John Sevier

John Sevier is reported to have been the most handsome man in all of Tennessee, tall, blue eyed, fair complexion, people seemed to rally around him. He was a strong, military figure and in many ways John Sevier was to Tennessee what George Washington was to the Nation as a whole.

Arriving in Tennesseein 1771 and winning the hearts and capturing the imagination of the pioneers. A champion of the common man and lover of freedom and lover of the land in John Sevier Tennessee finds its greatest hero.

Tennessee’s first governor was John Sevier, he was elected to serve 6 terms, and no one has ever served longer in states history. However, John Sevier performed his greatest service on the battle field winning 35 battles and having no defeats. He led the Wataugans to victory at Kings Mountain and helped to turn the tide during the American Revolution.

In the early years on the Tennessee frontier, one of the greatest concerns was security and safety. Those who were able to protect others from Indians and those who were able to defeat the Indians were considered the hero’s; John Sevier was considered the greatest soldier on the Tennessee frontier. For all of his victories on the battlefield, John Sevier earned much more than the respect of the people, he earned land and lots of it. 300,000 acres for his military service, part of the land he owned covered what is now known as Walnut Street in downtown Knoxville, TN.There, on Walnut Street, stands a house and in the basement are the bricks of the foundation for the home he wanted to build but was never able to finish. He did, however, finish his home at Marble Springs, a very unassuming place you’d almost think was rather unworthy of such a man, but living at the house in Marble Springs was a very uncommon man, having 18 children of his own, John Sevier once gave away over 50,000 bushels of corn during a depression.

John Sevier kept a diary in which he recorded, and tried to interpret his dreams, John Sevier taught himself French, stayed in touch with world affairs and even is reported to have wrote a dictionary of the Cherokee language. John Sevier was a man far beyond most frontiersmen. He was a realtor, a surveyor, a city builder, a state builder and a soldier.

At his death in 1815, while in Alabama surveying land, the estate of John Sevier was valued at less than 300 dollars. The last, and the happiest years of his life were spent at his Marble Springs home. Just as every state has its frontier hero’s, and every state has its great and strong men and women from early periods who helped to build that state, John Sevier is one of ours. John Seviers’ final resting place is located at the old Knox County Courthouse in Knoxville, Tennessee.