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Office: Sequatchie County Emergency Management Agency – Director Brian Ruehling | PO Box 595, 22 Cherry St, Dunlap, TN 37327 | (423) 883-1186 | [email protected]
911: Sequatchie County E-911 (ECD) – 426 Cedar St, Dunlap, TN 37327 | Non-emergency dispatch: (423) 949-9912 | Mapping/Addressing: (423) 949-6277; dispatches for the Sheriff’s Office, Dunlap Police, Puckett EMS, the EMA, and multiple volunteer fire departments (Fredonia, Cagle, Lewis Chapel, Dunlap, Southend, Lone Oak) plus the county Rescue Squad.
Sheriff: Sequatchie County Sheriff’s Office – (423) 949-7750 (option 2) | Justice Center inmate inquiries: (423) 949-7750 (option 1)
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: SH-8 and SH-28 serve Dunlap, the county seat, in the Sequatchie Valley on the Cumberland Plateau
Transit: No dedicated county-wide public transit system was found in this search – confirm directly with the county or your city
Notes: Sequatchie County was created December 9, 1857 from parts of Marion and Bledsoe counties, named for the Sequatchie Valley – itself named for a Cherokee chief; the word “sequachee” (siqua utsedsdi) in Cherokee means “opossum” or “he grins.” Dunlap, founded 1858 (originally called Coops Creek), was named for state legislator William Claiborne Dunlap.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Sequatchie County Building/Permits – confirm current contact via sequatchiecountytn.gov.
Notes: Dunlap is genuinely known as the “Hang Gliding Capital of the East” – the Sequatchie Valley offers some of the best soaring conditions in the country, and the Tennessee Tree Toppers Club (a registered chapter of the U.S. Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association) launches from the Henson Gap ramp, drawing top pilots worldwide; Dunlap has hosted the East Coast Hang Gliding Championships. Separately, the Dunlap Coke Ovens are a genuine, well-preserved industrial heritage site: built in 1902-1916, the facility’s five batteries of 268 beehive coke ovens converted coal mined atop Fredonia Mountain into coke for Chattanooga’s blast furnaces, and the site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (1985), now maintained by the Sequatchie Valley Historical Society as Dunlap Coke Ovens Park – home to the state’s largest collection of historic mining photographs.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Sequatchie County Veterans Office – (423) 949-4660; confirm current officer name/address via sequatchiecountytn.gov.
State: Tennessee Department of Veterans Services – tn.gov/veteran
Key Assets: Dunlap Coke Ovens Park and Museum, the Henson Gap hang gliding launch, and the 116-mile Sequatchie River Blueway are the county’s signature attractions. Fall Creek Falls State Park is nearby.
Notes: Both the genuine Dunlap Coke Ovens industrial heritage and the “Hang Gliding Capital of the East” reputation are distinctive, checkable local facts.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Sequatchie County Assessor of Property – confirm current phone via sequatchiecountytn.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: No dedicated county-run animal shelter exists in Sequatchie County – this is a genuine, confirmed, ongoing service gap. A 2021 community petition and local news coverage documented residents’ concerns about the lack of any shelter or animal control program, and as of that reporting the City of Dunlap was only in early discussions about establishing one.
Nonprofits filling the gap: Sequatchie County Animal Relief & Support (“SCARS”) – Dunlap, TN, a small volunteer organization; Animal Welfare Network of East Tennessee – PO Box 25607, Chattanooga, TN 37422, serves Sequatchie County (adoption fee ~$75, references and home visit may be required).
IMPORTANT: This is an honestly-flagged, real service gap – confirm current status directly before relying on this section for a stray or lost pet situation.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Sequatchie County Solid Waste – confirm current contact via sequatchiecountytn.gov.
NOTES: Sequatchie County is the seventh and final county in this batch (Putnam, Rhea, Roane, Robertson, Rutherford, Scott, Sequatchie) of the Tennessee v2 redo. The genuine “Hang Gliding Capital of the East” reputation and the Dunlap Coke Ovens industrial heritage are distinctive local facts; the confirmed lack of a county animal shelter is an honestly-flagged 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 Sequatchie County County
Sequatchie County is Tennessee’s narrow valley county – the entire county occupies the floor and walls of the Sequatchie Valley fault, a geological anomaly so distinctive that the county exists almost as a world unto itself between the towering plateau walls, with Dunlap’s remarkable coke ovens bearing witness to the industrial past that once filled the valley with coal smoke.
Dunlap (the county seat, population ~4,900) is Sequatchie County’s governmental hub in the valley floor, a small Tennessee mountain-valley town whose Coke Ovens Park and scenic valley location define its community identity.
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Sequatchie County Assessor of Property at 503 Cedar Street, Dunlap, TN 37327, phone 423-949-3479. TN assessed at a percentage of appraised value.
Courts & Legal
Sequatchie County Circuit Court at 503 Cedar Street, Dunlap, TN 37327, phone 423-949-3479, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
3 Court St, Dunlap, TN 37327
(423) 949-3438
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Sequatchie County Clerk and Master, Dunlap (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
The 1911 Sequatchie County Courthouse, NRHP-listed, is a significant local landmark.
Local societies
No dedicated Sequatchie 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, Sequatchie County 22 Cherry Street, PO Box 1651, Dunlap, TN 37327
Sequatchie County was created December 9, 1857, named for a Cherokee chief, in southeastern Tennessee, seated in Dunlap. The 1911 Sequatchie County Courthouse, Colonial Revival in style, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Chancellor serves Bledsoe, Sequatchie, Grundy, Franklin, Rhea, and Marion counties.
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 Sequatchie 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 Sequatchie 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 Sequatchie 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
3 Court St, Dunlap, TN 37327
(423) 949-2121
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTION COMMISSION
3 Court St, Dunlap, TN 37327
(423) 949-3438
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
130 Cordell Dr, Dunlap, TN 37327
(423) 949-3339
DHS Office
130 Cordell Dr, Dunlap, TN 37327
(423) 949-2400
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Sequatchie County Health Department – confirm current contact via sequatchiecountytn.gov.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Dunlap
Population: 15,500
Public Records
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