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The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture © Tennessee Historical Society
With
a total area of only 129 square miles,
Moore County is the second smallest
county in the state. Set in the heart
of agrarian Middle Tennessee, Moore
County contains a diverse landscape,
with nearly one half of the county
lying along the Highland Rim and
most of the remaining area part of
the Central Basin. The Elk and Mulberry
Rivers create fertile, heavily timbered
ridges and farmland that contribute
to the agricultural production as
well as the lucrative whiskey industry
that remains an integral part of
the county's heritage.
Eleven districts comprised of Lynchburg, Ridgeville, Marble Hill, Reed's Store,
Tucker Creek, Wagoner's, Prosser's Store, Charity, County Line, Hurricane Church,
and William B. Smith's Mill were included in the new boundaries. A countywide
election in 1872 designated Lynchburg as the county seat. Many of the townships
have all but disappeared, with a few farm sites or a small store as the only
indication of population. Lynchburg remains the largest and most populated district,
estimated at around 350 residents, while the total population for the entire
county is just over 4,700.
In the 1870s Lynchburg was a regional center for the mule trade in Middle Tennessee
because it was located in the center of an economic triangle that linked Tullahoma
(Coffee County), Shelbyville (Bedford County), and Fayetteville (Lincoln County).
Farmers traveling to and from these railroad hubs used the turnpike through Lynchburg,
which later became Tennessee Highway 55. Produce, consumer goods, and livestock
were traded in the county seat and contributed to Lynchburg's prominence within
the county. Most of the town's character is still intact, largely because manufacturing
and industry never developed fully, and with the construction of interstate highways,
the region was isolated from the major industrial centers.
Moore County's fertile soils and close proximity to the Mulberry and Elk Rivers
were excellent for growing corn, wheat, and oats. Many farmers raised cattle,
hogs, and sheep to supplement their income. Dairies are still one of the county's
major agricultural producers.
Moore County has a long history in the whiskey industry. The first distillery
was erected in 1825 along the West Mulberry. By 1876 at least fifteen distilleries
were registered in Moore County, and the product formerly known as Lincoln County
whiskey became a Lynchburg specialty. One of the largest and most famous distilleries
was founded by Jack Daniel, who made Tennessee Sour Mash whiskey a major commodity.
Today, Jack Daniel Distillery is the central tourist attraction in Lynchburg
and a primary source of tourism revenue for the county.
Although the county is sparsely populated and predominantly agricultural, Moore
County is one of the most intact examples of Middle Tennessee's agrarian landscape.
Visitors to Lynchburg and the surrounding area can experience the strong feeling
of community and see the historic buildings that contribute to the lasting heritage
of Moore County. The county's 2000 population was 5,740, an increase of 21.5
percent since 1990.
The Goodspeed Publishing Co., History of Tennessee, 1887
MOORE COUNTY lies in the south central portion of Tennessee, and is bounded on the north by Bedford, east by Coffee, south by Franklin, and west by Lincoln. It contains about 170 square miles, and its surface is greatly diversified. About one-half the county lies on the Highland Rim, and the remainder in the Central Basin. The eastern portion has a high, flat, slightly-rolling surf ace, known as the “barrens,” which breaks off to the south and west into ridges and ravines, some of the latter having a depth of 300 to 400 feet. These ridges are spurs which shoot out into the valley of the Elk and Mulberry tributaries, the valleys constituting a part of the broken southern division Central Basin which is partially cut off by Elk Ridge. These ridges are very fertile. They are composed mainly of the Nashville limestone, upon which rests the black shale or Devonian, and upon this shale rests as a protecting rock, the siliceous layers of the barren group, which is characteristic of the barren portion of the Highland Rim. Marble of a fair quality is found in the county.
The eastern portion, known as the “barrens,” is covered mostly with a light growth of scrubby oak timber, and the soil has a whitish clay surface, with a porous, leachy subsoil, and is very sterile, except for the cultivation of fruits and tobacco. Elk Ridge is very fertile, and almost as productive as the best valley lands. It is heavily timbered with poplar, oak, chestnut, walnut, sugar, linden and locust. The valleys of the Elk, Hurricane, Mulberry and their tributaries, have a rich alluvial soil, which is very productive. The staple crops of the county, are wheat, corn, rye and oats. Blue grass is indigenous to the soil. Clover, timothy and most other grasses yield bountifully with proper cultivation. Stock raising is carried on to some extent, and the county, with its numerous springs, is well adapted to dairy farming, which however is not carried on to any considerable extent. The farms are not in as high a state of cultivation as they are capable of being brought. A good turnpike road leading from Shelbyville to Fayetteville passes directly through the county, via County Line and Lynchburg. The county is high, healthy, and well drained. It has no swamps to contaminate its atmosphere with malarial poison.
