When was Hamilton County founded?

Hamilton County was founded in 1819, formed from Rhea County, and named after Alexander Hamilton.

What is the county seat of Hamilton County?

The county seat of Hamilton County is Chattanooga.

Is there an online parcel map for Hamilton County?

Yes. Hamilton County publishes a parcel map of 169,662 parcels, rated good enough here. You can click any parcel on it in Parcel Chart's free map, no sign-in needed.

Has Hamilton County's boundary or name changed?

Hamilton County was created in 1819 from Rhea County. Since then the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries records 22 later changes, most of them small boundary adjustments, chiefly involving Marion County, Rhea County and James County.

Is my lot in a flood zone?

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

County · code 47065

Hamilton CountyTennessee

Hamilton County is a county in Tennessee with its seat in Chattanooga. It was formed on October 25, 1819.

Founded1819
County seatChattanooga
Named forAlexander Hamilton
Land area542 sq mi + 34 sq mi water
Population366,207 2020 Census
Parcels mapped169,662 checked 14 October 2026

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

Updated 19 October 2026

Census outline · seat marked

History

Formed in 1819 from Rhea County

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

Hamilton County was created from Rhea County on October 25, 1819, and named after Alexander Hamilton. Its boundaries changed many times over the following decades, gaining and losing land to neighboring counties including Rhea, Bledsoe, Marion, and McMinn, and losing territory to the creation of Sequatchie County in 1857 and James County in 1871.

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

1819
Hamilton County created Hamilton created from Rhea and all of Non-County Area 8.
from Rhea
25 October 1819 · Tenn. Acts 1819, 13th assy., 1st sess., loc.-priv., ch. 41/p. 55
1833
Exchanged territory Hamilton exchanged with Marion, lost to McMinn and Rhea.
with Marion with McMinn with Rhea
8 November 1833 · Tenn. Acts 1833, 20th assy., pub., ch. 16/pp. 10-12
1857
Gained territory Hamilton gained from Bledsoe and Marion.
from Bledsoe from Marion
21 September 1857 · Tenn. Acts 1855, 31st assy., ch. 162, secs. 3-4/p. 246
1857
Lost territory Hamilton lost to creation of Sequatchie.
to Sequatchie
9 December 1857 · Tenn. Acts 1857, 32d assy., pub., ch. 11, secs. 1, 13-15/pp. 7, 11; Raulston and Livingood, 91-92; Robnett, 58
1867
Lost territory Hamilton lost to Rhea to accommodate local residents.
to Rhea
13 December 1867 · Tenn. Acts 1867, 35th assy., 1st sess., pub., ch. 23/p. 24

Show all 24 changes (19 more, mostly small adjustments)

