Watauga, TN

Watauga is a small city in Carter and Washington counties, Tennessee, along the Watauga River at the headwaters of Boone Lake. The 2020 census counted 353 residents. Downtown sits in Carter County, while the municipal boundary reaches into Washington County, giving the city an unusual two-county shape. Watauga lies about 18 river miles above the river’s meeting with the South Fork Holston, inside the Johnson City metropolitan area.

Some of the earliest European settlers in Tennessee lived around this stretch of river. William Bean, traditionally recognized as Tennessee’s first white settler, built a cabin at the mouth of Boone Creek in 1769, about seven miles downstream. Watauga incorporated in 1960, and its name is said to come from a Cherokee word associated with a beautiful river. The city’s schools follow the county line, with Carter County and Washington County districts serving their respective sides. Watauga is a river city whose small downtown sits where county boundaries, lake water, and early Tennessee history overlap.