Tennessee: Washington County

The county was established in 1777 as Washington County, North Carolina and was named in honor of General George Washington while the Revolutionary War was underway. At that time, "Washington County" included the geographic area that later became the entire State of Tennessee. The county also was part of the "State of Franklin" from 1784 through 1788 (an attempt to create the fourteenth state) prior to Tennessee becoming a state in 1796.