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Swaggerty BlockhouseSwaggerty Blockhouse · Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 3.0
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History · Parrottsville

Parrottsville dates to 1769, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

Its Register listings are the Swaggerty Blockhouse and the Yett-Ellison House. Most of Parrottsville was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1995. Below: maps from 1935 on and the census since 1880.

1769founded
2on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Parrottsville began

When was Parrottsville founded?

1769

Parrottsville dates its founding to 1769 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 100 in 18802020 census: 217257 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1832.

What stands out about Parrottsville’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Parrottsville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Older than the countryEstablished in 1769, 7 years before the Declaration of Independence.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Parrottsville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Parrottsville’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Timeline

Parrottsville, 1769 to 1935

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 18th century
  2. 1769
    FoundingParrottsville is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1832Post officeThe Parrottsville post office opens
  5. 1857BuiltYett-Ellison House is built
  6. 1891Born hereKenneth Cartwright Patty is born here
  7. 20th century
  8. 1935On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story so far

Parrottsville, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Parrottsville yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Parrottsville is a town in Cocke County, Tennessee, United States. As of the 2020 census, Parrottsville had a population of 217.

Parrottsville was established in 1769. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 263 to 217 (-17%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

Parrottsville, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Parrottsville Tennessee Town Hall 20112011Parrottsville Tennessee Town Hall 2011Parrottsville Tennessee City Hall2011Parrottsville Tennessee City HallParrotsville Tennessee US 321 John Sevier Highway2011Parrotsville Tennessee US 321 John Sevier Highway
On the map

Parrottsville on the map, 1935 to 1971

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Parrottsville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Parrottsville on the 1935 USGS mapParrottsville on the 1940 USGS mapParrottsville on the 1971 USGS map1935Parrottsville sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Parrottsville.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Parrottsville

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1973
Swaggerty Blockhouse
Swaggerty BlockhouseYett-Ellison House, built 1857
Buildings
Swaggerty BlockhouseBuilding
All 2 listings
Yett-Ellison HouseBuilding · listed 1975

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Parrottsville, census by census

010020018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 263

Between 91 and 263 people in every census since 1880.

11 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Parrottsville’s Wikipedia page.

Questions about Parrottsville’s history

What year was Parrottsville founded?

In 1769, according to Wikidata. Parrottsville’s post office opened in 1832, and the census of 1880 counted 100 people here.

What is on the National Register in Parrottsville?

Two places: the Swaggerty Blockhouse (listed 1973) and the Yett-Ellison House (1975).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (3), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.