The first settlements in the territory now composing Moore County were made near the beginning of the present century, when bears, wolves, deers, and all kinds of game were abundant. Just when and by whom the first actual settlement was made cannot be stated, but the names of a considerable number of the earliest settlers can be given. William B. Prosser came from North Carolina and settled in this County in 1806, and William Spencer came in 1808. Isaac Forrester, born in South Carolina in 1790, settled here prior to the war of 1812, in which he participated. In 1816 he married Miss Matilda Hodges, and both are yet living. They are the parents of fourteen children, eleven of whom are still living. They have had eighty-nine grandchildren, sixty-nine of whom are living, and they have had nearly seventy great-grandchildren, sixty of whom are living, and two great-great-grandchildren, both living. A remarkable family-certainly they have obeyed the Scriptural injunction “Be ye fruitful, multiply, etc.”
A Mrs. Wiseman, who was also born in 1790, is still living in this county. Frederick Waggoner and family settled in the county before the war of 1812, in which he participated in the battle of the Horse Shoe Bend. Woodey B. Ttylor and his wife, Nancy (Seay) Taylor, parents of John H. Taylor (Uncle Jack as he was familiarly called), came from Georgia with their family in 1809, and settled on East Mulberry, about two miles below the site of Lynchburg. There was only one house then between their settlement and Lynchburg, and that one was at the place now owned by Mrs. B. H. Berry. At that time there were only two log-cabins in Lynchburg, one where Dr. Salmon now lives, and the other at Mrs. Alfred Eaton’s place; Mr. Joel Crane then lived in the former. The same year, 1809, Andrew Walker came from South Carolina, and settled upon and mostly cleared the farm, and soon thereafter erected the house where Smith Alexander now lives. Samuel Isaacs then lived on the Jack Daniel’s farm, and Daniel Holman lived in the next house down the valley. Anthony and Thomas Crawford, James Clark and Champion Bly were then living near Lynchburg. Mrs. Agnes Motlow, widow of a soldier of the war of the Revolution, settled in this county in 1809 or 1810, with her five sons, Zadoch, William, James, John and Felix, and two daughters, Elizabeth, who married Andrew Walker, of whom mention has been made, and Lauriet, who married Mr. ---- Massey. The Motlow family in this part of the State originated from the above ancestors. Reuben Logan settled here soon after l800, and had many successful encounters with the wild animals. He killed many bears and deers, and was a soldier in the war of 1812.
James Cox and Mary, his wife, were among the first children born within the limits of Moore County. Dempsey Sullivan and Naomi, his wife, were born in this county in 1811 and 1812, respectively.
Michael Tipps settled in the county in 1813. His wife, nee Leah Scivally, was born here in 1810, and she is still living. Thomas H. Shaw, father of Elder Shaw, born at Perryville, Ky., in 1798, settled in this county before the war of 1812, in which he was a soldier under Gen. Jackson. He married a daughter of Thomas Roundtree, and was a magistrate for many years, and died in 1872. In 1815, James P. Baxter and family settled on where John F. Taylor now resides. He was a county surveyor thirty-three years, and was a member of the commission to locate the Creek Indians. John F. Baxter was born in 1827, on the farm where he has always resided and still resides, without ever having been away from home seven days at a time. James S. Ervin settled in the county in 1816, and Martin L. Parks in 1818. The latter was an officer in the war of 1812. About 1812, a Mr. Brown and others erected the first grist mill in the county near where Jack Daniels’ distillery now stands. Soon thereafter a distillery was established there, as probably the first one in the county.
