Blountsville was the seat of Blount County from 1820 to 1889, in a county older than the state. It was named for Tennessee Governor W. G. Blount, who sent Andrew Jackson to aid Alabama settlers in the Creek Indian War from 1812 to 1814. Indian Chief Bear Meat lived here at the crossing of old Indian trading paths. In 1816, Tennesseans began a trading post here and called the village Bear Meat Cabin. In 1820, the name changed to Blountsville and it became the county seat. In 1889, the county seat moved to Oneonta.