In the late 1800’s, Roane County was an agricultural community with farms averaging in size from small to medium. Crops grown for any type of export were corn, wheat, cotton, and tobacco.

Typical Roane County farm in the 1800’s

The population of Roane County in 1861 was 13,583. The slave population was 1,748. There were 105 freed men in the county at this time.

The county boundaries ran east to the town of Lenoir and south to below the town of Loudon. The boundaries north and west were about the same as they are today. There were two main roads. One ran east to west from Washington D.C. to Nashville and was called the “Great Road.” The other ran north to south from Kentucky to Georgia. These two roads today are Highway 70 and Kentucky Street, respectively.

Race Street looking east toward Morrison Hill

There were many factors that influenced the development of Roane County. The steamboat traffic from Chattanooga up to Knoxville was one of them.

Steamboat traffic on the Tennessee and Clinch Rivers

Any materials that came into or out of the county usually took this route. The confluence of three river systems added to the development of the county. These rivers were the Clinch, the Tennessee, and the Emory.

A railroad ran in the eastern portion of the county. The East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad ran from Georgia up through Chattanooga, then on to Virginia.