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Tennessee County
Hawkins County, Tennessee
Rogersville - Tennessee's oldest town - and the Holston River corridor - from Rogersville's distinction as the oldest town in Tennessee (established 1775 - earlier than Nashville, Knoxville, or Chattanooga - Rogersville's remarkably intact 18th and 19th-century architecture includes the Hale Springs Inn, 1824, the oldest continuously operated inn in Tennessee, where three US presidents stayed) to the Holston River's Cherokee Lake reservoir recreation and Church Hill and Mount Carmel's Kingsport suburban communities, and a northeastern Tennessee county of extraordinary colonial American heritage.
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Office: Hawkins County Emergency Management Agency – 150 East Washington Street, #2, Rogersville, TN 37857 | (423) 272-7359 or (423) 272-8059 | [email protected] | Hours: daily, 8 AM-7 PM
911: Hawkins County Emergency Communications District – 2291 East Main Street, Rogersville, TN 37857 | Non-emergency: (423) 272-7121 | Admin: (423) 272-7532 | Addressing/GIS: (423) 272-8999 | [email protected]; runs a real “Hawkins Alert” mass-notification opt-in system (text, voice, or email) via Smart911.com.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-11W serves Rogersville, the county seat; Church Hill is the county’s largest city, part of the Tri-Cities (Johnson City-Kingsport-Bristol) region
Transit: No dedicated county-wide public transit system was found in this search – confirm directly with the county or your city
Notes: Hawkins County was founded in 1787, named for Benjamin Hawkins. Its 1836 courthouse in Rogersville is genuinely documented as the oldest courthouse still in use in Tennessee. Rogersville itself, settled by Davy Crockett’s grandparents in 1775 and formally petitioned as a town by founder Joseph Rogers in 1786, is one of the oldest towns in the state.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Hawkins County Building/Permits – confirm current contact via hawkinscountytn.gov.
Notes: Rogersville is genuinely home to the Hale Springs Inn, built 1824-25 by lawyer John McKinney, long documented as Tennessee’s oldest continuously operated inn (National Register of Historic Places, part of the Rogersville Historic District). Remarkably, the inn hosted three sitting or future U.S. Presidents as overnight guests during the 19th century: Andrew Jackson, Andrew Johnson, and James K. Polk. During the Civil War it served as a Union headquarters (it faces north), while the Confederates who took Rogersville during the 1863 Battle of Big Creek used the Kyle House across the street (facing south) as their own headquarters. The inn closed in 1998, was purchased and restored by the nonprofit Rogersville Heritage Association starting 2003, and reopened in 2009 after a renovation exceeding $2.1 million. The wider Rogersville Historic District is NRHP-listed (1973).
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Hawkins County Veterans Service Office – Officer Mike Manning | 150 East Washington Street, Rogersville, TN 37857 | (423) 272-7359
State: Tennessee Department of Veterans Services – tn.gov/veteran
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Hawkins County Library System – H.B. Stamps Memorial Library (Rogersville) | Branch Director Melissa Montgomery | 407 East Main Street, Suite 1, Rogersville, TN 37857 | (423) 272-8710 | Fax: (423) 272-9261 | [email protected] | Hours: Mon/Wed/Fri 9:30 AM-5 PM, Tue/Thu 9:30 AM-8 PM, Sat 9 AM-1 PM. Branch: Surgoinsville Public Library, 120 Old Stage Road, Surgoinsville, TN 37873 | (423) 345-4805.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Hale Springs Inn and Rogersville Historic District (see above) anchor the county’s heritage tourism. Crockett Springs Park and Arboretum, downtown Rogersville’s centerpiece, sits on the 281-acre land grant where Davy Crockett’s parents built their log cabin near the spring. The Tennessee Newspaper and Printing Museum documents the history of journalism and printing in the state. Cherokee National Forest lies a short drive away.
Notes: The genuine three-president Hale Springs Inn history is a distinctive, checkable local fact.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Hawkins County Assessor of Property – confirm current phone via hawkinscountytn.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Nonprofit: Hawkins County Humane Society – 5180 Highway 11W, Rogersville, TN 37857 | (423) 272-6538 | [email protected] | HCHS-shelter.org; a no-kill 501(c)(3) and described as the county’s only resource for homeless animals – the county has no dedicated county-run animal control department or officer as of a locally reported 2022 news article calling for one; confirm current status directly. Adoption fees: dogs $65, cats $50 (plus spay/neuter deposit if not already altered).
