At the beginning of the 1860’s, the slave population in Roane County was numbered at 1,748, approximately 20 percent of the general population. After the war, many freed slaves who moved to bigger towns such as Knoxville and Chattanooga found a change in their working situations. Many more moved in from outlying areas around Kingston into the town proper. Communities were created by these “freedmen.” The Freedman’s Bureau became active throughout the South. Bush Town was one of those communities that grew from this migration.

Unlike many surrounding East Tennessee counties, Roane County does not seem to have had lasting animosity for returning Confederate soldiers and their families. Many returned to positions held before the war. An Oath of Allegiance was signed by these men any by many other returning Confederates.

Oath of Allegiance signed by former Confederate, A. S. Kendrick

 
Many patriotic groups reunited after the war. Two such groups were the General Army of the Republic and the United Daughters of the Confederacy.

Reunion of Union soldiers in the 1890’s

After the war, churches that split during the war began to reunite. Public schools did not return to normal until the early 1870’s. Businesses and farms slowly began to increase production. The rivers and railroads became useful again for transporting goods other than military supplies. Roane County slowly, yet surely, started to become a cohesive community once again.