The first cotton-gin was erected near the same place in about 1818. Thomas Roundtree built the cotton-mill on the creek at Lynchburg, about the year 1820. At this time there was a cotton-gin and cotton-mill on East Mulberry Creek near the county line, owned by Levi Roberts. The grist-mill and cotton-gin at Lynchburg, was then operated by Wm. P. Long. A large tannery was also in operation at Lynchburg about this time. A Mr. McJimsey is said to have opened the first store in Lynchburg some time prior to 1820, at which time Wm. P. Long kept a general store in the same place. Barnes Clark, and, Wm. Howard, Wm. Bedford Mr. ___ Bird and Wm. Burdge were all among the earliest settlers in the county, and the three latter were among the pioneer school-teachers. For a number of years after the first settlements were made, and before local mills were the people had to go all the way to Murfreesboro and to Mill Creek, near Nashville, to get their grinding done. John Guthrie with his family settled near the site of Dance & Waggoner’s mill in 1820, and lived there until his death. Wm. Tolley, whose death occurred in 1884, settled in this county in 1825. Samuel Edens and his family were living at Lynchburg at that time. Stephen M. Dance and family settled in 1826, on the farm where Dance now resides. Joseph Call and Rebecca, his Wife, settled in 1834, on a farm in the present District No. 6, where he died in 1842. Mrs. Call subsequently had three husbands and outlived all of them, and died in 1850, in this county.
Davie Crockett, the great pioneer hunter and adventurer, resided for a time on of the East Mulberry in this county. Moses Crawford came to this county in 1809 and lived at or near Lynchburg, and attended the “sale of lots when the town was laid off in lots and sold.” The valleys were then covered with cane-brakes. The Falcon of March 20, 1885, published a letter from Mr. Crawford dated at Grand Island, Neb., where he then resided. This letter refers to the early settlement of this county, and especially the great earthquake shock so sensiblv felt here in 1811. He says “the prevalent idea was, judgment is knocking at the door. The earth reeled as a drunken man. Mercy was sought and pardon found in many eases. * * * Preaching every four weeks at my father’s house. Rev. Adams, of Flat Creek, was minister or pastor in charge. My father and mother were old members of said church for years before. People came from far to bear the Scripture propounded. The ministers were Adams, Hardy, and Whittaker. The addition to the church was large every Sabbath. There were none but Baptists in this neck of woods. They used to take the applicant for baptism to the ford, singing as they went. The place for immersion was near where Roundtree built his dam across Mulberry. Revivals stopped and drinking liquor began. I think I knew some of your ancestors. Two brothers by the name of Parks came there some time between 1815 and 1820, I think with, Smiths. Time rolled on and rolled them off. I soon shall follow.”
Crawford then says “that after the war of 1812 closed, a clan of’ thieves was found in and about the present town of Lvnchburg. And that in the neighborhood of Barnes Clark, a blacksmith three or four miles southeast of Lynchburg, stealing was as as going to church. A member of this clan by the name of Woods, or something else, was lynched till he told of or showed the cave or warehouse of stolen goods. Old Hickory Jackson permitted the shooting of John Woods and a brother for stealing.”
About this time it, seems there were no laws in force hero for the suppression of crime, and consequently the good people organized themselves into vigilance committees, and took the administrationof justice into their own hands and “Judge Lynch” presided at their meetings. They selected the large beech tree which stood over the spring, afterward known as the town spring of Lynchburg, for a whipping post, and after arresting offenders and becoming satisfied of their guilt, tied them to this tree and authorized some one to administer the whipping, which was generally very severe. Uncle Jack Taylor says he saw about twenty persons whipped at that famous tree, and three others at another tree, near which he now resides. In this way public offenders were punished for All kinds of crime until the courts were established, and the civil authorities sufficiently empowered to enforce the laws for the protection of society, The noted lynching tree stood until about the year 1880.
Like most rural counties Moore’s industtries have been limited principally to agriculture. Manufacturing, except in the article of whisky, has never been developed to any considerable extent. A few grist mills and saw-mills, sufficient for the accommodation of the people, have been erected and operated. The manufacture of whisky has been extensive. In addition to what has already been mentioned, Samuel Isaacs and John Silvertooth erected a distillery on the German branch of East Mulberry, one and a half miles below Lynchburg, in about 1825; and near the same time another was erected by Mr. Isaacs, three miles below town.
