Local History

by the Washington County Historical Association, Inc. // Call number: T-R 976.897 HIS

The History of Washington County, Tennessee (2001) is an encyclopedia of local history and genealogy edited and published by the Washington County Historical Society. With over 1,200 pages of material including photographs and an expansive index, this thick tome serves as one of the premier go-to resources when researching Johnson City. Compiled and edited by Joyce and W. Eugene Cox, each section was contributed by some of the foremost local historians and societies that Washington County has to offer. While not everyone has famous (or infamous) enough ancestors to appear in this title, consider using it to help flesh out your ancestor’s world by providing gateways into the past. This 2001 book is not an updated version of the identically named History of Washington County (1988), but a wholly unique item.

by Ray Stahl // Call number: T-R 976.897 STA

Originally published in 1983 (with an updated index added in 2000), Greater Johnson City is a chronological history of Johnson City annotated with illustrations, photographs, and newspaper clippings. This title includes information from the first European longhunters to arrive in the area, to the first permanent white settlers, to the founding of Johnson City and its origins as a railway town, on to most of the last century. While Johnson City is the obvious focus of this title, it includes some information on other happenings of regional interest, such as the hanging of Mary the Elephant at the Clinchfield Railroad stock yard in nearby Erwin, Tennessee. The Johnson City Public Library also has copies that circulate in its general collection (see staff for details).