Notes: The lack of a dedicated county animal control officer is an honestly-flagged, real service gap – the Humane Society has publicly described being overwhelmed by cruelty and neglect cases.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Hawkins County Solid Waste – confirm current contact via hawkinscountytn.gov.
NOTES: Hawkins County is the second county in this batch (Hardin, Hawkins, Haywood, Henderson, Henry, Hickman, Houston) of the Tennessee v2 redo. The genuine three-president Hale Springs Inn history and the county’s status as home to Tennessee’s oldest active courthouse are distinctive, checkable local facts; the lack of a dedicated county animal control officer is honestly flagged as a real service gap. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Hawkins County
Hawkins County is northeastern Tennessee’s oldest settlement county – home to Rogersville, Tennessee’s oldest town, whose 18th-century architecture and colonial American heritage make it one of the most historically significant small cities in the state.
Rogersville (the county seat, population ~4,400) was established in 1775 – the oldest town in Tennessee. The Hale Springs Inn (1824) has operated continuously as an inn since its construction and hosted Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk, and Andrew Johnson. The Rogersville Historic District’s 18th and early 19th-century buildings are among the finest in Appalachian Tennessee.
Church Hill and Mount Carmel on the county’s western edge are Kingsport suburban communities that have absorbed significant residential growth.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Hawkins County Assessor at 150 E. Washington Avenue, Suite 2, Rogersville, TN 37857, phone 423-272-8505. No TN income, inheritance, or estate tax.
Courts & Legal
Hawkins County Chancery Court at 100 E. Main Street, Rogersville, TN 37857, phone 423-272-7359, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
150 East Washington St, Rogersville, TN 37857
(423) 272-7002
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Hawkins County Chancery Court Clerk and Master, Rogersville (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Hawkins County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Chancery Court Clerk and Master, Hawkins County 100 East Main Street, Suite 316, Rogersville, TN 37857 (423) 272-8150 Hawkins County is in East Tennessee, seated in Rogersville.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Tennessee has NOT adopted the Uniform Probate Code. Instead, Tennessee uses its own common form and solemn form probate framework, governed by Title 30 of the Tennessee Code Annotated. In Hawkins County, the Clerk and Master (part of Chancery Court) administers probate.
Small Estate Affidavit (T.C.A. §§ 30-4-101 through 30-4-103) – available when the value of the probate estate does not exceed $50,000 (personal property; real property is generally excluded). The affidavit can be filed no sooner than 45 days after death. A bond payable to the state is commonly required to protect creditors and other heirs, though it is often waived when the person filing is the estate’s sole heir/beneficiary, or when all heirs consent in writing.
Common Form Probate – the standard, uncontested path: the will (if any) is admitted to probate without formal notice to all interested parties, and the personal representative is appointed and issued Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (without a will).
Solemn Form Probate – used when formal proof of the will’s validity is needed, typically because of an anticipated will contest; requires notice to all interested parties and a hearing.
Muniment of Title – used to transfer real estate when there is a valid will but no other assets requiring administration.
Step 2: filing for administration
The personal representative (or an interested party) files the original will (if one exists) and a Petition for Probate of Will or Petition for Letters of Administration with the Hawkins County Chancery Court Clerk and Master.
The court issues Letters Testamentary (testate) or Letters of Administration (intestate), giving the personal representative authority to act.
The personal representative publishes notice to creditors in a local newspaper; creditors generally have a limited window (commonly around 4 months from the notice) to file claims.
The personal representative inventories and appraises the estate’s assets (may be waived by the will or by all beneficiaries).
The personal representative pays valid debts, expenses, and taxes.
The estate is closed with a final accounting (unless waived) and distribution to beneficiaries or heirs.
What it costs
Filing fees vary by county; confirm current fees with Hawkins County directly.
Tennessee has no statutory fee schedule for attorneys or executors – fees must be “reasonable” and are subject to court approval if contested.
Tennessee does NOT impose a state estate tax or a state inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax may apply, and only to very large estates.
Typical timeline for a simple, uncontested estate: roughly 6-9 months.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
150 West Main St, Rogersville, TN 37857
(423) 272-4848
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTION COMMISSION
150 East Washington St, Rogersville, TN 37857
(423) 272-3922
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
302 Lakeway Dr, Rogersville, TN 37857
(423) 272-7220
DHS Office
302 Lakeway Dr, Rogersville, TN 37857
(423) 272-7273
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Hawkins County Health Department – confirm current contact via hawkinscountytn.gov.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Rogersville
Population: 57,000
Established: 1787
Tier: 3
Public Records
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