Alfred Eaton erected a distillery in an early day, about two miles below Lynchburg. Calvin Stone erected one on West Mulberry in 1852. As the country improved numerous distilleries were constructed and operated, from time to time, in the territory composing the county. There are now fifteen registered distilleries in Moore County. Tolley & Eaton’s, established in 1877, at County Line, is said to be the largest sour mash distillery in the State. It has a capacity of 98 bushels of corn and 300 gallons of spirits per day. It is all run by machinery. Jack Daniels’, the next in size, was built in 1876, at the Cave Spring, at Lynchburg, where, it is claimed, the first one in the county was erected. The capacity of this distillery is 50 bushels of corn and 150 gallons of spirits per day. The other thirteen distilleries have an average capacity of 23 bushels of corn and 70 gallons of spirits per day. Then, when all are running, they will grind 447 bushels of corn per day and produce about 1,360 gallons of whisky. This is an immense industry. Suppose these fifteen distilleries to run their full capacity for six months, or 156 days, in the year, they would manufacture the immense amount of 202,160 gallons, or 5,054 barrels, of 40 gallons each; which, at $2 per gallon, would amount to the sum of $404,320. When these distilleries are running they consume, at an advanced price, all the surplus corn that the farmers can raise. They also consume thousands of cords of wood annually. They thus make for their farmers a home market for their grain and wood; and the revenue to the people of the county for the corn, wood and whisky is immense. The whisky manufactured here is known in commerce as Lincoln County Whisky, and is among the best manufactured in the United States. The capital employed in this branch of industry is said to pay 20 per cent. The manufacture of domestic goods is carried on, in the families, to a great extent.
The lands of the country are rich and productive, teeming with thousands of horses, mules, cattle, sheep and hogs. All kinds of grain, fruit and vegetables can be raised in great profusion. All kinds of grass, clover and millet grow to perfection. The highlands of the eastern part are especially adapted to the production of grape. The people are cordial and hospitable--primitive in their habits, and manufacture and wear a great deal of home-made clothing.
The county of Moore was organized in accordance with an act of the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee, entitled “An act to establish a new county out of portions of the territory of Lincoln, Franklin, Coffee and Bedford Counties, to be called the county of Moore, in honor of the late Gen. William Moore, of Tullahoma,Tenn., one of the early settlers of Lincoln County, Tenn., a soldier of the war of 1812, and for many years a member of the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee,” passed December 14, 1871.
The act provided that the county should be bounded by a line described therein. And for the purpose of organizing the county, the following commissioners were appointed by said act, to wit: Berry Prosser, Lewis Morgan, J. B. Thompson, John D. Tolley, H. H. Smith, William Copeland, J. E. Spencer and S. J. Green, of the county of Lincoln; C. T. Shiver, A. J. Simpson, Goodwin Miller and Harvey Farris, of the county of Franklin; James 0. Aydelotte, Mike Campbell, Thomas Colley and S. J. MeLemore, of the county of Coffee; William Smith, W. P. Bobo and John Sullivan, of the county of Bedford; who, before entering upon their duties, should take an oath to faithfully and impartially discharge the same as such commissioners. And to ascertain the will of the people of the fractions of the old counties out of which the new county was to be composed, said commissioners were to cause elections to be held at as early a day as practicable in each of the fractions of the old counties to be included in the new one. And if the requisite constitutional majority was found to be in favor of the new county, the said commissioners were to complete the organization in accordance with the provisions of the act.
The act provided that said commissioners should have power to make any change in the lines of said county, if found necessary, so as to conform with the requirements of the constitution of the State--i.e., that none of the old counties out of which the new one was to be formed should be reduced below 500 square miles; and that they should cause an actual survey of the county to be made, and an actual enumeration of the qualified voters in the limits of said county to be taken, to ascertain if said new county contained 275 square miles, and 700 qualified voters. Accordingly, on January 6, 1872, said commissioners met at Lynchburg and organized by electing A. J. Simpson chairman and John D. Tolley secretary, and at once employed J. B. Thomison and R. F. Darnoby to survey the boundary line of the new county, to begin at 12 o‘clock M., on Monday January 8, 1872, at or near Rev. J. W. Holman’s place, on the Mulberry & Lynchburg Turnpike. The commissioners then adjourned until the 23d day of January, when a plat of the survey of said county was presented to them by said surveyors. The plat was accepted, and the surveyors ordered to make a full and complete written report of the survey, which they afterward did.
