Unicoi County Town of Erwin

(Side 1)Unicoi County was formed during the Reconstruction era from parts of Washington and Carter counties on March 23, 1875. Representative Alfred A. Taylor introduced a bill in the Tennessee Legislature and insisted that the county's name come from a Cherokee word representing the fog-draped Unaka Mountains. The first meeting for the elected officials was January 3, 1876, at the Indian Creek Baptist Church. For the Centennial in 1975, the motto on the new seal of Unicoi County was "The Valley Beautiful." (Side 2) The town was laid out in March of 1876 on land donated by David J.N. Ervin, William Love, and G. Garland for the creation of a county seat. Vanderbilt was the town's first name. In 1879, the state approved a new name of Ervin, but a United States Post Office mix-up gave the town its lasting name of Erwin. Earlier postal designations of Greasy Cove, Unaka, and Longmire identified the area. In 1891, Erwin was incorporated and the Board of Mayor and Aldermen met in 1892.