Bradley County is a county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 108,620, making it the thirteenth most populous county in Tennessee. Its county seat is Cleveland. It is named for Colonel Edward Bradley of Shelby County, Tennessee, who was colonel of Hale's Regiment in the American Revolution and the 15th Regiment of the Tennessee Volunteers in the War of 1812.
European-American development
Bradley County was established by the legislature on February 10, 1836. On May 2, 1836, the location for the county seat of Cleveland was chosen. On January 20, 1838, Cleveland, which had a population of 400, was formally recognized by the state legislature as the seat of Bradley County. Cleveland was incorporated on February 2, 1842. No major battles were fought in Bradley County, but several major skirmishes between Union and Confederate troops took place there. In 1864, Confederate soldiers failed in an attempt to destroy a Union train near the Tasso community, an effort that resulted in destroying a Confederate train instead.
The bridge over the Hiwassee River was burned on November 8, 1861, by members of the East Tennessee bridge-burning conspiracy led by Alfred Cate. On November 4, 1862, a train accident south of Cleveland near the Black Fox community killed 17 members of the 33rd Regiment Alabama Infantry, who were being transported to Chattanooga. Union soldiers under the command of William Tecumseh Sherman camped at Cleveland, Tasso, and Blue Springs on multiple occasions during the latter half of the war. The city of Cleveland was occupied by the Confederate Army from 1861 to 1863.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.8%) is water. The county is situated on a series of paralleling ridges running north-northeasterly which are part of the Ridge and Valley Appalachians. The highest of these, Candies Creek Ridge, runs through the center of Cleveland. Located in between these ridges are creeks, and there are several springs in the county, which made the area favorable to early settlers. The highest point in the county is located on the Hamilton County line along White Oak Mountain. The county is bordered on the north by the Hiwassee River. The majority of the county is located in the Tennessee Valley drainage basin, except for approximately the southeastern third, which is located in the Mobile Bay Watershed and contains the Conasauga River. This river is the only river in Tennessee that is not part of the Mississippi River Watershed.
Adjacent counties
- Meigs County (northwest)
- McMinn County (north)
- Polk County (east)
- Murray County, Georgia (southeast)
- Whitfield County, Georgia (south)
- Hamilton County (west)
State protected areas
- Chickamauga Wildlife Management Area (part)
- Charlotte Anne Finnell Neal Wildlife Management Area
- Red Clay State Park