Grainger County

Click to Search for real estate listings using the Knoxville Area Association of Realtors MLS IDX

History of Grainger County

The First settlement of Grainger County began about 1785, along the Clinch Mountain valley, at the head of Flat Creek. The first settlers were some who had resided originally in what is still Hawkins County. A prominent pioneer, James Ore, settled at a place known as Oresville, about one mile east of Bean Station, near the close of the 18th century.

Located in East Tennessee, Grainger County was formed in 1796 from parts of Knox and Hawkins County. The boundaries for Grainger County were as follows: It begun on the main road leading from Bulls Gap to Haynes Iron Works, on Mosey Creek, at the house of Felp’s Read, running course to the Kentucky road on the north of Holston River, then west to the Virginia line, then west said line to a point northwest of the end of Clinch Mountain, and to a ridge dividing Richland and Flat Creeks to Holston River at the upper end of the first bluff above Boyle’s old place, then up the course of the river to the mouth of Panther Creek near the home of John Evans.

Grainger County is approximately 18 miles from downtown Knoxville and borders the northeast side of Knox County. The central business districts of Morristown, Jefferson City, Tazewell, and Rogersville are within a 15 minute drive from Grainger County. State Highways 92,131, 61, and US highway 11-W and 25-E. Interstates 40,75, and 81 are only a 30 minute drive from the county.

 Education

The Grainger County School district is comprised of 4 elementary schools, 1 middle school, 2 high schools and an Adult High School serving the communities of Bean Station, Rutledge, Blaine, and Washburn.

 Medical

A tele-medicine home healthcare project, “Rural Health Care Through Tele-medicine: An Interdisciplinary Approach” has been funded by the US Office of Rural Health Policy Rural Tele-medicine Grant Program through the University of Tennessee Medical Center in order to improve access to quality health services for the rural residents of Grainger County, Tennessee.

Grainger County has a population of 22,766. Four clinics with three full-time and two part-time physicians provide primary medical care full-time.

The focus of the tele-medicine project is to improve access to quality health services and to reduce the isolation of rural health care professionals in Grainger County. During this project {1998-2000}, each of the three clinics were provided with interactive audio-video tele-medicine equipment and training for its use in patient consultations. This will enable a primary care physician in one of the rural clinics to examine a patient in another. In addition, the clinic patients will have access to consultations with specialist physicians at UT Medical Center in Knoxville.

Recreation

Grainger County is a superb place for recreation. It is nestled in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains and is graced by the Clinch Mountains, Cherokee Lake, Norris Lake, the Holston and Clinch Rivers.