Smyth County: Named for a War of 1812 General

On February twenty-third, eighteen thirty-two, the Virginia General Assembly carved a new county out of portions of Washington and Wythe, and named it for Alexander Smyth. The choice was a pointed one. Smyth was a Virginia-born general who had commanded American forces on the Niagara frontier during the War of eighteen twelve. He had died in office in eighteen thirty, while still representing the southwestern Virginia district that would soon carry his name.

Marion was platted as the county seat the same year, named for Revolutionary War general Francis Marion. The first courthouse went up two years later. Today Smyth County is known for outdoor recreation along the Holston River and as a neighbor of the Virginia Creeper Trail, a former railroad grade converted to a popular rail-trail running between Abingdon and the North Carolina line.