[2] The confluences of these forks are a few miles above the mouth of the Obion's discharge into the Mississippi River.

In the mid-20th century, the Obion system was largely channelized for agricultural purposes, under the auspices of the Obion-Forked Deer Basin Authority, a Tennessee state agency that coordinated this work with the United States Army Corps of Engineers.

But with the restoration of wetlands along the river in the 21st century, this process has now been halted and – in a few places – somewhat reversed.

Some say that it is derived from a Native American word[4] and others that it represents a corruption of the name of an Irish fur trapper, O'Bion or, perhaps, O'Brien.

There he built a log cabin along the River, where he and his family resided until his trip to Texas in 1835.