When was Carter County founded?

Carter County was founded in 1796, formed from Washington County, and named after Landon Carter.

What is the county seat of Carter County?

The county seat of Carter County is Elizabethton.

Is there an online parcel map for Carter County?

Yes. Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury, Division of Property Assessments (published by the Office of Information Resources) publishes a parcel map of 32,005 parcels, rated official here. You can click any parcel on it in Parcel Chart's free map, no sign-in needed.

Has Carter County's boundary or name changed?

Carter County was created in 1785 from Washington County. Since then the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries records 12 later changes, most of them small boundary adjustments, chiefly involving Johnson County, Washington County and Sullivan County.

Who issues building permits in Carter County?

The county's page on building permits: TDEC NPDES Stormwater Permitting Program. Inside a city or town, ask that city first.

Is my lot in a flood zone?

We do not have flood maps for Carter County yet. Look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center, which shows the effective flood map for any lot.

County · code 47019

Carter CountyTennessee

Carter County is in eastern Tennessee and was created in 1796, with its county seat in Elizabethton. The county was named after Landon Carter.

Founded1796
County seatElizabethton
Named forLandon Carter
Land area341 sq mi + 6.4 sq mi water
Population56,356 2020 Census
Parcels mapped32,005 checked 14 October 2026

Open the free map Click any parcel in Carter County: acreage, parcel id, address and who publishes the map. No sign-in.

Updated 19 October 2026

Census outline · seat marked

History

Formed in 1796 from Washington County

An old deed may name a county that no longer exists, or a boundary that has since moved.

Carter County was created from Washington County in 1796. The county's boundaries changed several times over the following century, including gaining land from Sullivan County in 1804, Washington County in 1809 and 1870, and Johnson County in 1895, while losing territory to the creation of Johnson County in 1836 and Unicoi County in 1875.

Boundary changes from the Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries; the 5 that matter most are shown first.

c. 1785
Carter County created The First General Assembly of the State of Franklin convened in Jonesborough, Tenn., and recognized the three existing North Carolina counties located in eastern Tennessee and created four new counties; the text of the acts is not extant and the precise boundaries of the counties are unknown. North Carolina did not recognize the legitimacy of these counties and sought to regain control of the area. Wayne (State of Franklin) created from Washington (Tennessee) and Wilkes in the vicinity of present Carter (Tennessee) and Johnson (Tennessee).
from Wayne from Washington (Tenn.)from Wilkesfrom Johnson (Tenn.)
1 March 1785 · Jordan, "Evolution . . . Hawkins and Sumner," 4-5, 8; Ramsey, 293-295; Williams, Lost State of Franklin, 55-58
1796
Carter County created Carter created from Washington.
from Washington
9 April 1796 · Tenn. Acts 1796, 1st assy., 1st sess., ch. 31, sec. 1/p. 100
1804
Gained territory Carter gained from Sullivan.
from Sullivan
4 August 1804 · Scott, ch. 18/pp. 833-834
1836
Lost territory Carter lost to creation of Johnson.
to Johnson
2 January 1836 · Tenn. Acts 1835, 21st assy., 1st sess., loc., ch. 31, sec. 1/p. 137
1875
Lost territory Carter lost to creation of Unicoi.
to Unicoi
21 October 1875 · Tenn. Acts 1875, 39th assy., ch. 68, secs. 14-15/p. 86; Goodspeed [K], 905

Show all 15 changes (10 more, mostly small adjustments)

