The desire for more convenient access to county government brought together the citizens of the outlying regions of Madison, Dryer, Gibson and Haywood Counties to petition the Tennessee General Assembly for the formation of a new county first in 1832 and again, thirteen years later, in 1845. Both petitions were unsuccessful. In November 1871, though, the legislature finally provided relief for the isolated farmers by enacting legislation to form Crockett County, named for the famous David Crockett (1786-1836), frontier humorist, author, soldier, state legislator, U.S. congressman, defender and a casualty of the Alamo in the Texas war for independence.
Appropriately, the county seat was named Alamo, after the historic mission in San Antonio, Texas, where Crockett died in 1836. Two commissioners from each county from which land was taken met to establish county government. The county courthouse, which was completed in 1874, continues to serve local needs.
Newspapers were published in Alamo, Bells, Bellville and Friendship. Scattered early issues are available from 1874, and a complete run begins in 1946. See Extended History for More information.
Crockett County is bordered by Gibson County (northeast), Madison County (southeast), Haywood County (south), Lauderdale County (west) and Dyer County (northwest). Cities and Towns include Alamo, Bells, Friendship, Gadsden, Maury City. The Official County Website is located at ?
Tennessee State Library and Archives has Inventories of Crockett County Records on Microfilm. Click Here to Order County Microfilm Inventories and Reels. Early Crockett County Records. Newspaper Microfilms are loaned to Tennessee libraries. Individual reels may also be purchased. An Inventory of Newspapers on Microfilm at TSLA is available on our web site..
Researchers often overlook the importance of court records, probate records, and land records as a source of family history information.

Crockett County Clerk has Marriage Records from 1872 and Probate Records from 1872 and is located at Courthouse, 1 S. Bells St., Suite 1, Alamo, TN 38001-1796; Telephone: (731) 696-5132.
The County Clerk maintains Marriage & Divorce records. It also has jurisdiction over probate cases. Wills, administrations, and all other records pertaining to probate are recorded in the respective county clerk's office. If the will or administration was contested, the records of these actions may be filed in the circuit court or chancery court.
Crockett County Register of Deeds has Land Records from 1872 and is located at Courthouse, 1 S. Bells St., Suite 1, Alamo, TN 38001-1796; Telephone: (731) 696-5452.
The Register of Deeds office has land records beginning with county organization, land records are available from the register of deeds at the Crockett county courthouse. Land and property records include transfer of real estate or personal property, mortgages, leases, surveys, and entries
Crockett County Clerk of Circuit Court has Court Records from 1872 and is located at Courthouse, 1 S. Bells St., Suite 1, Alamo, TN 38001-1796; Telephone: (731) 696- 5110 .
Circuit Court Clerks serve an important role in the operation of the court system in Tennessee. Chancery courts have jurisdiction over property disputes, and circuit courts oversee criminal cases, divorces, and adoptions. Early courts included courts of common pleas and quarter sessions.
Below is a list of online resources for Crockett County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Crockett County Court Records by clicking the link below:

Birth, marriage, and death records are connected with central life events. They are prime sources for genealogical information.
Contact the Crockett County Clerk For County Marriage Divorce Records (See Crockett County Court Records for Address and Phone number) in the county where Certificate was granted.
Tennessee State Vital Records, is located at Central Services Building, 1st Floor, 421 5th Avenue North, Nashville, Tennessee 37243; Phone (615) 741-1763, FAX (615) 741-9860. The Tennessee Office of Vital Records registers and maintains the original certificates of births, deaths, marriages and divorces that occur in Tennessee. They have the following records:
Make certified checks and money orders should be made payable to "Tennessee Vital Records". Credit Cards may be uses by using VitalChek services. Please do not send cash or checks. Fees are non refundable. Additional fees are required for expedited service. Mail all Applications to: Tennessee State Vital Records, Central Services Building, 1st Floor, 421 5th Avenue North, Nashville, TN, 37243.
Below is a list of online resources for Crockett County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Crockett County Vital Records by clicking the link below:

Few, if any, records reveal as many details about individuals and families as do government census records. Substitute records can be used when the official census is unavailable
Countywide Records: Federal Population Schedules that exist for Crockett County, Tennessee are 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930. Other Federal Schedules to look at when researching your family tree in Crockett County, Tennessee are Industry and Agriculture Schedules available for the years 1880. The Mortality Schedules for the years 1880.
Below is a list of online resources for Crockett County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Crockett County Census Records by clicking the link below:

