Union County, Tennessee

Union County, Tennessee
Union County Courthouse in Maynardville
Location in the U.S. state of Tennessee
Tennessee's location in the U.S.
Founded	1850
Named for	Either its creation from parts of five other counties or its support for the Union during the Civil War
Seat	Maynardville
Largest city	Maynardville
Area
• Total	247 sq mi (640 km2)
• Land	224 sq mi (580 km2)
• Water	24 sq mi (62 km2), 9.5%
Population (est.)
• (2015)	19,119
• Density	85/sq mi (33/km²)
Congressional district	3rd
Time zone	Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Website	www.unioncountytn.com

Union County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2010 census, the population was 19,109. Its county seat is Maynardville.

Union County is included in the Knoxville, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Union County was formed in 1850 from portions of Grainger, Claiborne, Campbell, Anderson and Knox counties. There are at least two theories on the source of its name. The name may commemorate the "union" of sections of five counties, or it may reflect East Tennessee's support for the preservation of the Union in the years before the Civil War. The county seat was originally named "Liberty," but renamed "Maynardville" in honor of attorney and congressman, Horace Maynard, who had defended the county in a court case that sought to block its formation.

In the 1930s, the damming of the Clinch River by Norris Dam to form Norris Lake inundated a large part of the county, including the community of Loyston, and displaced many residents. With assistance from the National Park Service and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) developed Big Ridge State Park as a demonstration park on the shore of the lake in Union County. The park's recreational facilities opened in May 1934.