Last updated: April 23, 2026
Situated between the Cumberland Plateau and the Tennessee River in southeastern Tennessee, Marion County was established in 1817 from former Cherokee lands and named for Revolutionary War brigadier general Francis Marion. Its county seat is Jasper. Across two centuries the county's story has included Cherokee Lower Towns, Civil War engagements, iron furnaces and coal mines, TVA dams, a silent-film actress from South Pittsburg, and a Holocaust memorial assembled by middle schoolers in Whitwell.
What's New?
Fort McCook on Battle Creek
New subpage on the Union earthwork at the mouth of Battle Creek: built in summer 1862 by McCook's and Crittenden's divisions, shelled out by Maxey on August 27, briefly held as Fort Maxey, and reoccupied as Fort Thomas during Brannan's September 1863 crossing. With a contributed regimental movement map and the Pvt. Daniel Rowe letter, both from Carden Brown.
Hiking & Trails
New geography hub pulling together the Cumberland Trail, Foster Falls and the Fiery Gizzard, Prentice Cooper, the Mountain Goat Trail, Marion County Park, Little Cedar Mountain, and iconic border trails like the Walls of Jericho, with a stats directory and trip-planning notes.
Chapel on the Hill
New subpage on the 1888 sandstone Primitive Baptist church on Clute's Hill in South Pittsburg, restored as a public events space and stop on the Southeast Tennessee Heritage Religious Trail.
The Old South Pittsburg Hospital
New subpage on the 1959 South Pittsburg Municipal Hospital, its 1998 closure, and its second life since the mid-2010s as the Old South Pittsburg Hospital Paranormal Research Center.
Explore
The sections below cover the county's history, communities, landscape, industries, schools, culture, and the people who shaped the valley from the Cherokee era to the present.
Interactive Timeline
A filterable timeline of events from the Chickamauga era to the 2020 Easter tornadoes, organized by era and category.
History
From the Cherokee Lower Towns and the Chickamauga Wars through the Civil War, the British-capital industrial boom, the TVA era, and into the present.
Communities
Jasper, South Pittsburg, Whitwell, Monteagle, and the smaller named places, present and historical, across the county.
Industry & Economy
Coal mines, coke ovens, the NC&StL Railway, Hales Bar Dam, Lodge Cast Iron, Dixie Portland Cement, and the I-24 corridor that reshaped the valley.
Geography & Nature
The Sequatchie Valley, the Tennessee River Gorge, Cumberland Plateau geology and caves, Nickajack Cave, Foster Falls and other plateau-edge waterfalls, the Cumberland Trail, and Prentice Cooper State Forest.
Culture & Traditions
The National Cornbread Festival, Lodge Cast Iron, the Paper Clips Project, and Appalachian folk traditions of the Sequatchie Valley.
Education
Antebellum academies, the Rosenwald-funded McReynolds High School, the Richard Hardy Memorial, and three modern high schools across the county.
Notable Figures
Cherokee leaders, Civil War officers, two governors, a Scopes Trial judge, a silent-film actress, and the industrialists who built the valley's economy.
Demographics
Population, race, income, and employment data for Marion County from the 1820 census through the 2020 count of 28,837.