Bledsoe

Bledsoe lies in the northern Sequatchie Valley, a long trough cut through the Cumberland Plateau. The valley was part of Cherokee country until the Treaty of Tellico in 1805, after which American settlers expanded into the area. Some acquired land in return for service during the Revolutionary War, establishing farms between the surrounding ridges.

In 1816 Charles Love sold land beside Sequatchie Creek for a new town, Pikeville, to replace Madison as the local seat of government. Situated on the stage route between Knoxville and Huntsville, Pikeville grew into a place where farmers obtained supplies and traded. By the 1830s it had a courthouse, a hotel and a local academy. The valley provided a natural passage through the plateau, carrying travellers as well as the waters of the Sequatchie southward.