Three hundred and forty-one square miles were found to be included in this survey. Subsequently the commissioners learned that Coffee County contained less than 500 square miles, and consequently no portion of it could be attached to the new county. By this survey the county line was run eleven miles from the county seats of Bedford, Lincoln and Franklin Counties by. surface measurement. This was not satisfactory to Lincoln and Franklin Counties, consequently each brought suit against Moore County to reclaim their lost territory. The matter was fully litigated in the Lincoln County Chancery Court, and finally decided that the line of Moore County should be established eleven miles, on a straight air line, from the county seats of the old counties from which it was composed. This made a new survey necessary between this county and both Lincoln and Franklin Counties. Bedford County brought no suit to enforce this “straight line rule,” but allowed the line to stand as originally surveyed. This very materially reduced the county in size, so that it now contains only about 270 square miles, or about seventy-one square miles less than the original survey included.
On Saturday, April 13, 1872, elections were held in each of the fractions of the old counties to be included in the new, to ascertain the will of the people on the formation of a new county, and the votes cast were as follows: In fraction of Lincoln County for new county, 799; for old county, 51. In fraction of Bedford County, for new county, 59; for old county, none. In fraction of Franklin County, for new county, 284; for old county, 6. The requisite number of two-thirds having voted in favor of the new county, the county of Moore became established, and it only remained to perfect its organization. The commissioners then appointed Wm. Tolley, M. Spencer, Berrv Leftwick, G. W. Byrom and F. T. Davis to divide the county into civil districts. The subdivision was made and the districts formed and named as follows: Lynchburg, Ridgeville, Marble Hill, Reed’s Store, Tucker Creek, Wagoner’s, Prosser’s Store, Charity, County Line, Hurricane Church and Wm. B. Smith’s mill. The districts were numbered in the order named, from one to eleven. The commissioners then ordered an election to be held on on Saturday, May 11, 1872, for the purpose of electing county officers. Accordingly elections were held in each of the several districts, and the following officers duly elected: John A. Norman, sheriff; James W. Byrom, county court clerk; W. R. Waggoner, circuit court clerk; John A. Silvertooth, trustee; E. F. Brown, register; W. J. Taylor, tax collector. Magistrates, J. D. Tolley, J. W. Martin, B. F. Womach, A. J. Simpson, G. W. Byrom, C. H. Bean, A. C. Cobble, J. E. Spencer, R. L. Gillespie, Wm. Copeland, John Swinney, John L. Ashby, T. G. Miller, D. J. Noblet, A. M. Prosser, J. A. Prosser, L. Leftwich, Samuel Bobo, T. J. Baxter, J. L. Holt, J. M. Byrom, J. W. Eggleston and J. J. Burt. These magistrates elect assembled on the third day of June, 1872, at the house of Tolley & Eaton in Lynchburg, and organized and held the first county court ever held in the county, They organized the court by electing A. J. Simpson, chaiman, and John D. Tolley & D. J. Nobblett, associates. At this term the court ordered an election to be held in the several districts of the county on the first Saturday of July, 1872, to determine where the people desired to have the county seat located. The elections were accordingly held, and out of 499 votes cast, 465 were in favor of Lynchburg as the county seat.
The court then appointed a committee of one from each district to select suitable grounds for a jail and jailer’s house, and a public square for a court house site. This committee selected a plat of ground 300 feet square on Mechanic Street for a public square, and a tract of one acre belonging to E. Y. Salmon, and lying across the creek, between the town and Parks’ tan-yard. The Public Square was located by the court, as reported, and title acquired thereto by donation from the owners. The tract for the jail was purchased of Dr. Salmon, for $100. Before building the jail, the court decided that this lot was not suitable and convenient, and thereupon sold it at public outcry for $10, and at the August term, 1875, the court bought the present jail lot of Col. J. M. Hughes for $200. A committee, consisting of M. L. McDowell, A. C. Cobble, J. E. Spencer, B. F. Womack and J. L. Holt, was then appointed to let the contract for the building of a jail and jailer’s house. The contract was awarded June 7, 1875, to Bobo & Stegall for $2,550, the building to be completed by the first Monday in October of the same year. At the January term, 1876, of the county court, the committee reported that the jail and jailer’s house had been completed according to the contract, It was accepted and the committee discharged. The jail has two cells, 8x8 feet, made of heavy oak timber, and large nails driven in almost every square inch. It is a very safe jail. The house is in the shape of an L, the front consisting of two nice rooms for jailer’s residence. It is situated on the lot bought of Col. Hughes, nearly opposite the Methodist Episcopal Church, and is a very neat and comfortable building.
