Monroe County in east Tennessee has its share of churches but none more picturesque than Corntassel. Located in the Vonore community between Maryville and Madisonville, this tiny church represents the tenacity of the faithful. Records are not continuous, and for a period of nine years there were no meetings, but there always remained a remnant which wanted the church to survive.

The diary of Reverend William Sloan Campbell includes references to meetings at Corntassel between 1835 and 1840. Reverend Campbell and his wife, Lorina Hendrix Sloan, had their daughter, Mahala, baptized there in 1840.

As early as 1856 Corntassel is mentioned on the roll of Hiwassee Presbytery. The name of that presbytery was changed in 1890 to Knoxville Presbytery, and in August of 1894 Corntassel appears in the minutes as having been restored to the roll of congregations.

Genealogy papers from the Madisonville, Tennessee Library mentioned the Reverend William George, a circuit riding preacher from England, holding services at Corntassel in the 1850s.

The October 9, 1879 Democratic News carried the following item.

On the following Sunday, October 12, 1879, the dedication of Corntassel Church will be held. The Reverend J. K. Kirkpatrick and Reverend E. J. McCroskey will be in charge of the ceremony.

Corntassel was an Indian chief who had lived in the area. The two school buildings named for him were used by the Corntassel congregation from the mid-1800s until their church building was constructed in 1912. The original school building was located about one-tenth mile from where the church now stands. The second school was built on property which would later include the church and its cemetery.

Available records indicate that Corntassel Church was in existence long before it was formally dedicated in 1879 and well established before the church was built in 1912. Although small in number the present congregation is made up of faithful youth and adults. Vacation Church School was held this spring in a church where 10-15 people worship each Sunday, typical of Corntassel's effort to be the Body of Christ in the Vonore community.
[Source: "Knoxville Presbytery: A Historical Survey of the Sixteen Churches 1833-1989."]