Cocke County is named for William Cocke, who was one of Tennessee’s first United Statwes Senators.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Hamblen County and Greene County
E – Greene County and Madison County, North Carolina
S – Haywood County, North Carolina
W – Sevier County and Jefferson County
Created: October 9, 1797 
County Seat:
Old Newport 1797 – 1868
Newport 1868 – 1876
Old Newport 1876 – 1884
Newport 1883 – present
County Courthouse – Newport
Location: 111 Court Avenue / Main Street
Built: 1930 – 1931
Style: Neo-Classical
Architect: Manley and Young of Knoxville
Contractor: H C Fonde & Sons
Description: The building faces south and is a three story red colored brick and concrete structure. The rectangular shaped building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Newport. The central entrances on the south and north sides are framed with stone. The south front has five large arched windows on the second story. The roof line is flat. The interior is based on the cruciform, with the interior hallways on the first story intersecting at the center of the building and creating a central lobby from which access to the staircase which ascends to the second story. The original dual staircases has metal balusters. On the second story is a lobby outside of the courtroom, which is located in the center of the second story. A U-shaped hallway surrounds the courtroom which has wood paneled walls behind the judicial bench and extending around the interior wall to the jury box. Centered on the east interior wall directly over the judicial bench, is an original broken pediment, again with the pineapple motif. On the opposite end of the courtroom, on the west interior wall, are four symmetrically located wooden panels. The building houses the County Circuit Court, County Chancery Court, County General Sessions Court and County Juvenile Court of the 4th Judicial District. The building was renovated in 1977 to 1978. The architect was Community Tectonics, Inc. and executed the contractor was Roy D Brown.
See: National Register of Historic Places – Cocke County Courthouse
See: The 4th Judicial District includes Grainger County, Jefferson County and Sevier County.
History: The county was created in 1797 and Old Newport was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was erected in Old Newport in 1838. The county seat was moved to Newport in 1868 and the second courthouse was a brick structure. The county seat was moved back to Old Newport in 1876 when the second courthouse burned. The first courthouse was used and in 1884, the county seat was moved back to Newport. The third courthouse was a brick structure designed by J F Bauman and constructed by C J Randolph in 1886.at a cost of $10,000. The courthouse was destroyed by fire. The fourth and present courthouse was constructed in 1930 to 1931.
County Courthouse – Newport
Photos taken 2010\