On the 8th of January, 1884, the county court appointed a committee to select and secure a new location for a public square. And in July of the same year the committee reported that they had deeded the square on Mechanic Street back to its former owners, and secured title to the Public Square where the court house now stands. Their action was approved, and a building committee, consisting of R. B. Parks, John E. Bobo and W. D. L. Record, was then appointed, with instructions for the construction of a court house. This committee awarded the contract to S. L. P Garrett. And at the April term, 1885, they reported that the house was completed according to contract, and that they had paid the contractor $200 for extra work over and above the original contract. thus making the total cost of the court house $6,875. The building was accepted by the court and the committee discharged. The court house is a very substantial two-story brick structure, 40x60 feet, with the county offices on the first floor, and the court rooms on the second. The people of the county are very fortunate in having good and sufficient county buildings. The county has no asylum for the poor. The latter are provided for by appropriations from the public treasury, by authority of the county court.
The sessions of the courts were first held in Tollev & Eaton’s Hall; then the county bought the Christian Church, which stood on Main Street, on the east side of the Public Square. The courts were held in this church building until it burned down in December, 1883, after which the sessions were held in the schoolhouse on Mechanic Street until the court house was completed. The following is a list of the county officers and the time served by each:
County court clerks--James W. Byrom, the present incumbent, was elected at the first election, which was in 1872, and has been re-elected and held the office continuously ever since. This shows the high estimation in which he is held by the people. Circuit court clerks--W. R. Waggoner, 1872-74; Dr. W. D. Frost, 1874-78; J. A. Norman, 1878 to June, 1880, when he died; then B. H. Berry was appointed to fill vacancy. H. H. Neece, 1880 to present time. Sheriffs--J. A. Norman, 1872-78; H. S. Hudson, 1878--80; A. J. Travis, 1880-82; J. S. Hobbs, present incumbent, 1881. Registers--E. F. Brown, 1872-74, M. G. Osborn, 1874-82; J. R. Brown, present incumbent, 1882. Tax collectors--W. J. Taylor 872-74; E. F. Brown, 1874-76; J. A. Silvertooth (the trustee), 1876-82; B. E. Spencer (trustee), 1882. Trustees--J. A. Silvertooth, 1872-82; B. E. Spencer, the present incumbent, 1882. Clerk and master--Dr. E. Y. Salmon, 1870; W. A. Frost, 1880-84; R. B. Parks, present incumbent, 1884 to ___. Coroner-R. C. Hall, 1872-73; H. B. Morgan, present incumbent, 1873 to ___.
The indebtedness of the county for current expenses is about $1,000, and for balance due for the court house $1,431. The levy on the duplicate of 1886 will be about sufficient to liquidate the latter, thus leaving the county in a very good financial condition,
Prior to the year 1882 the general elections in the territory composing the county, for State and National purposes, were controlled by the old counties, the same as though Moore County had never been organized. In 1882, after the census of 1880 had been published, and Moore County was recognized in redistricting the State, it held its first election for officers of the legislature. At the presidential election in 1884, the vote in the county stood as follow: For Cleveland, 906; Blaine, 53; St. John, 5; Butler, 5.
According to the census of 1880 Moore County contained the following number of inhabitants: White males, 2,766; white females, 2,691; colored males, 376; colored females, 355. Total white, 5,457; total colored, 731. Grand total, 6,188.
The county court is composed of the several civil magistrates of the several civil districts of the county, and is presided over by one of their number, whom they elect as a chairman. The county court clerk and the sheriff are officers of this court. The court meets in quarterly sessions the first Mondays of January, April, July and October. Quorum courts convene on the first Mondays of each month. For the organization of this court and a sketch of its proceedings, the reader is referred to the organization of the county, in which its history is interwoven.
