Fannin County bordering Tennessee was created in 1854 from parts of Gilmer and Union counties. It was part of the original vast Cherokee County. The name honors Colonel James W. Fannin of Georgia who led about 350 volunteers to the Texas War for Independence, was captured and executed at the Battle of Goliad in 1836. Blue Ridge, the county seat, bears the name of its surrounding mountains. Those mountains had provided shelter for the last remnants of the Cherokee Nation before their forced removal to Oklahoma along the infamous "Trail of Tears." Some Cherokees evaded capture and remained deep in the forested mountains for generations.