Formed January 1, 1890 (105th county equivalent)
Bristol City (17,218), Bristol (17,218)
The Modern red brick and concrete courthouse, built in 1971, sits on Cumberland Street at Martin Luther King, Junior Boulevard. United States Highway 421 is MLK Boulevard in this part of the city. Kearfott & Jones Architects provided the designs. An eternal flame is located at the end of the courthouse. The independent city was established on January 1, 1890 from Washington County as the 105th county equivalent. It is named for Bristol, England. There was an earlier 1910 courthouse also.
Bristol City government consists of a sheriff, a Mayor, and 4 Council Members. Three Circuit Court Judges and Four District Court Judges serve Bristol City and Smyth and Washington counties and Fifty-three Magistrate Court Judges serve Bristol City and Bland, Buchanan, Carroll, Dickenson, Floyd, Giles, Grayson, Lee, Montgomery, Pulaski, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington, Wise, and Wythe counties and Galax, Norton, and Radford cities. The city is on the southwest border with Tennessee. Charleston, West Virginia is northeast and Knoxville, Tennessee is southwest of the city. The city center is in Bristol 3 miles Northeast of downtown. The city is surrounded clockwise by Washington County and Tennessee.
The area of the county is 12 square miles. It is 114 out of 133 in the state. It ranks 87 out of 133 in population in the state. It has a density of 1434.8 persons per square mile making it 29 out of 133 in the state. Bristol has 100.0% of its population in its incorporated city limits. Interstate Highway 81 enters the city from Washington County, north, and exits into Tennessee. United States Highway 11 enters from Washington County and terminates. United States Highway 11 East originates and heads south into Tennessee. United States Highway 11 West originates and goes southwest into Tennessee. United States Highway 19 parallels Interstate Highway 81 from Washington County to Tennessee. United States Highway 58 comes joined with United States Highway 11 from Washington County, east, and goes back into Washington County, west. United States Highway 421 is joined with United States Highway 58 from Washington County, west, and heads south into Tennessee. The county looks like a tower tipping toward the east. This city is in the Kingsport-Bristol-Bristol Metropolitan Statistical Area.
