Editing Sevierville, Tennessee (section)

===Antebellum Sevierville===

Sevier County was created in 1794 and named after [[John Sevier]]. At a meeting at Thomas' house the following year, the Forks-of-the-Little-Pigeon area was chosen as the county seat and renamed "Sevierville."<ref>J.G.M. Ramsey, ''The Annals of Tennessee'' (Johnson City, Tenn.: Tennessee Overmountain Press, 1999), 637.</ref> James McMahan donated a {{convert|25|acre|m2|adj=on}} tract of land for erecting a town square. This tract was parceled out into lots of {{convert|0.5|acre|m2}} that purchasers were required to build brick, framed, or stone structures on.<ref>J.A. Sharp, "[http://www.sevierlibrary.org/genealogy/drsharphis/sevierville.htm Sevierville, One Hundred Fifty-Five Years Old] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031115220511/http://www.sevierlibrary.org/genealogy/drsharphis/sevierville.htm |date=November 15, 2003 }}."  c. 1950. Retrieved:  October 4, 2007.</ref>

The first Sevier County Courthouse was built in 1796. According to local legend, court was held in a flea-infested abandoned stable before its construction. The lore suggests that irritated lawyers paid an unknown person a bottle of whiskey to burn down the stable, forcing the new county to build an actual courthouse.<ref>Goodspeed Publishing Company, "[http://www.smokykin.com/smhs/sevier.html Sevier County] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120918055707/http://www.smokykin.com/smhs/sevier.html |date=2012-09-18 }}."  ''History of Tennessee'' (1887), B32-35.  Transcribed for the web by Cliff Manis with revision by Robert Beckwith, 1996.  Retrieved:  October 4, 2007.</ref>

As the county grew, several large farms were established in the fertile Boyd's Creek area. In 1792, Andrew Evans purchased a tract of land near the mouth of Boyd's Creek and built a ferry near the site of the old ford. In 1798, he sold the farm to John Brabson, and it became known as [[Brabson's Ferry Plantation]]. In the early 1790s, Thomas Buckingham established a large farm between Boyd's Creek and Sevierville. He went on to become the county's first sheriff. In the early 19th century, Timothy Chandler and his son, John Chandler (1786–1875), established the [[Wheatlands (Sevierville, Tennessee)|Wheatlands]] plantation in Boyd's Creek.<ref>Jones, ''Historic Architecture of Sevier County'', 14, 24.</ref>

As towns situated along the French Broad are connected via waterway to [[New Orleans]], [[flatboat]] trade flourished along the river in the early 19th century. In 1793, James Hubbert, who lived along Dumplin Creek, established Hubbert's Flat Landing to trade with flatboats moving up and down the river.<ref>Jones, ''Historic Architecture of Sevier County'', 17.</ref>

In the early 19th century, Knoxville and Asheville were connected via Route 17, a crude road that followed the banks of the French Broad. This new road gave Tennessee's cattle drovers greater access to markets along the east coast. In 1820, a stagecoach road connected Sevierville with Maryville to the west.<ref>Jones, ''Historic Architecture of Sevier County'', 19.</ref> Sevierville's status as a county seat along these early roads helped it grow. By 1833, the town had a population of 150, including two doctors, two carpenters, a tanner, two tailors, a shoemaker, three stores, a hatter, two taverns, and two mills.<ref>Jones, ''Historic Architecture of Sevier County'', 21.</ref> Distilleries were popular means of supplemental income. By 1850, John Chandler's distillery was producing 6,000 gallons of whiskey per year.<ref>Jones, ''Historic Architecture of Sevier County'', 29.</ref>

A notable late arrival in Sevierville was Dr. [[Robert H. Hodsden]] (1806–1864), who was an attending physician for the [[Trail of Tears]]. In 1846, Hodsden began construction on a plantation near Fair Garden, just outside Sevierville to the east. Known as [[Rose Glen (Sevierville, Tennessee)|Rose Glen]], this plantation was worth $28,000 in 1860, making it one of the most valuable in the county.<ref>Jones, ''Historic Architecture of Sevier County'', 22, 29.</ref>

In 1856, a fire swept through Sevierville, burning a recently constructed courthouse, 41 houses, and several shops in the downtown area. The county lost nearly all of the vital records of its early settlers.<ref>M.A. Rawlings, "Sevierville Fire of 1856," ''Smoky Mountain Historical Society Newsletter'' 12, no. 4 (Winter of 1986), 95.</ref>