Old Washington (formerly Washington) is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

and a former county seat of

Rhea County, Tennessee Rhea County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, its population was 32,870. Its county seat is Dayton. Rhea County comprises the Dayton, TN micropolitan statistical area, which is also included in the ...

History

After considering several options, a site at the head of Spring Creek was selected in 1812 to be the county seat of Rhea County. This site was established as the town of Washington. The land for the town was donated by David Campbell, and the lots were auctioned off from May 21–22, 1812. A brick courthouse was completed in 1832. The town was busy marketplace, with ten stores and its own newspaper, The Valley Freeman. During the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, the courthouse was used as a headquarters by various officers in 1863. The

Cincinnati Southern Railway Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which ...

, constructed in 1880, passed through

Dayton Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

but bypassed Washington, and the inhabitants of Rhea County voted in 1889 to move the county seat from Washington to Dayton. Washington's population declined; the courthouse was torn down, and its bricks were used to build the

courthouse A courthouse or court house is a structure which houses judicial functions for a governmental entity such as a state, region, province, county, prefecture, regency, or similar governmental unit. A courthouse is home to one or more courtrooms, ...

. The Washington Ferry operated on the

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is a long river located in the Southern United States, southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. Flowing through the states of Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, it begins at the confluence of Fren ...

between Old Washington and Meigs County from 1807 until the construction of the Highway 30 bridge in the 1990s.

Education

Rhea County Schools is the local school district. The district's sole high school is Rhea County High School.

References

Unincorporated communities in Tennessee Unincorporated communities in Rhea County, Tennessee Former municipalities in Tennessee Tennessee populated places on the Tennessee River Former county seats in Tennessee {{RheaCountyTN-geo-stub