Mountain City, the seat of Johnson County, is located in the northeast corner of Tennessee. Its history dates well into the nineteenth century but much of what you encounter there today dates from the 20th century, representing a blend of modernism, like the late 1950s Johnson County Courthouse above, and various revival styles, such as the Gothic Revival church below.

When I visited in June 2014 it had been years since visiting Mountain City. One welcome addition was a new community welcome center/history museum, which serves as a gateway to the county’s significant stories.

Another pleasant surprise was the continued survival of the National Youth Administration-constructed industrial shop at the old high school (which has since become an annex for government offices, an excellent adaptive reuse.


The mid-nineteenth century landmark R.R. Butler House remained in excellent condition as well–no better sign of the town’s pretensions and hopes for the post Civil War era in Tennessee history.