1819
Hamilton County created Hamilton created from Rhea and all of Non-County Area 8.
from Rhea
25 October 1819 · Tenn. Acts 1819, 13th assy., 1st sess., loc.-priv., ch. 41/p. 55
1821
Gained territory Hamilton gained from Rhea, lost to Bledsoe.
from Rhea from Bledsoe
10 November 1821 · Tenn. Acts 1821, 14th assy., 1st sess., loc.-priv., ch. 169/p. 163
1829
Changed Boundary of Hamilton with Bledsoe and Marion adjusted.
Bledsoe Marion
31 December 1829 · Tenn. Acts 1829, 18th assy., priv., ch. 141/p. 109
1833
Exchanged territory Hamilton exchanged with Marion, lost to McMinn and Rhea.
with Marion with McMinn with Rhea
8 November 1833 · Tenn. Acts 1833, 20th assy., pub., ch. 16/pp. 10-12
1836
Lost territory Hamilton lost to Marion (later repealed).
to Marion
17 February 1836 · Tenn. Acts 1835, 21st assy., 1st sess., loc., ch. 135/p. 263
1842
Gained territory Hamilton gained from Marion (later repealed).
from Marion
4 February 1842 · Tenn. Acts 1841, 24th assy., 1st sess., ch. 179/p. 208
1850
Lost territory Hamilton lost to Rhea to accommodate local residents.
to Rhea
4 February 1850 · Tenn. Acts 1849, 28th assy., ch. 82/p. 267
1857
Gained territory Hamilton gained from Bledsoe and Marion.
from Bledsoe from Marion
21 September 1857 · Tenn. Acts 1855, 31st assy., ch. 162, secs. 3-4/p. 246
1857
Lost territory Hamilton lost to creation of Sequatchie.
to Sequatchie
9 December 1857 · Tenn. Acts 1857, 32d assy., pub., ch. 11, secs. 1, 13-15/pp. 7, 11; Raulston and Livingood, 91-92; Robnett, 58
1867
Lost territory Hamilton lost to Rhea to accommodate local residents.
to Rhea
13 December 1867 · Tenn. Acts 1867, 35th assy., 1st sess., pub., ch. 23/p. 24
1871
Lost territory Hamilton lost to creation of James.
to James
18 February 1871 · Tenn. Acts 1870, 36th assy., 3d sess., ch. 66, secs. 1-2, 4-6/pp. 90-92; Donnelly, 6
1879
Lost territory Hamilton lost to James (extinct) to accommodate local residents; Hamilton lost to Rhea to accommodate local residents.
to Jamesto Rhea
25 March 1879 · Tenn. Acts 1879, 41st assy., 1st sess., ch. 137, secs. 1-17/pp. 174-177
1881
Lost territory Hamilton lost to Bledsoe to accommodate local resident.
to Bledsoe
5 April 1881 · Tenn. Acts 1881, 42d assy., 1st sess., ch. 143/p. 191
1883
Gained territory Hamilton gained from Sequatchie to accommodate local resident.
from Sequatchie
28 March 1883 · Tenn. Acts 1883, 43d assy., ch. 82/p. 76
1889
Lost territory Hamilton lost to Rhea to accommodate local residents.
to Rhea
29 March 1889 · Tenn. Acts 1889, 46th assy., 1st sess., ch. 140/p. 278
1893
Gained territory Hamilton gained from James (extinct).
from James
29 March 1893 · Tenn. Acts 1893, 48th assy., ch. 47/p. 63
1901
Gained territory Hamilton gained small area from James (extinct).
from James
20 April 1901 · Tenn. Acts 1901, 52d assy., ch. 488/p. 1160
1917
Gained territory Hamilton gained small area from Marion (later repealed).
from Marion
30 March 1917 · Tenn. Acts 1917, 60th assy., priv., ch. 366/p. 1116
c. 1917
Gained territory Hamilton gained from Marion (later repealed).
from Marion
1 June 1917 · Tenn. Acts 1917, 60th assy., priv., ch. 477/p. 1499
1919
Lost territory Hamilton lost to Marion (later repealed).
to Marion
28 January 1919 · Tenn. Acts 1919, 61st assy., priv., ch. 44/p. 78
1920
Gained territory Hamilton gained all of James (extinct); James eliminated.
from James
5 January 1920 · Tenn. Acts 1919, 61st assy., priv., ch. 695, secs. 1-6/pp. 2129-2133; Donnelly, 20; McBride, 13-14
1957
Boundary clarified Boundary between Hamilton and Bradley clarified to legalize line in use since 1919 and to eliminate confusion surrounding the act of 14 April 1919 which did not take effect (no change).
with Bradleyno change
1 February 1957 · Tenn. Acts 1957, 80th assy., priv., ch. 16/p. 89; Donnelly, 28-31
1980
Lost territory Hamilton lost small area to Bradley.
to Bradley
21 April 1980 · Tenn. Acts 1980, 91st assy., 2d reg. sess., pub., ch. 801/p. 933
1982
Lost territory Hamilton lost to Rhea to accommodate local residents.
to Rhea
1 April 1982 · Tenn. Acts 1982, 92d assy., 2d reg. sess., pub., ch. 682/p. 236

Land and parcels

What the maps cover in Hamilton

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

Parcels Good enough

Lot lines and tax-map numbers for 169,662 parcels from Hamilton County. Drawn for tax purposes: usually within a few feet of a survey, but not a survey.
checked 14 October 2026
Address points Official

One point per address, 217,408 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

Hamilton by the Census

Population

366,207 2020 Census count

Housing units

162,268 2020 Census count

Land area

542 square miles

Water area

34 square miles

People per sq mi

675 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.

Records

Assessor and property records 423-209-6560from hamiltontn.gov · checked 13 October 2026
Clerk of court: deeds and plats
Circuit Court Judge Division I J.B. Bennett (423-209-7393)
from hamiltontn.gov · checked 13 October 2026

County government

County government
The official website of Hamilton County.
hamiltontn.gov

See your own lot on these maps

Open Hamilton 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 Hamilton County

When was Hamilton County founded?: Hamilton County was founded in 1819, formed from Rhea County, and named after Alexander Hamilton.
What is the county seat of Hamilton County?: The county seat of Hamilton County is Chattanooga.
Is there an online parcel map for Hamilton County?: Yes. Hamilton County publishes a parcel map of 169,662 parcels, rated good enough here. You can click any parcel on it in Parcel Chart's free map, no sign-in needed.
Has Hamilton County's boundary or name changed?: Hamilton County was created in 1819 from Rhea County. Since then the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries records 22 later changes, most of them small boundary adjustments, chiefly involving Marion County, Rhea County and James County.
Is my lot in a flood zone?: We do not have flood maps for Hamilton County yet. Look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center, which shows the effective flood map for any lot.

Nearby