First Court West of Alleghanies - Elizabethton, TN
Posted by: 
vhasler
N 36° 20.851 W 082° 12.734
17S E 391223 N 4023176
The first court west of the Allegheny Mountains was held in 1772 under a young sycamore tree. By 1939 when the American Guide for Tennessee was published, it was a large tree on the bank of the Doe River.
Waymark Code: WM9VX5
Location: Tennessee, United States
Date Posted: 10/02/2010
Views: 9
Per the TN guidebook, Elizabethton has this historical location:
Under a very large sycamore tree at 109 Riverside Drive, a short distance from the courthouse, is a marker that designates the spot where the first court west of the Allegheny Mountains was held in 1772; the sycamore under which it convened was then a young tree. Near the tree at the east end of Hattie St. is a covered bridge built before the War between the States.
----- TENNESSEE - A Guide to the State (third printing 1949)
Unfortunately, the later very large sycamore died and was cut down in 1987. A memorial has been set up with a section of the tree. Plaque reads: "The First Court West of the Alleghanies was held under this tree here in Elizabethton Tennessee."
Stop #9 of the Elizabethton walking tour link , which informs us:
"The first republic established west of the Appalachians was the Watauga Association, which was formed in May 1772 under the shade of an old Sycamore tree, located on the banks of the Doe River.
Very little is known about the first court except that five magistrates and 13 commissioners were chosen to lead the government that existed until 1776. Tradition holds that Andrew Jackson may have also held court under the tree or in a house nearby. The famed tree,
cut down in 1987 (after many efforts to save it), was located across the street from this memorial where a concrete pedestal marks the hallowed spot where the court arising from the first written compact made by a free and independent American people was held."