c. 1785
Carter County created The First General Assembly of the State of Franklin convened in Jonesborough, Tenn., and recognized the three existing North Carolina counties located in eastern Tennessee and created four new counties; the text of the acts is not extant and the precise boundaries of the counties are unknown. North Carolina did not recognize the legitimacy of these counties and sought to regain control of the area. Wayne (State of Franklin) created from Washington (Tennessee) and Wilkes in the vicinity of present Carter (Tennessee) and Johnson (Tennessee).
from Wayne from Washington (Tenn.)from Wilkesfrom Johnson (Tenn.)
1 March 1785 · Jordan, "Evolution . . . Hawkins and Sumner," 4-5, 8; Ramsey, 293-295; Williams, Lost State of Franklin, 55-58
1796
Carter County created Carter created from Washington.
from Washington
9 April 1796 · Tenn. Acts 1796, 1st assy., 1st sess., ch. 31, sec. 1/p. 100
1804
Gained territory Carter gained from Sullivan.
from Sullivan
4 August 1804 · Scott, ch. 18/pp. 833-834
1805
Boundary clarified Boundary between Carter and Sullivan clarified (no change).
with Sullivanno change
24 October 1805 · Tenn. Acts 1805, 6th assy., 1st sess., ch. 46/p. 45
1809
Gained territory Carter gained from Washington to accommodate local resident.
from Washington
2 November 1809 · Scott, ch. 27/p. 1136
1836
Lost territory Carter lost to creation of Johnson.
to Johnson
2 January 1836 · Tenn. Acts 1835, 21st assy., 1st sess., loc., ch. 31, sec. 1/p. 137
1852
Gained territory Carter gained from Johnson to accommodate local residents (later repealed).
from Johnson
26 January 1852 · Tenn. Acts 1851, 29th assy., ch. 249/p. 407
1854
Lost territory Carter lost to Johnson to accommodate local residents (later repealed).
to Johnson
3 March 1854 · Tenn. Acts 1853, 30th assy., ch. 181/p. 250
1870
Gained territory Carter gained from Washington to accommodate local resident.
from Washington
17 June 1870 · Tenn. Acts 1870, 36th assy., 2d sess., ch. 21/p. 36
1875
Lost territory Carter lost to creation of Unicoi.
to Unicoi
21 October 1875 · Tenn. Acts 1875, 39th assy., ch. 68, secs. 14-15/p. 86; Goodspeed [K], 905
1883
Boundary clarified Boundary between Carter and Unicoi clarified (no change).
with Unicoino change
28 March 1883 · Tenn. Acts 1883, 43d assy., ch. 201/p. 281
1895
Gained territory Carter gained small area from Johnson.
from Johnson
22 April 1895 · Tenn. Acts 1895, 49th assy., ch. 61/p. 98
1899
Gained territory Carter gained from Washington to accommodate local resident (later repealed).
from Washington
7 April 1899 · Tenn. Acts 1899, 51st assy., ch. 171/p. 319
1911
Lost territory Carter lost to Johnson to accommodate local residents.
to Johnson
6 April 1911 · Tenn. Acts 1911, 57th assy., priv., ch. 275/p. 713
1915
Lost territory Carter lost to Washington to accommodate local resident (later repealed).
to Washington
17 May 1915 · Tenn. Acts 1915, 59th assy., priv., ch. 646/p. 2114

Land and parcels

What the maps cover in Carter

Who publishes each layer, how good it is, and when we last checked.

Parcels Official

Lot lines and tax-map numbers for 32,005 parcels from Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury, Division of Property Assessments (published by the Office of Information Resources). Drawn for tax purposes: usually within a few feet of a survey, but not a survey.
edited 10 September 2026 · checked 14 October 2026
Address points Official

One point per address, 34,733 in all from TECB and local 911 districts via TNMap (tnmap_oir).
edited 6 October 2026 · checked 14 October 2026
Buildings Reference

Roof outlines traced from aerial imagery from FEMA Response Geospatial Office with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Good for seeing what is on a lot; not accurate enough to set a fence from.
checked 18 October 2026

Official: from the office that keeps the record
Good enough: a reliable statewide or national copy
Fallback: a guide only; check the official record
Missing: nothing public found yet

People and land

Carter by the Census

Population

56,356 2020 Census count

Housing units

27,779 2020 Census count

Land area

341 square miles

Water area

6.4 square miles

People per sq mi

165 population ÷ land area

Source: US Census Bureau, 2020 Census; US Census Bureau, 2020 Gazetteer Files. Not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Rules and offices

Who to ask before you build, dig or sell

Official county pages only. We link to them; we do not copy them, because they change.

Inside a city or town, permits usually come from that city rather than the county.

Records

Assessor and property recordsfrom cartercountytn.gov · checked 13 October 2026

Permits

TDEC NPDES Stormwater Permitting Programfrom tn.gov

Zoning and code

Planning and zoning 423-542-1834from cartercountytn.gov · checked 13 October 2026
Planning & Zoningfrom cartercountytn.gov

County government

County government
The official website of Carter County.
cartercountytn.gov

See your own lot on these maps

Open Carter County on Parcel Chart's free map and click your parcel. Save it with a free account; the full record of your place (site map, projects, documents) is Pro, in early access.

Open the free map no sign-in Pro early access

Questions

Common questions about Carter County

When was Carter County founded?: Carter County was founded in 1796, formed from Washington County, and named after Landon Carter.
What is the county seat of Carter County?: The county seat of Carter County is Elizabethton.
Is there an online parcel map for Carter County?: Yes. Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury, Division of Property Assessments (published by the Office of Information Resources) publishes a parcel map of 32,005 parcels, rated official here. You can click any parcel on it in Parcel Chart's free map, no sign-in needed.
Has Carter County's boundary or name changed?: Carter County was created in 1785 from Washington County. Since then the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries records 12 later changes, most of them small boundary adjustments, chiefly involving Johnson County, Washington County and Sullivan County.
Who issues building permits in Carter County?: The county's page on building permits: TDEC NPDES Stormwater Permitting Program. Inside a city or town, ask that city first.
Is my lot in a flood zone?: We do not have flood maps for Carter County yet. Look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center, which shows the effective flood map for any lot.

Nearby