Cannon County was established in 1836 and named in honor of Newton Cannon, governor of Tennessee from 1835 to 1839, a member of Congress from 1814 to 1817 and 1821 to 1827, who also served in the Creek War and the War of 1812. Warren County was established in 1807 and named in honor of General Joseph Warren of Massachusetts, a Revolutionary War patriot who was killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775.