Maps are an invaluable part of family history research, especially if you live far from where your ancestor lived. Because political boundaries often changed, historic maps are critical in helping you discover the precise location of your ancestor's hometown, what land they owned, who their neighbors were, and more.
Genealogy Atlas has images of old American atlases during the years 1795, 1814, 1822, 1823, 1836, 1838, 1845, 1856, 1866, 1879 and 1897 for Tennessee and other states.
You can view rotating animated maps for Tennessee showing all the county boundaries for each census year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries. You can view a list of maps for other states at Census Maps
You can view rotating animated maps for Tennessee showing all the county boundary changes for each year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries . You can view a list of maps for other states and State Department of Transportation Maps at County Maps. The Tennessee Department of Transportation has county maps the show the locations of churches, cemeteries, roads, ect... free for viewing or download here
Below is a list of online resources for Crockett County Maps. Email us with websites containing Crockett County Maps by clicking the link below:

Military and civil service records provide unique facts and insights into the lives of men and women who have served their country at home and abroad.
The uses and value of military records in genealogical research for ancestors who were veterans are obvious, but military records can also be important to re-searchers whose direct ancestors were not soldiers in any war. The fathers, grandfathers, brothers, and other close relatives of an ancestor may have served in a war, and their service or pension records could contain information that will assist in further identifying the family of primary interest. Due to the amount of genealogical information contained in some military pension files, they should never be overlooked during the research process. Those records not containing specific genealogical information are of historic value and should be included in any overall research design.
Below is a list of online resources for Crockett County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Crockett County Military Records by clicking the link below:
Tennessee tax lists can be used to locate families, document historic properties and study community history. Early tax lists generally include all white males over 21 and indicate whether they owned land or slaves. They usually do not provide other personal information.
The 1796 Constitution levied taxes on every freeman of the age of twenty-one years and upward possessing a freehold in the county wherein he may vote, and being an inhabitant of this State, and every freeman being an inhabitant of any one county in the State six months immediately preceding the day of the election, shall be entitled to vote....
Many early surviving tax records were published in an effort to replace the missing federal censuses. Original extant tax records are preserved in the respective county courthouse as well as in the Tennessee State Library and Archives, where a card index exists for tax records in its collection pre-dating 1835, arranged by county, date, and district.
Original tax schedules for most Tennessee counties for 1836 through 1839 are available at the Tennessee State Library and Archives.
The 1891 tax lists of male inhabitant voters in each county were recently found. Available on microfilm at the Tennessee State Library and Archives, these nine reels are arranged alphabetically within each district in each county. Tax records from trustees office in counties are available on microfilm as well.
Below is a list of online resources for Crockett County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Crockett County Tax Records by clicking the link below:
The Repositories in this section are Archives, Libraries, Museums, Genealogical and Historical Societies. Many County Historical and Genealogical Societies publish magazines and/or news letters on a monthly, quarterly, bi-annual or annual basis. Contacting the local societies should not be over looked. State Archives and Societies are usually much larger and better organized with much larger archived materials than their smaller county cousins but they can be more generalized and over look the smaller details that local societies tend to have. Libraries can also be a good place to look for local information. Some libraries have a genealogy section and may have some resources that are not located at archives or societies. Also, take a special look at any museums in the area. They sometimes have photos and items from years gone by as well as information of a genealogical interest. All these places are vitally important to the family genealogist and must not be passed over.
Below is a list of online resources for Crockett County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Crockett County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:

Obituaries can vary in the amount of information they contain, but many of them are genealogical goldmines, including information such as names, dates, places of birth and death, marriage information, and family relationships.
There are many churches and cemeteries in Crockett County. Some transcriptions are online. A great site is the Crockett County Tombstone Transcription Project. The Tennessee Department of Transportation has county maps the show the locations of churches and cemeteries free for viewing or download here.
Although few histories for Tennessee churches have been published, there are church records for almost every county in the state. Baptist, Presbyterian, and Methodist were the principal religions of early settlers in the state, and documents from these groups make up the largest number of records available. Other representative religions include Lutheran, Church of Christ, Episcopal, Roman Catholic, and Jewish. Most early Tennessee churches only kept minutes and membership records. Church records could, however, include records of baptism, marriage, burial, membership, or removal, but it is rare to find all or several of these categories maintained by one church.
A large collection of transcripts of Tennessee cemetery records has been compiled by members of chapters of the DAR. Records collection available at the Tennessee State Library and Archives and through the FHL. The state library and archives has notebooks containing listings of cemetery records.
County genealogical and historical societies and local citizens have collected, compiled, and published numerous volumes of cemetery records.
Below is a list of online resources for Crockett County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Crockett County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:

