Scott County, Tennessee
| Scott County, Tennessee | |
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Scott County Courthouse in Huntsville
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 Location in the U.S. state of Tennessee |
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 Tennessee's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | 1849 |
| Named for | Winfield Scott |
| Seat | Huntsville |
| Largest town | Oneida |
| Area | |
| • Total | 533 sq mi (1,380 km2) |
| • Land | 532 sq mi (1,378 km2) |
| • Water | 0.9 sq mi (2 km2), 0.2% |
| Population | |
| • (2015) | 21,950 |
| • Density | 42/sq mi (16/km²) |
| Congressional district | 3rd |
| Time zone | Eastern: UTC-5/-4 |
| Website | www |
Scott County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2010 census, the population was 22,228. Its county seat is Huntsville. Scott County is known for having seceded from Tennessee in protest of the state's decision to join the Confederacy during the Civil War, and subsequently forming The Free and Independent State of Scott.
Scott County was formed in 1849 from portions of Anderson, Campbell, Fentress and Morgan counties. It is named for U.S. Army General Winfield Scott, a hero of the Mexican War.
During the Civil War, the county was strongly Unionist, voting against secession from the Union in Tennessee's June 1861 referendum by a higher percentage (521 to 19, or 96%) than in any other Tennessee county. This sentiment was encouraged by a June 4, 1861, speech in Huntsville by senator from Tennessee, Andrew Johnson. In 1861, the county assembly officially enacted a resolution seceding from the state of Tennessee, and thus the Confederacy, forming the "Free and Independent State of Scott," also known simply as the "State of Scott." The county remained a pro-Union enclave throughout the war.
The proclamation was finally repealed, over a hundred years later, by Scott County in 1986.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 533 square miles (1,380 km2), of which 532 square miles (1,380 km2) is land and 0.9 square miles (2.3 km2) (0.2%) is water. The county is located in a relatively hilly area atop the Cumberland Plateau. In the southwestern part of the county, the Clear Fork and New River converge to form the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River, a major tributary of the Cumberland River, and the focus of a national river and recreation area.
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