Historic Bristol

Evan Shelby settled here about 1770 on a tract called Sapling Grove and established a fort and trading post. By early in the 19th century, James King and Samuel E. Goodson owned hundreds of acres of farmland in this area. Anticipating the arrival of the railroad, King’s son-in-law Joseph R. Anderson bought 100 acres from King in 1852 and laid out the town of Bristol, spanning the state line. Goodson founded an adjacent town named for himself on the Virginia side. Bristol, TN, and Goodson, VA, were each incorporated in 1856, the year the first passenger train arrived. Goodson became the City of Bristol, VA, in 1890. The community prospered as a regional center of commerce and industry.