"Athens is in central Henderson County on a site selected as the new county seat in 1850. In 1890, the bank and cotton seed oil mill were established. Pottery was exported as early as 1857. By the 1890's, there was a brick factory and three jug factories." (lkcaarchives.com)

Athens is in Henderson County. Henderson is in Rusk County. And Rusk is in Cherokee County.

 

There were two national banks chartered in Athens:

 

The First National Bank of Athens (Charter #4278) The First National Bank of Athens was chartered in 1890 and operated throughout the remainder of the national bank period. It printed Brown Backs, 1882 Date Backs, 1902 Date Backs and Plain Backs plus Type 1 1929 notes in the $10 & $20 denominations. The First National Bank of Athens printed a total of $1,037,400. The National Bank Note Census cites 29 entries. Six are $10 1902 Plain Backs. One of those 6, Uncirculated, is in the Philpott-Moody Collection. One is a $10 Date Back, which is also in the Philpott-Moody Collection. The remaining 22 are 1929 Type 1's: 14 are $20's & 8 are $10's.

The Athens National Bank (Charter #6400) The Athens National Bank was chartered August 26, 1902 and liquidated April 8, 1931. It printed just $82,550: 1902 Red Seals, 1902 Date Backs, 1902 Plain Backs, and 1929 Type 1's. In 1931, $5,950 of the total were still in circulation. All were in $50 denominations. The National Bank Note Census lists four notes. Three are 1902 Date Backs. One is in the Philpott-Moody Collection. The fourth note is a 1929 Type 1, that last changed hands for $1,760 in 1996 in a Heritage Auction.