| Founded in 1801, the town of Burrville was named in honor of Aaron
Burr, first term Vice President under Thomas Jefferson. Land was
selected and partitioned for a courthouse, and Burrville was designated
as the county seat for the newly formed Anderson County, Tennessee.
Anderson County was partitioned from a portion of Grainger County,
Tennessee as well as a portion of Knox County, Tennessee, in 1801;
neighboring Roane County, Tennessee, was also formed from a portion
of Knox County, Tennessee, in 1801, making Anderson and Roane counties
effectively called 'sister counties'.
On November 8, 1809, by act of Tennessee State Legislature, the
town of Burrville was renamed because of the disgrace of the Burr-Hamilton
duel, which resulted in the death of Alexander Hamilton. The selection
of the name "Clinton" was most likely to honor George
Clinton or his nephew, DeWitt Clinton.[9] George Clinton was one
of Burr's New York political rivals who, along with Alexander
Hamilton, destroyed Burr's bid for the governorship of the state
of New York after his single-term Vice Presidency. George Clinton
succeeded Burr as the second-term Vice President for Thomas Jefferson
in 1805 (and also served as James Madison's Vice President, making
Clinton the first Vice President to serve under two presidents
and the first Vice President to die in office). Because of the
political position of George Clinton as Vice President at the
time of Burrville's name change, compared to DeWitt Clinton's
position as the mayor of New York City, most likely the residents
of the town of Burrville would have been more readily identifiable
and more honorable toward George Clinton than DeWitt; therefore,
it is most likely Clinton was named after George Clinton, barring
historical proof. |
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