Fort Southwest Point began as a small blockhouse built by the tireless John Sevier in 1792 on a bluff overlooking where the Clinch River flows into the Tennessee. In 1797 the fort was moved to higher ground and expanded. Situated on the only road between Knoxville and Nashville, the original purpose was to protect settlers from the Cherokee, but shifted later to protecting the Indians from the settlers.

Reconstructed following intense archaelogical study, Fort Southwest Point is the only fort in Tennessee to be rebuilt on its original foundation.