Not too far off the beaten track, stop off and enjoy Lake Watauga, Cherokee National Forest, the Appalachian Trail, and more. John Honeycutt was the first recorded settler of Johnson County. At his home on Roan Creek near Butler, Honeycutt introduced "southern hospitality" to the region, entertaining such notable persons as Daniel Boone and James Robertson, "The Father of Tennessee". Early settlers came in defiance of the English King's Proclamation Line that prohibited settlements west of the mountains because of the danger from the Indians and because the government could not provide adequate control, protection, and other government services. The first settlers here were mostly English but included many other groups including Scotch-Irish and Germans. The first settlement in what was to be Tennessee was at Trade.
