It was named in honor of Colonel Arthur Campbell (1743–1811), a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses and an officer during the American Revolutionary War.

[4] New Mammoth Cave, located in Elk Valley, approximately 10 miles southwest of Jellico, was mined for saltpeter (the main ingredient of gunpowder) during the War of 1812.

On June 8, 1861, voters in Campbell County rejected Tennessee's Ordinance of Secession by a vote of 1,094 to 60.

[8] Campbell County is situated in a geological border region between the Cumberland Mountains in the northwest and the Appalachian Ridge-and-Valley Range in the southeast.

Ivydell, situated in the Cumberland Mountains region, is the exact geographical center of Campbell County.

Norris Lake— an artificial reservoir created by the Tennessee Valley Authority in the 1930s— is the main body of water in the region.

Jellico, located along the Tennessee-Kentucky border, is the most notable populated area in the county's plateau section.

Portions of the county north of Walnut Mountain are part of the Cumberland River watershed.

Portions of the county south of Walnut Mountain are part of the Tennessee River watershed.

Campbell County is home to Norris Lake and the Royal Blue Trails Complex.

Campbell County boasts 11 marinas on Norris Lake, drawing tens of thousands of visitors annually.