Old Washington (formerly Washington) 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 hav ...

and a former county seat of

Rhea County, Tennessee Rhea County (pronounced ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 32,870. Its county seat is Dayton. Rhea County comprises the Dayton, TN Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also inc ...

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 or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same 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 polic ...

, the courthouse was used as a headquarters by various officers in 1863. The Cincinnati Southern Railway, constructed in 1880, passed through

Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...

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 in

. The Washington Ferry operated on the

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names ...

between Old Washington and Meigs County from 1807 until the construction of the

Highway 30 The following highways are numbered 30: International * Asian Highway 30 * European route E30 Australia * Albany Highway (State Route 30, Western Australia) Brazil * BR-030 Canada * Alberta Highway 30 (defunct) * British Columbia Highway 3 ...

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