sevier and Knox Counties so as to include in Knox County all the land lying in the 14th District of Sevier County belonging to H.C. Blair, J.G. Cannon, E.W. Houseley, J.N. McMillin, Rufus Kelly, Lula J. Walker, S.G. Randles and J.W. Creswell, thereby making the county line run with the French Broad River.
19. Acts of 1901, Chapter 208, moved all the lands belonging to Sam L. Pickens from Sevier into Blount County making the new county line run the south corner of S. H. Cunningham's and run with his line and Pickett's to the Knoxville and Sevier Pike, then with the Pike to Shook's Gap.
20. Acts of 1901, Chapter 260, detached the farms belonging to James Langston and M.A. Langston from Sevier County and attached them to Jefferson.
21. Acts of 1901, Chapter 283, moved all the lands from Sevier County into Jefferson County which belonged to W.G. Cate, J.W. Douglass, J.P. Moore, W.G. Bull and E. Bull.
22. Acts of 1903, Chapter 55, transferred the property belonging to Hugh Garner from Sevier County into Blount County.
23. Acts of 1903, Chapter 478, changed the line between Sevier and Blount County so as to begin on the extreme top of Roundtop Mountain at the southwest corner of Wear's valley and running due south to the state line of North Carolina and Tennessee, all conflicts being repealed.
24. Acts of 1903, Chapter 514, transferred all the properties of Hugh Gamble and Park P. Delozier from Sevier County into Blount County.
25. Private Acts of 1917, Chapter 816, transferred about 50 acres known as the James Gamble farm from the Tenth Civil District of Sevier County to Blount County described as being bounded on the south by the county line, on the west by the lands of Andrew Davis, on the north by the lands of A.J. Davis and on the east by the lands of Thomas Meddling and Mrs. Erven Rogers.
26. Private Acts of 1933, Chapter 355, moved from Sevier County into Knox all the lands of George Creswell, J.B. Kelly, C.M. McAfee, Lula Walker, George Maples, Paul Styles, Mollie Lafollette, Henry Lafollette and Veda M. Freels which lie on the north side of the French Broad River.
27. Private Acts of 1935, Chapter 672, contains a metes and bounds description of the property subject to the act, but simply moves the land of George Petty, then located in Jefferson County, into Sevier County.
28. Private Acts of 1939, Chapter 303, detached a 50 acre tract of land belonging to J. Ed Ogle from the 13th Civil District of Blount County and attached the same to the 9th Civil District of Sevier County. The second part of the act transferred from Sevier County to Blount County a 12 acre tract belonging to Mattie E. Carr, a seven acre tract belonging to Walter E. Ogle and a 31 acre tract belonging to E. H. Carr.
29. Private Acts of 1941, Chapter 458, changed the lines between Sevier and Blount Counties to remove from the 16th Civil District of Sevier and place in the 18th Civil District of Blount that part of land owned by Tipton Brothers and the 75 acre tract belonging to J. T. Trotter.
30. Private Acts of 1945, Chapter 610, transferred about eight acres belonging to O. L. Boyd and John H. Kerr from the 13th Civil District of Blount County to the 9th Civil District of Sevier County which was described by metes and bounds.
31. Public Acts of 1975, Chapter 134, transferred the property belonging to Fred M. Pierce from Blount County to Sevier County. The Act contains a metes and bounds description of the approximately ten acres transferred.