Hawkins County Heritage Days began in October 1978 when a small crowd gathered despite a downpour on the Courthouse Square in downtown Rogersville to help raise funds for the nascent Rogersville Heritage Association.
The organization, whose purpose is to "preserve, protect, promote, and celebrate heritage of Rogersville, Tennessee," envisioned an annual event to commemorate the historic town and to emulate the nineteenth century harvest festivals that Rogersville had seen after the American Civil War.