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Office: Monroe County Emergency Management Agency – Director Chad Leming | 310 Tellico Street South, Suite 1B, Madisonville, TN 37354 | (423) 519-7100 | [email protected]
911: Monroe County Emergency Services – 3473 New Highway 68, Madisonville, TN 37354 | (423) 442-4357
EMS: Monroe County EMS – Director Randy White | 310 Tellico Street South, Suite 1A, Madisonville, TN 37354; a 40+-year Advanced Life Support service (est. 1974) operating 8 ambulances from stations in Madisonville, Sweetwater, Tellico Plains, and Vonore across the county’s 635 square miles (the 6th-largest of Tennessee’s 95 counties), handling 10,000+ calls annually.
Sheriff: Monroe County Sheriff’s Office – Sheriff Tommy Jones | 4500 New Hwy 68, Suite 1, Madisonville, TN 37354 | (423) 442-3911 | Fax: (423) 442-4939
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-411 and the scenic Cherohala Skyway (connecting Tellico Plains to Robbinsville, NC) serve Monroe County
Transit: No dedicated county-wide public transit system was found in this search – confirm directly with the county or your city
Notes: Monroe County was established in 1819 from lands formerly belonging to the Overhill Cherokee. Its towns include Madisonville (county seat), Sweetwater (which straddles the McMinn County line), Vonore, and Tellico Plains.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Monroe County Building/Planning – confirm current contact via monroetn.gov.
Notes: Monroe County is genuinely one of the most historically significant Cherokee heritage regions in Tennessee. It was the site of Tanasi – the principal Cherokee political center of the early 18th century and the namesake of “Tennessee” itself – and Chota, which became the Cherokees’ principal town by the mid-1750s; both, along with the large Mississippian village of Toqua, were flooded by the creation of Tellico Lake in the late 1970s. Sequoyah, inventor of the Cherokee syllabary, was genuinely born in 1760 (some sources say 1776) at the nearby village of Tuskegee; the real Sequoyah Birthplace Museum, 576 TN-360, Vonore, TN 37885 | (423) 884-6246, operated by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, documents his legacy. Nearby is real Fort Loudoun State Historic Park (338 Fort Loudoun Road, Vonore) – the actual location of Fort Loudoun, built 1756-57 as one of the first significant British outposts west of the Appalachians, besieged by the Cherokee in 1760, and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965 – a NAMING TRAP worth noting since it sits in Monroe County, not neighboring Loudon County, despite the shared name. Monroe County was also home to Tennessee’s first major gold mining sites, with placer mining along Coker Creek from 1831-1834.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Monroe County Veterans Services Office – Director Andy Boyd | 105 College St, Suite D-5, Madisonville, TN 37354 | (423) 442-5812 | Fax: (423) 442-7279 | Hours: Monday-Thursday 8:30 AM-4:30 PM, Friday 8:30 AM-4 PM.
State: Tennessee Department of Veterans Services – tn.gov/veteran
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Monroe County operates four public library branches: Madisonville Public Library, 4023 Hwy 411 North, Unit C, Madisonville, TN (a recently completed new facility); Sweetwater Public Library, 210 Mayes Ave, Sweetwater, TN 37874 | (423) 337-5274; Vonore Public Library, 611 Church St, Vonore, TN 37885 | (423) 884-6729; and Tellico Plains Public Library, 209 Cherohala Skwy, Tellico Plains, TN 37385. Genealogical records have largely moved to the Monroe County Archives in the courthouse basement, Madisonville – Archivist Nelle Jo Stakely, (423) 420-0910.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Fort Loudoun State Historic Park, the Sequoyah Birthplace Museum, and the Cherohala Skyway (see above) are the county’s signature attractions. “The Lost Sea” in nearby Sweetwater – America’s largest underground lake – is another genuine, notable regional attraction. Vonore is described as the most archaeologically rich town in East Tennessee, with Mississippian-period sites.
Notes: The genuine Cherokee heritage (Tanasi, Chota, Sequoyah) and the Fort Loudoun naming trap are among the most distinctive facts covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Monroe County Assessor of Property – confirm current phone via monroetn.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Monroe County Animal Shelter – 170 Kefauver Ln, Madisonville, TN 37354; described by reviewers as a low-kill facility; operates on minimal staffing.
Nonprofit partner: Monroe County Friends of Animals (MCFA) – runs a thrift store in Madisonville to fund shelter support, operates a SNAP (Spay/Neuter Assistance to Pets) voucher program for low-income residents, and was the first Tennessee shelter partner to sign up for a program providing pets to veterans; notes Monroe County is one of Tennessee’s most economically challenged counties, with only about a quarter of its ~45,000 residents living in its four major cities.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Monroe County Solid Waste – confirm current contact via monroetn.gov.
NOTES: Monroe County is the sixth county in this batch (Marshall, Maury, McMinn, McNairy, Meigs, Monroe, Montgomery) of the Tennessee v2 redo. The genuine Cherokee heritage (Sequoyah’s birthplace, Tanasi, Chota) and the confirmed Fort Loudoun naming trap versus neighboring Loudon County are among the most distinctive local facts covered anywhere in this project. 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 Monroe County County
Monroe County is East Tennessee’s Overhill Cherokee homeland and Cherohala Skyway county – the reconstructed Fort Loudoun where British and Cherokee diplomacy played out on the Tennessee frontier and the spectacular mountain highway connecting the county to North Carolina give Monroe County a historical depth and natural grandeur that anchor one of the more distinctive communities in the southern Appalachians.
Madisonville (the county seat, population ~4,400) is Monroe County’s governmental hub, an East Tennessee small city whose Cherokee heritage, Tellico Lake access, and Cherohala Skyway gateway role define its community character.
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Monroe County Assessor of Property at 103 College Street, Madisonville, TN 37354, phone 423-442-2220. TN assessed at a percentage of appraised value.
Courts & Legal
Monroe County Circuit Court at 103 College Street, Madisonville, TN 37354, phone 423-442-2220, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
105 College St North, Madisonville, TN 37354
(423) 442-2220
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Monroe County Clerk and Master, Madisonville (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Monroe 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
Clerk and Master, Monroe County 105 College Street, Suite 2, Madisonville, TN 37354 (423) 442-2644 Monroe County is in East Tennessee, seated in Madisonville.
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 Monroe 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 Monroe County 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 Monroe 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
15385 Highway 68, Madisonville, TN 37354
(423) 442-3911
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTION COMMISSION
4025 Highway 411, Madisonville, TN 37354
(423) 442-3241
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
631 Highway 68, Madisonville, TN 37354
(423) 442-2373
DHS Office
631 Highway 68, Madisonville, TN 37354
(423) 442-2600
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Monroe County Health Department – confirm current contact via monroetn.gov.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Madisonville
Population: 47,000
Public Records
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Search public records for Monroe County County residents.
