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Warren County History and Information
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Warren County Facts


Click HERE to see full size D.O.T. County Map

   The Tennessee General Assembly established Warren County on November 26, 1807 from White, Jackson and Smith Counties ; it was the thirtieth county created in Tennessee. Settlers came to the area as early as 1800, and the new county was originally that portion of White County (created in 1806) lying south of the Caney Fork River along the Highland Rim with portions on the Cumberland Plateau on the east and in the Central Basin on the west. Warren County was organized in February 1808, and in March 1810 the county court appointed commissioners to purchase a site for a county seat to be called McMinnville.

   Warren County was named for General Joseph Warren, the first general killed in the War of Independence. McMinnville was named for Joseph McMinn, who was speaker of the Tennessee State Senate at the time the county was formed; later he served as one of the state's outstanding governors. Settlement continued at a rapid pace, and in 1810 Warren County contained 5,725 people; by 1830 it had grown to 15,351.

    Newspapers were published in McMinnville.  Scattered early issues are available from 1816, and a complete run begins in 1933. See Extended History for More information. There was a fire at the Warren County courthouse in 1852, Some early records were destroyed.

   Warren County is bordered by DeKalb County (north), White County (northeast), Van Buren County (east), Sequatchie County (southeast), Grundy County (south), Coffee County (southwest) and Cannon County (northwest). Cities and Towns include Centertown, McMinnville, Morrison, Viola, Dibrell. The Official County Website is located at ?

   Tennessee State Library and Archives has Inventories of Warren County Records on Microfilm. Click Here to Order County Microfilm Inventories and Reels. Early Warren 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.  . Warren County, Tennessee History Books at Amazon.com.

  • Family History Library - The largest collection of free family history, family tree and genealogy records in the world.

 

There are free downloadable and printable forms to help with your research. These include U.S. Census Extraction Forms, U.K. Census Extraction Forms, Research Calendar, Ancestral Chart, Research Extract, Correspondence Record , Family Group Sheet , Source Summary Form.

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Warren County Court Records
PLEASE READ!! Please call the clerk's department to confirm hours, mailing address, fees and other specifics before visiting or requesting information because of sometimes changing contact information.

  Warren County Clerk has Marriage Records from 1852 and Probate Records from 1827 and is located at Courthouse, P.O. Box 231, McMinnville, TN 37111; Telephone: (615) 473-2364.
    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.

   Warren County Register of Deeds has Land Records from 1808 and is located at Courthouse, P.O. Box 231, McMinnville, TN 37111; Telephone: (615) 473-2364.
    The Register of Deeds office has land records beginning with county organization, land records are available from the register of deeds at the Warren county courthouse. Land and property records include transfer of real estate or personal property, mortgages, leases, surveys, and entries.

   Warren County Clerk of Circuit Court has Court Records from 1842 and is located at Courthouse, P.O. Box 231, McMinnville, TN 37111; Telephone: (615) 473-2373 .
   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.

There are a few online databases for Court, Land and Probate Records which include: Index to Tennessee Death Records 1908-1912, Tennessee Marriage and Bible Records, Tennessee Marriages to 1825; Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002 and Tennessee Marriages, 1851-1900.


Search Online Click Here to Search Tennessee Court, Land, Wills & Financial Records! - Researchers often overlook the importance of court records, probate records, and land records as a source of family history information.

Below is a list of online resources for Warren County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Warren County Court Records by clicking the link below:

  • Warren County, Tennessee Court Books at Amazon.com
  • Tennessee Immigration & Emigration Records - Immigration records help the family historian to understand the movements of their ancestry as they relocated to different parts of the world.
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Warren County Vital Records
Search Online Click Here to Search Tennessee Birth, Marriage & Death Records! - Birth, marriage, and death records are connected with central life events. They are prime sources for genealogical information. Look also for baptism, christening, and burial records in this collection.

Some documents are just too important to wait six weeks for. With VitalChek Express Certificate Service you won’t have to. Birth, Marriage, Divorce & Death Certificates Signed. Sealed. Delivered. Often in as few as three business days!

