Soon, petitions began circulating among the citizenry to be presented to the Tennessee General Assembly, asking for the area to be recognized as a new county. This new county was to include the land of Grainger County lying south of the Holston River, and Jefferson County land that was over eleven miles northeast of Dandridge. As the Tennessee Constitution was being revised at a convention in 1870, Section 4, Article 10 of this new con­stitution provided that a new county might be established. A plot of the proposed new county was submitted on April 15, 1870, by Colonel O. R. Watkins, and a petition of 1,057 citizens was sent to the convention. The county was formed May 31, 1870, in the two-story log Tate's Store at Panther Springs. By July of that year, the new county had established a board of commissioners and was conducting business. To secure the recommendation of State Senator William Green of Hawkins County, he was given the privilege of naming the new county after his grandfather, Hezekiah Hamblen.

Due to its size, central location, previous government experience, stockyards, railroad rolling stock, and being the local center of education, Morristown was selected over contending Russellville as the county seat. The new county was divided into nine voting districts: District 1, Panther Springs; District 2, Witt's Foundry; District 3, Morristown; District 4, Gholer (Noe's Mill); District 5, Paperrnill; District 6, McDonald's; District 7, Dover; District 8, Russellville; and District 9, Whitesburg. G. H. Boyd was chosen Hamblen County's fIrst sheriff, Richard S. Lane was the revenue collector, and Joseph Brown was the trustee. The first temporary courthouse was in a building located near present-day L & W Cafe, which was rented for three years at an annual rent of $200, to be paid by contributors with no cost to the county for three years. An act to add to the area of Hamblen County by acquiring a small section from Hawkins County was passed on January 20, 1871. This act secured for the new county that area of Hawkins County lying south and east of the Holston River. In 1871, two acres ofland were secured for the purpose of a permanent site of a courthouse. That area is the site of today's present courthouse.

On July 3, 1871, a committee was appointed to consult with architects and procure plans for construction and costs for a new courthouse. Architect A. C. Bruce was chosen to draw and pre­sent three plans: one to cost $10,000, another to cost $15,000, and a third to cost $18,000. After careful consideration and inspection of the site, the committee unanimously agreed to adopt the $18,000 plan. This was presented to the full court on October 3, 1871. The court agreed to adopt the plan and instructed the committee to put it into action and contract. The building contract was signed December 24, 1872, with completion guaranteed by November 1, 1874, at a cost which exceeded the original plan by $3,750. Originally the plan called for the south side of the courthouse to be the front, where balconies provided space for speakers. The second floor of the building housed the courtroom. In the early 1950s, the fIrst major changes to the building provided more vault space for records. Still more space was added in 1968, and the brick building was painted gray. Today, this same structure, in its beautiful setting, continues to serve Hamblen County.

Information taken from:
Hamblen County, Tennessee: A pictorial History
by Jim Claiborn and Bill Henderson
Copyright 1995