Discover Blount County

Blount County is served by several major highways: U.S. Highways 129, 411 and 321, as well as State Routes I-140, 33 and 95. State Highway 73 leads directly into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. McGhee Tyson Airport, the principal commercial airport for East Tennessee, is located within the city limits of Alcoa.

The county comprises 584 square miles, bordered on the east by the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and on the west by the great chain of lakes created by the Tennessee Valley Authority. Little River, flowing out of the Smokies, winds its way across the county and pours into the Tennessee Valley lakes. The Little Tennessee River parallels the southern border.

The county seat of Maryville has a population of 32,716. The nearby City of Alcoa, formerly known as North Maryville, is named after one of our largest employers, Alcoa, Inc. (now known as Arconic). Alcoa has a population of 11,803

Learn more about all Blount County has to offer in recreation, natural resources, entertainment, culture, quality restaurants and top-notch sporting events.

Blount County is one of the oldest counties in Tennessee. Settlement of the area began in 1785, mainly by Scotch-Irish Presbyterians. The early settlers were thrifty, energetic people who moved westward from Virginia and North Carolina. These settlers, for the most part, were not wealthy landowners, but instead were looking for fertile farmland, ample water supply, and abundant resources of lumber. Lumbering was the first primary industrial trade in Blount County.

The County was the tenth created in Tennessee when a part of Knox County was separated by the Territorial Legislature in 1795. It was named after William Blount, Governor of the Territory of the United States “South of the River Ohio.” The county seat was authorized to be laid out in 1795 and was named Maryville in honor of Mary Blount, the wife of Governor Blount.

More than 100 manufacturing plants can be found in Blount County today, with many varied occupational opportunities. The principal employers of the county include DENSO Manufacturing TN Inc., Blount Memorial Hospital, Arconic Corp., ProNova Solutions, Amazon, Smith & Wesson, and Cirrus Aircraft.

There are three main public school systems in Blount County: Alcoa City Schools, Maryville City Schools, and Blount County Schools. These three systems jointly received the State Department of Education’s Governor’s A+ Award for community commitment to excellence in education.