The first term of the circuit court was held in the room used for court purposes in Lynchburg, beginning on the third Monday of June, 1872, the time fixed by act of the General Assembly of the State. W. P. Hickerson, judge in the Sixth Judicial District, of which Moore County forms a part, presided. The court was opened by proclamation made by J. A. Norman, sheriff. Whereupon W. R. Waggoner, clerk-elect, produced to the court his certificate of election and filed his bonds as required by law, and was duly sworn into office. J. W. Byrom, clerk of the county court, then officially certified the names of twenty-four “householders and freeholders” of the county, appointed by said county court at its June term, 1872, out of which the circuit court should select a grand jury. And out of the number so certified the following named persons were selected as the first grand jury of Moore County, viz.: J. T. Motlow, J. H. Taylor, B. F. Womach, Jacob Tipps, J. E. Spencer, J. W. Franklin, Wm. Tolley, J. L. Ashby, A. M. Prosser, P. G. Prosser, J. M. Byrom, J. J. Burt and J. F. Leach. Wm. Tolley was made foreman. H.S. Hudson and Wm. Cooper were appointed constables to wait upon the court. W. H.Allen and E. S. N. Bobo each presented his license as an attorney at law, and was admitted to the bar. The first cause of action in this court was Pique, Manier and Hall vs. John Read, to recover a judgment of $249.15 rendered by F. P. Fulton. a justice of the peace. The case was tried, and the court decreed that the land of the defendant be sold to satisfy the said judgment and costs. The grand jury, after having retired to inquire into “indictable offenses,” etc., returned into court an indictment against Jeff Berry (colored) for assault, and four presentments against other offenders, to wit, Calvin Shofner, James Simpson, Daniel Downing and Hiles Blythe, for “carrying pistols.” And thus ended the business of the first term of the circuit court.
At the next term, the court ordered that the first Monday of each term be fixed “as State’s day for the county.” Jeff Berry, colored, was then tried for assault by the first petit jury of “good and lawful men of the county,” viz.: J. D. Smith, Wm. Richardson, W. A. Hobbs, A. C. Cobble, N. Boone, K. J. Bobo, E. J. Chambers, John N. Morehead, Will. Copeland, Wm. Waller, Henderson Gilbert, and Walter Holt. The defendant was found guilty, and fined $5 and costs.
At this term, T. P. Flack, who professed to be an attorney at law, was arraigned for larceny. The attorney-general, being related to him, declined to prosecute, whereupon the court appointed Hon. W. D. L. Record attorney-general pro tem to prosecute the defendant. Wricketts was then arraigned and tried for “horse stealing and larceny.” He was found guilty, and was sentenced to jail and penitentiary for five years. At the February term, 1873, of this court, the grand jury found a true bill against Wesley Speck for the murder of John Jean. The defendant was tried, found guilty, and sentenced to twenty years in the penitentiary. An appeal was taken to the supreme court, where the sentence was affirmed. After serving for a few years the defendant was released by executive clemency. At the February term, 1885, Jordan Whitaker, colored, was tried for the murder of John Kiser, colored. The jury found the prisoner “guilty of murder in the first degree, with mitigating circumstances,” and fixed his penalty at imprisonment in the penitentiary for life. Whereupon the attorney-general, A. B. Woodard, and Judge Williams joined in suggesting to the governor that sentence ought to be commuted to twenty years instead of for life. Also at this term James Silvertooth, marshal of the town of Lynchburg, was indicted for the murder of Bird Millsap. He asked for and obtained a change of venue to the Lincoln County Circuit Court, where he was tried and acquitted, on the ground that he committed the act in self defense. These are the principal criminal cases that have been brought in this court.
In the year 1875 there were 87 prosecutions for carrying pistols, 8 for assault and battery, and 7 for disturbing public meetings. In 1885, ten years later, there were 21 prosecutions for carrying pistols, 5 for assault and battery, and 3 for disturbing public meetings; thus showing that crime is on the decrease. Judge W. P. Hickerson presided over this court, either in person or by proxy, from its organization up to and including Its October term, 1877, and Judge J. J. Williams, the present incumbent, has presided over it since.
The first term of the chancery court was held in the court room at Lynchburg,. beginning on the fourth Monday of July, 1872, with Hon. A. S. Marks, chancellor, presiding. The court was opened in due form by Sheriff John A. Norman. Dr. E. Y. Salmon was appointed clerk and master, and filed his bond, to “safely keep the records of said office and faithfully discharge the duties thereof,” and took the oath of office. He also filed a bond to faithfully collect and, account for fines, taxes, etc., and another as special commissioner and receiver. There being no other business the court adjourned to “term in course.
At the next term of this court William Thomison and others filed a petition for a turnpike road from Lynchurg to Prosser and Sullivan’s store, in Moore County, a distance of about |
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Tennessee 
