Located along US-70 / 25W, this marker point out the history of the city.
The marker reads, "Permanently settled 1783. Francis Dean built meeting house where Revolutionary Cemetery remains. Jan., 1793, commissioners of County Court, Jefferson Co., Territory South of the River Ohio, located county seat here. Dean donated land & Samuel Jack laid off town. Named for Martha Dandridge, wife of George Washington."
Dandridge is the county seat for Jefferson County and is considered the second oldest town in Tennessee (behind Jonesborough). The town was named for Martha Dandridge Washington, the wife of the first president of the United States which may have led to its being saved later. When the Tennessee Valley Authority proposed the Douglas Dam on the French Broad River in 1942, it would have flooded downtown Dandridge, which was situated below the proposed reservoir's high-water mark. Residents of the town petitioned then First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, pointing out that Dandridge was the only town in the United States named for the wife of George Washington. The Tennessee Valley Authority constructed a levee between downtown Dandridge and the reservoir. The new levee rises almost immediately behind the Town Hall, and runs roughly parallel to Main Street.
This is marker number 1C 41 and it was erected by the Tennessee Historical Commission.
[Review 20101 overall - 457 in Tennessee - 1077 of 2023.] read more