Rock Island is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in the northeasternmost portion of

Warren County Warren County is the name of fourteen counties in the USA. Some are named after General Joseph Warren, who was killed in the Battle of Bunker Hill in the American Revolutionary War: * Warren County, Georgia * Warren County, Illinois * Warren County ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

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. The town is named after an island on the

Caney Fork River The Caney Fork River is a river that flows through central Tennessee in the United States, draining a substantial portion of the southwestern Cumberland Plateau and southeastern Highland Rim regions. It is a major tributary of the Cumberland Rive ...

just below the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

of the Rocky River. Rock Island is home to the Great Falls Dam and Rock Island State Park. Many different houses, restaurants, and marinas can be found here. Rock Island is a popular destination during the summer season. It is known for scenic waterfalls and bluffs. Boats can often be seen on the river riding by. The state park offers many different hiking trails as well as a sand bar (almost a beach front).

History

Early history

Post office in Rock Island Tennessee 8-23-2014

The Chickamauga Path, which spanned Middle Tennessee north-to-south, connecting the area with Kentucky and Alabama, forded the Caney Fork at a large rock island. This path later became the Old Kentucky Road, which roughly parallels the modern State Route 136. Another trail, known as the Black Fox Trail, passed east-to-west just south of Rock Island. In 1793, in the latter part of the

Cherokee–American wars The Cherokee–American wars, also known as the Chickamauga Wars, were a series of raids, campaigns, ambushes, minor skirmishes, and several full-scale frontier battles in the Old Southwest from 1776 to 1794 between the Cherokee and American se ...

, a skirmish was fought at Rock Island between a small contingent of soldiers pursuing several Chickamaugas, who had reportedly stolen horses. The Tennessee historian J.G.M. Ramsey reported:

(Lt. Snoddy) pursued them to a large camp near the Rock Island ford of the Cany Fork, where he took much spoils. Evening coming on, he withdrew from the camp, about a mile, to an eminence, where he halted his men, and they lay on their arms all night."

The Chickamauga assaulted Snoddy's position the following day, but were beaten back. Among the earliest settlers in Middle Tennessee settled at Rock Island in the late 1790s. They included William "Rock" Martin and Joseph Terry. In 1806, Rock Island became the county seat for the newly created White County and court was held in Terry's cabin. The new county encompassed all of what is now White and Warren Counties, and parts of the counties of

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, Grundy, Putnam, and Van Buren Counties. Rock Island was the county seat for three years. General John D. Rodgers, veteran of the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

and

Seminole Wars The Seminole Wars (also known as the Florida Wars) were three related military conflicts in Geography of Florida, Florida between the United States and the Seminole, citizens of a Native Americans in the United States, Native American nation whi ...

owned a tavern and operated a ferry just above the island. Gen.

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

presided over several sessions of the

Tennessee Supreme Court The Tennessee Supreme Court is the ultimate judicial tribunal of the state of Tennessee. Roger A. Page is the Chief Justice. Unlike other states, in which the state attorney general is directly elected or appointed by the governor or state le ...

here.Goodspeed's History of Tennessee, County Histories, The Goodspeed Publishing Co., Nashville TN, 1886-1887, History of Warren County, transcribed by Fred Clark. The town by the river remained an important point along the Old Kentucky Road until the coming of the railroad in 1881. The Webb Hotel (#100005145) a Craftsman style house constructed in 1909 to accommodate the rising demand for tourism in Rock Island, was known for its homestyle dinners on Sunday afternoons. The hotel was frequented by country music star and member of the Grand Ole Opry, Uncle Dave Macon. On March 27, 2020, the Webb Hotel was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Recreation

Rock Island is home to Rock Island State Park & Great Falls Dam.

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Tennessee Unincorporated communities in Warren County, Tennessee