Last updated: April 18, 2026
- Type: Unincorporated community
- Note: Not to be confused with Sequatchie County (a separate, neighboring county)
The small community named Sequatchie sits in Marion County's portion of the Sequatchie Valley. It shares its name with the valley itself and with Sequatchie County, which was carved in December 1857 out of two districts of Marion County plus one district of Bledsoe County. The county seat of Sequatchie County is Dunlap, well to the north; the Marion County community called Sequatchie is a smaller, quieter place.
Name origin
The name Sequatchie comes from a Cherokee word (variously rendered Siquatchi or Se-qua-cha-ha-hok), generally interpreted as meaning "opossum" or referring to "hog" or describing the river's meandering path. It was the Cherokee name for the valley and the river that drains it.
Why the split (1857)
Sequatchie County was created in 1857 because residents of the central valley felt that Jasper, well to the south, was too distant to serve as their effective county seat. The state legislature agreed and peeled off portions of Marion and Bledsoe to form the new county. The Marion County community called Sequatchie is in the remaining Marion portion of the valley.
Modern community
The community is small and rural. It functions as a rural address and local identity rather than a formal municipality, with agricultural land, scattered homes, and small businesses.