The use of published genealogies, electronic files containing genealogical lineage, and other compiled sources can be of tremendous value to a researcher.
When view family trees online or not, be sure to only take the info at face value and always follow up with your own sources or verify the ones they provide. Below is a list of online resources for Crockett County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information . Email us with websites containing Crockett County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:

The 265 square miles of Crockett County lying in the Mississippi River drainage area are covered with fertile farm land that has few hilly sections. Since no town has a population of over 2,500, the entire county is classified as rural. When the Tennessee Department of Agriculture established its Century Farms program in 1976, it identified eleven historic family farms, the oldest of which was the Frog Jump Farm that Dr. Samuel Oldham Sr. established with 1,500 acres in 1830. Cotton was Oldham's primary crop, but other nineteenth-century farmers in Crockett County produced wheat, small grains, corn, and livestock. In the twentieth century several families turned to specialized cash crops. At the Hillcrest Farm, for instance, Columbus H. Conley managed fruit orchards, strawberry patches, and a honey bee yard while operating a sorghum mill. He also established the Bank of Alamo, and its classical-style brick building in the county seat has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Cotton, however, remains "king" in Crockett County. In 1995 almost 89,000 acres were planted in cotton, followed by 10,000 acres of soybeans (an important twentieth-century introduction), 3,000 acres of corn, 2,500 acres of wheat, and 137 acres of sorghum. The county ranked second in the state in the number of acres planted in cotton, but boasted the highest yields per acre. In the mid-1990s, cotton gins operated in Gadsden, Mason Grove, Alamo, Bells, Cairo, Maury City, and Crockett Mills.
The success of agriculture in Crockett County is closely tied to the history of railroads. In 1858-59 the Memphis, Clarksville and Louisville Railroad built a line through the eastern half of what later became Crockett County. The presence of the tracks led to the creation of the new towns of Gasden, Fruitvale, and Bells. After the Louisville and Nashville Railroad assumed control of the earlier line in the mid-1870s, freight and passenger trains hummed through Crockett County on a daily basis. The train traffic encouraged the creation of cotton gins at towns along the line and also provided a ready market for the many perishable fruits being produced in the county during the early twentieth century. For many years the railroad town of Bells, rather than the county seat of Alamo, was the largest town in the county, even though its population only totaled 919 in 1940.
The African American community in Crockett County was one of the region's more active participants in the Rosenwald school-building program. Blacks, with support from the fund and public sources, built one-room schools at Antioch, Cross Roads, and Fruitvale. Two-room schools were constructed at Hudson Grove and Maury City, while three-room schools were erected in Alamo, Bells, and Porter's Grove. Overall, black residents of Crockett County raised almost twelve thousand dollars for the new schools.
A statistical atlas published in 1941 documents the rural quality of Crockett County during the first half of the twentieth century. The population was over 17,300 people, with African Americans comprising almost 20 percent of the population. In general, almost 85 percent of all adult males were engaged in agriculture, and 65 percent of farm operators were tenants. Few independent farm owners had survived the Great Depression; only 30 percent of white farm operators and 9.5 percent of black families actually owned their land. Crockett County farms were small, as well, averaging 45 acres in size across the county.
The population of Crockett County was 14,532 in 2000. The county includes five incorporated towns: Alamo, Bells, Friendship, Gadsden, and Maury City. According to 1998 figures, Alamo at 2,416 residents is the largest town. Bells is next, with 1,655 residents. In addition, a number of unincorporated communities including Fruitvale, Crockett Mills, Johnson Grove, Cairo, Walnut Hill, Perry's Elizabeth, Old Field, Pond Creek, Lebanon, Jetton's Mason Grove, and Coxville provide nearby residents the convenience of small stores and agricultural services. The county is governed by a county executive and twenty-four commissioners.
Several public recreation facilities enhance the lives of Crockett Countians. Residents can go fishing, boating, and picnicking at David Crockett Lake, which covers 87 acres in the eastern part of the county. Crockett Mills is host to the West Tennessee Cotton Festival held throughout the month of August, with varied events each weekend. A variety of civic and service clubs including a Chamber of Commerce, the Jaycees, Ruritan, Lions, and Rotary Clubs, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars offer opportunities for fellowship and community activities. Ninety-seven churches fill the religious needs of the county.