Rock Island is an unincorporated town

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 in the northeastern-most portion of Warren County, Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The town is named after an island on the Caney Fork just below the confluence

Confluence

Confluence, in geography, describes the meeting of two or more bodies of water.Confluence may also refer to:* Confluence , a property of term rewriting systems...

 of the Rocky River

Rocky River (Tennessee)

The Rocky River is a tributary of the Caney Fork of the Cumberland River in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Via the Caney Fork and the Cumberland and Ohio rivers, it is part of the Mississippi River watershed....

. Rock Island is home to the Great Falls Dam and Rock Island State Park

Rock Island State Park (Tennessee)

Rock Island State Park is a state park in Warren County and White County, Tennessee, located in the Southeastern United States. The park is named after the community of Rock Island, Tennessee, which in turn received its name from an island on the Caney Fork upstream from the Collins River...

.

Many different houses, restaurants, and marinas can be found here. Rock Island is a popular destination during the summer season. It is known for scenic waterfalls and bluffs. Boats can often be seen on the river riding by. The state park offers many different hiking trails as well as a sand bar (almost a beach front).

Early history

The Chickamauga Path, which spanned Middle Tennessee north-to-south, connecting the area with Kentucky and Alabama, forded the Caney Fork at a large rock island. This path later became the Old Kentucky Road, which roughly parallels the modern State Route 136. Another trail, known as the Black Fox Trail, passed east-to-west just south of Rock Island.

In 1793, in the latter part of the Chickamauga Wars

Chickamauga wars

The Chickamauga Wars were a series of raids, campaigns, ambushes, minor skirmishes, and several full-scale frontier battles which were a continuation of the Cherokee struggle against encroachment by American frontiersmen from the former British colonies...

, a skirmish was fought at Rock Island between a small contingent of soldiers pursuing several Chickamaugas, who had reportedly stolen horses. The Tennessee historian J.G.M. Ramsey reported:

(Lt. Snoddy) pursued them to a large camp near the Rock Island ford of the Cany Fork, where he took much spoils. Evening coming on, he withdrew from the camp, about a mile, to an eminence, where he halted his men, and they lay on their arms all night."

The Chickamauga assaulted Snoddy's position the following day, but were beaten back.

Among the earliest settlers in Middle Tennessee settled at Rock Island in the late 1790s. They included William "Rock" Martin and Joseph Terry. In 1806, Rock Island became the county seat for the newly-created White County

White County, Tennessee

White County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2000, the population was 23,102. Its county seat is Sparta.-History:...

 and court was held in Terry's cabin. The new county encompassed all of what is now White and Warren Counties, and parts of the counties of Cannon, Coffee

Coffee County, Tennessee

Coffee County is a county located in south-central portion of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is one of the counties of Middle Tennessee. As of 2010, the population was 52,796. Its county seat is Manchester....

, DeKalb, Franklin

Franklin County, Tennessee

Franklin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2010, the population was 41,052. Its county seat is Winchester.Franklin County is part of the Tullahoma, Tennessee, Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...

, Grundy, Putnam

Putnam County, Tennessee

Putnam County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2000, the population was 62,315, a 21 percent increase from 1990. The was 72,321, an increase of 16.1% since 2000...

, and Van Buren Counties. Rock Island was the county seat for three years. General John D. Rodgers, veteran of the War of 1812

War of 1812

The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

 and Seminole Wars

Seminole Wars

The Seminole Wars, also known as the Florida Wars, were three conflicts in Florida between the Seminole — the collective name given to the amalgamation of various groups of native Americans and Black people who settled in Florida in the early 18th century — and the United States Army...

 owned a tavern and operated a ferry just above the island. Gen. Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...

 presided over several sessions of the Tennessee Supreme Court

Tennessee Supreme Court

The Tennessee Supreme Court is the state supreme court of the state of Tennessee. Cornelia Clark is the current Chief Justice.Unlike other states, in which the state attorney general is directly elected or appointed by the governor or state legislature, the Tennessee Supreme Court appoints the...

here. The town by the river remained an important point along the Old Kentucky Road until the coming of the railroad in 1881.