In 1822 the European-American settlements near here, Christianville and Rossville, were chartered together as the Town of Kingsport; it developed as an important regional shipping port on the Holston River in the early 19th century. Goods brought in from the surrounding countryside were loaded onto barges for transport downstream to the Holston's confluence with the Tennessee River (at Knoxville), from where they were shipped to other markets. The young town lost its charter, however, after a downturn in its fortunes precipitated by the Civil War.