Mountain City is a town in and the county seat of Johnson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 2,383 at the 2000 census and 2,531 at the 2010 census. It is the northeasternmost county chair in Tennessee. In addition, at an height of 2,418 feet (737 m), it has the distinction of visceral the highest incorporated city in the state.

When the first Euro-American explorers arrived in what is now the Mountain City area in the late 17th century, well-worn Native American trails passed through the area. In 1949, workers at the Maymead quarry (just south of Mountain City) discovered a cave bearing in mind several into the future Mississippian-era (ca. 1000 A.D.) burials inside. The Needham and Arthur expedition of 1673 is believed to have passed through the area, making use of the gap at Trade to the south. Explorer Daniel Boone made use of the similar gap on an expedition to what is now Kentucky in 1769, and today allocation of the Daniel Boone Heritage Trail— which follows Boone’s route— passes through Mountain City.

The first steadfast Euro-American settlers arrived in the Mountain City Place in the late 18th century, among them Leonard Shoun and Revolutionary War veteran Alexander Doran. The area was initially portion of Carter County, but the mysteriousness of reaching Elizabethton (the county seat) led to the start of Johnson County in 1836. That year, a county seat for the further county was platted on land purchased from William Vaught, and named Taylorsville after Colonel James P. Taylor. The make known of the town was misused to “Mountain City” in 1885, presumably at the urging of Roderick R. Butler (1827–1902), a prominent citizen and U.S. Congressman, who wanted the town’s proclaim to reflect its concern amidst one of the highest valleys in Tennessee. Butler’s mansion, now listed upon the National Register of Historic Places, still stands close the center of the town.

In May 1925, Mountain City was the site of a musical gathering, the first Mountain City Fiddlers Convention, that is considered a landmark thing in the advanced history of Appalachian expected music. The accrual contributed significantly to the innovation of country music, and is commemorated every summer, at the Old Time Fiddler’s Convention in approachable Laurel Bloomery.