Georgetown is located along Tennessee State Route 60, along what was part of the main Northern Route of the Trail of Tears in 1838.[5] According to tradition, the village was named for Cherokee trader George Fields, who owned a two-story log home and operated a trading post at the intersection of Georgetown Road and Francisco Road in the early 1800s. "An affluent merchant who operated a flatboat on the Hiwassee and Tennessee Rivers, he was also an enslaver and leader in tribal politics. His two-story log dwelling, known as the George House, bears the date of 1812."[6] The "George House" burned and was dismantled in 2014. It is believed that George Fields was buried just east of where his home once stood.
In the late 1800s, Georgetown was an active trading center featuring several gristmills, tanneries, and sawmills. Goods arrived in nearby Cleveland via the Tennessee, Virginia, and Georgia Railroad and were transported by wagon to the village. The main items produced for the market during this time were corn, wheat, and bacon.[6]
Georgetown's first post office was established as "Limestone" on March 9, 1837, and was changed to "Georgetown" in 1867. It has since been located in four different counties, including James County, "The Lost County of Tennessee", which dissolved in 1919.[6] It currently operates in Meigs County.
Properties on the National Register of Historic Places located in Georgetown: