Editing Morristown, Tennessee (section)

===Early years and establishment===
Before its settlement by [[European colonization of the Americas|European-American]]s, the area of Morristown was inhabited by [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]]s, predominately members of the [[Cherokee]] tribe.<ref name="haunTNEC">{{cite web |last1=Haun |first1=Berwin |title=Hamblen County |url=https://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entries/hamblen-county/ |website=[[Tennessee Encyclopedia]] |publisher=[[Tennessee Historical Society]] |access-date=December 23, 2023 |date=October 8, 2017}}</ref> During the Cherokee's inhabitance, the area was based around two major pathways, an east-west route that was later developed into the [[Great Stage Road]] in the settlement era, and a north-south route known as Buffalo Trail, named for a legend stating the path was formed from herds of [[American bison|buffalo]] traveling from [[Asheville, North Carolina]] to the [[Powell River (Tennessee River tributary)|Powell River]] near the [[Cumberland Gap]] for the river's salt licks.<ref name="brooks1">{{cite news |last1=Davis Brooks |first1=Cora |title=History of Morristown: 1787-1936 |url=https://newspapers.com/image/586788638/ |access-date=December 26, 2023 |work=The Morristown Sun |date=September 4, 1955 |page=9}}</ref>

The settlement of Morristown was established by [[trans-Appalachia]]n pioneer [[Gideon Morris]], a farmer who arrived with his brothers Daniel and Absalom from the [[Watauga Association|Watauga Settlement]], a semi-autonomous government based on land that was leased to European-American settlers from the inhabiting Cherokee tribes.<ref name="settlement">{{cite book |last1=Brooks |first1=Cora |title=History of Morristown, 1787-1936 |date=1940 |publisher=WPA Publishers |url=https://www.sos.tn.gov/products/tsla/bibliography-tennessee-local-history-sources-hamblen-county |access-date=August 8, 2020}}</ref> Prior to his settlement, Morris had fought alongside [[John Sevier]] in the [[Cherokee Expedition]] in 1776, and obtained land grants after serving in the [[American Revolutionary War]] at the [[Battle of Kings Mountain]].<ref name="tuller1">{{cite web |last1=Tuller |first1=Roberta |title=Gideon Morris |url=https://www.anamericanfamilyhistory.com/TennesseeFamilies&Places/Morris%20Family/MorrisGideon1750.html |website=An American Family History |access-date=December 26, 2023 |date=2020}}</ref><ref name="tuller2">{{cite web |last1=Tuller |first1=Roberta |title=1776 Cherokee Expedition |url=https://www.anamericanfamilyhistory.com/TennesseeFamilies&Places/1776%20Cherokee%20Expedition.html |website=An American Family History |access-date=December 26, 2023 |date=2020}}</ref>

Morris, along with his siblings, petitioned to have the Watauga Settlement annexed in the State of [[North Carolina]].<ref name="settlement"/> With the petition's success, the settlement was named Morristown, and land grants containing present-day Hamblen and Jefferson counties were assigned to Morris and his brothers in 1787 by North Carolina state officials.<ref name="Hobby"/><ref name="mrpc"/> The Morris household built their first home off of present-day South Cumberland Street in Morristown, which remained occupied by descendants of the Morris family for several generations.<ref name="sunhist2">{{cite news |title=History of Morristown Continued |url=https://newspapers.com/image/586790092/?terms=%22Morristown%22%20%22Cumberland%20Street%22&match=1 |access-date=December 26, 2023 |work=The Morristown Sun |date=September 4, 1955 |page=12}}</ref>

