Residents of the county living within Knoxville city limits vote in both city and county elections, are represented by city and county mayors, and pay city and county taxes. The county officials' districts do not correspond with those of the city of Knoxville, which has its own mayor and city council. There is also an elected County Commission. The county administrator, formerly known as the County Executive, is called the County Mayor. The government of Knox County, Tennessee operates under a home rule format. Parts of Knox County later became Blount (1795), Anderson (1801), Roane (1801), and Union (1850) counties.
It is one of nine United States counties named for American Revolutionary War general and first United States Secretary of War Henry Knox. Knox County was created on Jby Governor William Blount from parts of Greene and Hawkins counties, and has the distinction of being one of only eight counties created during territorial administration. Near the heart of the county is the origin of the Tennessee River at the union of the Holston and French Broad Rivers. The county is at the geographical center of the Great Valley of East Tennessee. Its county seat and largest city is Knoxville. As of the 2010 census, the population is 432,226. Reclassification as a Standard Business.
