Formed October 9, 1797 (15th county)
Cocke County (35,662), Newport (6,945)
The dark red brick Neo-Classical building was built in 1930. It sits at Court, Broadway, McSween and Main streets. United States Highway 25 is Broadway in the town. Manley and Young are the structure designers. Veterans’ memorials and military service flags adorn the grounds. There was an 1884 courthouse also in Newport. Old Newport (1797 & 1896) and Newport (1868 & 1884) have both been the county seat. Cocke County was formed on October 9, 1797 from Jefferson County as the 15th county. It was named for Senator William Cocke. The county seat is a geographical term for its location at the junction of Pigeon River and Cosby Creek. Cocke County was the birthplace of 1 Tennessee Governor, Ben W. Hooper.
Cocke County government consists of a sheriff, a County Mayor, and 14 Commissioners. Five Circuit Court Judges, One Chancery Court Judge, and One General Court Judge serve Cocke, Grainger, Jefferson, and Sevier counties. The county is located on the northeast border with North Carolina. Knoxville, Tennessee is west and Asheville, North Carolina is southeast of the county. The county center is 5 miles Southeast of Newport nearer Bar Harbor. The county is surrounded clockwise by Greene County and North Carolina and Sevier, Jefferson, and Hamblen counties.
The area of the county is 443 square miles. It is 48 out of 95 in the state. It ranks 42 out of 95 in population in the state. It has a density of 80.50 persons per square mile making it 40 out of 95 in the state. Cocke County has 20.2% of its population in its incorporated areas. Interstate Highway 40 passes through the county from northwest to southeast from Jefferson County to North Carolina. United States Highway 25 originates and goes southeast into North Carolina. United States Highway 25 East comes in from Jefferson County and terminates. United States Highway 25 West comes from Jefferson County and terminates. United States Highway 70 is joined with United States Highway 25 West from Jefferson County and continues joined with United States Highway 25 into North Carolina. United States Highway 321 enters from Greene County, northeast, and exits into Sevier County, southwest. United States Highway 411 originates and heads west into Jefferson County. The county is shaped like the State of New Hampshire. Newport is located in the western third of the county. Newport is the county seat and the largest city. It is 19.5% of the county population. The county is pronounced KOK. This county is in the Newport Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Newport
Parrottsville