From 1792 to 1793, the community's main street was added onto a major stagecoach route connecting it to [[Knoxville, Tennessee|Knoxville]] and [[Abingdon, Virginia]], aiding further early settlement efforts.<ref name="registrationform">{{cite web |title=National Register of Historic Places Registration Form |url=https://www.nps.gov/nr/feature/places/pdfs/16000120.pdf |website=[[National Register of Historic Places]] |publisher=[[National Park Service]] |access-date=September 15, 2020 |date=March 22, 2016 }}</ref><ref name="laneTNGenWebIntro">{{cite web |title=Introduction to Hamblen County History |url=https://tngenweb.org/hamblen/records/history.php |website=Hamblen County, TNGenWeb |publisher=THE GOODSPEED PUBLISHING CO |access-date=December 25, 2023 |date=1887}}</ref> Among these settlers was frontiersman [[John Crockett (frontiersman)|John Crockett]], who arrived and settled east of the Morris residence in 1794 with his son, famed pioneer and folk-hero [[Davy Crockett]] who was seven years old at the time. John Crockett constructed a [[Crockett Tavern Museum|log cabin]] that later served as a tavern, and a hospital treating [[smallpox]] during the [[American Civil War]]. After the Civil War, the Crockett Tavern was destroyed to prevent further infections of smallpox.<ref name="sunhist2"/> The current-day [[Crockett Tavern Museum]] sits at the approximate location of the former tavern and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.<ref>{{cite web|title=Abbreviated History|url= http://www.crocketttavernmuseum.org/history.html|website=CrockettTavernMuseum.org|access-date=November 1, 2018}}</ref> John's son, Davy resided in Morristown until 1809, when he relocated to [[Middle Tennessee]] to go into Tennessee state politics.<ref name="sunhist2"/> 

By 1833, Morristown developed into a small village, consisting of a post office, a general store, a blacksmith and machine shop which was the first major enterprise in the town, and several log cabin residences along the main stagecoach route known as the [[Great Stage Road]] that divided the community into two counties, [[Grainger County, Tennessee|Grainger]] to the north, and [[Jefferson County, Tennessee|Jefferson]] to the south.<ref name="sunhist2"/><ref name="hill57">{{cite news |last1=Hill |first1=Howard |title=Old Friends and Neighbors of the Morris Family |url=https://newspapers.com/image/587594060/?terms=%22Stage%20Road%22%20%22Morristown%22&match=1 |access-date=December 26, 2023 |work=Morristown Gazette Mail |date=June 9, 1957 |page=2}}</ref> Morristown Academy, the community's first documented school, opened to students in 1830.<ref name="sunhist2"/> In 1855, Morristown was [[Municipal corporation|incorporated]] into a city to provide new services to the community's growing population.<ref name="about"/><ref name="sunhist2"/>  Railroad access became available to Morristown when construction completed on the [[East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad]] in 1858, which was the first railroad line to be operational in the state of [[Tennessee]].<ref name="sunhist2"/> Morristown was serviced by its first newspaper, the ''American Statesman'', in 1857 after relocating to Morristown from [[Dandridge, Tennessee|Dandridge]], the seat of Jefferson County.<ref name="sunhist2"/> By 1860, Morristown was recorded by the [[United States Census Bureau]] to have an initial population of 500 as an incorporated city.<ref name="sunhist2"/>

Between 1855 and 1870, Morristown's [[City limits|municipal limits]] were divided along Main Street into [[Grainger County, Tennessee|Grainger]] and [[Jefferson County, Tennessee|Jefferson]] counties.<ref name="about"/> Many residents brought concerns regarding transportation and communication access in Morristown, and neighboring communities such as [[Russellville, Tennessee|Russellville]] and Panther Springs raised concerns as well regarding accessibility to Morristown.<ref name="tradition"/> After working with government officials from the neighboring counties and the state government, [[Hamblen County, Tennessee|Hamblen County]] was formed from portions of Grainger, Jefferson, [[Hawkins County, Tennessee|Hawkins]], and [[Greene County, Tennessee|Greene]] counties.<ref name="tradition">{{cite web |title=Tradition Tells How Hamblen County Came Into Being |url=https://www.tngenweb.org/hamblen/records/history.php#Tradition |website=Hamblen County, Tennessee Genealogy |access-date=September 14, 2020}}</ref> Morristown was chosen as the [[county seat]] of Hamblen County shortly after its formation in 1870.<ref name="about"/>