Sullivan County, Tennessee

Sullivan County, Tennessee
Sullivan County Courthouse in Blountville
Location in the U.S. state of Tennessee
Tennessee's location in the U.S.
Founded	1779
Named for	General John Sullivan
Seat	Blountville
Largest city	Kingsport
Area
• Total	430 sq mi (1,114 km2)
• Land	413 sq mi (1,070 km2)
• Water	16 sq mi (41 km2), 3.8%
Population
• (2010)	156,823
• Density	379/sq mi (146/km²)
Congressional district	1st
Time zone	Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Website	www.sullivancountytn.gov

Sullivan County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2010 census, the population was 156,823. Its county seat is Blountville.

Sullivan County is part of the Kingsport–Bristol–Bristol, TN-VA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Johnson City–Kingsport–Bristol, TN-VA Combined Statistical Area, commonly known as the "Tri-Cities" region.

Sullivan is Tennessee's second-oldest county, having been established in 1779 when the area was still part of North Carolina. It was part of the extra-legal State of Franklin from 1784 to 1788.

Sullivan County was created in 1779 from a portion of Washington County, and named for John Sullivan, a general in the Revolutionary War.Long Island of the Holston in Kingsport had been an important landmark for the Cherokee. The island was the site of Fort Robinson, constructed in 1761 following the fall of Fort Loudoun further to the south, making the Sullivan area one of the earliest settled areas of Tennessee.

Sullivan County was one of the few East Tennessee counties to support secession on the eve of the Civil War. In Tennessee's June 1861 referendum, the county voted 1,586 to 627 in favor of secession.