   Contact the Warren County Clerk For County Marriage Divorce Records (See Warren 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:

  • Birth Certificates: Records are available beginning with January 1914, for Nashville since June 1881, for Knoxville since July 1881, and for Chattanooga since January 1882. Records of some births that occurred in the major cities from 1881-1913 are also available. A certified photocopy of the original record may be obtained at a fee of $12.00 for the first copy and $4.00 for each additional copy of the same record requested at the same time. For persons born from 1949 to the present, a certified copy produced by computer is also available at a fee of $7.00 for the first copy and $4.00 for each additional copy of the same record requested at the same time. You can download an application online for Birth Certificates. You can also order Order Electronically and get the certificates much quicker by ordering HERE. For Earlier Records See Tennessee State Library and Archives Below.
  • Death Certificates: Death records are available for the past 50 years (1957). The fee is $7.00 per certified copy. The cause of death is not normally included on a certified copy unless specifically requested and then is available only to certain family members or legal representatives. You can download an application online for Death Certificates. You can also order Order Electronically and get the certificates much quicker by ordering HERE. For Earlier Records See Tennessee State Library and Archives Below. Click Here to Search the Social Security Death Index for FREE
  • Marriage & Divorce Certificates: Marriage and divorce records are available for the past 50 years at a fee of $12.00 for the first copy and $4.00 for each additional copy of the same record requested at the same time. You can download an application online for Marriage Certificates or Divorce Certificate. You can also order Order Electronically and get the certificates much quicker by ordering HERE. For Earlier Records See Tennessee State Library and Archives Below.

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.

   Tennessee State Library and Archives have the following records:

  • Birth Records & "Delayed" Birth Certificates: Tennessee began keeping birth records statewide in 1908. TSLA has statewide birth records for the years 1908-1912. To find a birth record, we need the following information: name of child, date of birth or approximate date of birth, county of birth (if known) and names of parents (if known). The larger cities in Tennessee did keep earlier birth records: Nashville (beginning in 1881); Knoxville (beginning in 1881); Chattanooga (beginning in 1879); and Memphis (beginning in 1874). Only the early Nashville birth records are indexed. For birth records after 1912 or for "delayed" birth certificates filed for persons born after 1903, contact the Office of Vital Records above.

    TSLA also has "delayed" birth certificates for persons born 1869 - 1903. These delayed certificates were filed at the request of the individual or that person's representative for legal reasons. To locate a delayed birth certificate, we need the following information: name of child, date of birth or approximate date of birth, county of birth (if known) and names of parents (if known). E-mail TSLA and they can check thier index to the "delayed" birth records for a specified name.  Please specify that you are requesting a "delayed" birth certificate.

    There is a $20 fee to search for a birth record. If the record is found, they will mail a copy to you. If the record is not found, you will be notified by mail. The $20 fee is not refundable. Payment in advance by check,  money order or credit card is required. Send your request to Tennessee State Library and Archives, Research Department, 403 Seventh Avenue North, Nashville TN 37243-0312. 
    [GO TO FORMS PAGE]
  • Death Records: Tennessee began keeping death records statewide in 1908. TSLA has statewide death records for the years 1908-1912 and 1914-1955. To find a death record, we need the following information: name of individual, date of death (or three year range to search), county of death (if known) and name of spouse (if known). Please keep in mind that some deaths were not recorded, due to poor record-keeping by local officials. For death records from 1956 to the present, contact theOffice of Vital Records above.

    The larger cities in Tennessee did keep earlier death records: Nashville (beginning in 1874); Knoxville (beginning in 1881); Chattanooga (beginning in 1872); and Memphis (beginning in 1848). Only the early Nashville and Memphis death records are indexed. TSLA can search the unindexed records for one year only; you must provide us with the name of individual, date of death, the city, and the name of the spouse (if known).

    There is a $20 fee to search for a death record. If the record is found, they will mail a copy to you. If the record is not found, you will be notified by mail. The $20 fee is not refundable. Payment in advance by check,  money order or credit card is required. Send your request to Tennessee State Library and Archives, Research Department, 403 Seventh Avenue North, Nashville TN 37243-0312.  
    [GO TO FORMS PAGE]

There are a few online marriage databases which include: Index to Tennessee Death Records 1908-1912, Tennessee Marriage and Bible Records, Tennessee Marriages to 1825; Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002 and Tennessee Marriages, 1851-1900

Below is a list of online resources for Warren County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Warren County Vital Records by clicking the link below:

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Warren County Census Records
Search Online Click Here to Search Tennessee Voter Lists & Census Records! - 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 Warren County, Tennessee are 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930. Other Federal Schedules to look at when researching your family tree in Warren County, Tennessee are Industry and Agriculture Schedules available for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. Slave Schedules exist for 1850 & 1860. The Mortality Schedules for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880.

See Also Statewide Records that exist for Tennessee

Below is a list of online resources for Warren County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Warren County Census Records by clicking the link below:

  • Warren County, Tennessee Census Books at Amazon.com
  • ?

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Warren County Maps & Atlases

   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 Warren County Maps. Email us with websites containing Warren County Maps by clicking the link below:

  • Warren County, Tennessee Map Books at Amazon.com
  • ?

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Warren County Military Records
Search Online Click Here to Search Tennessee Military Records! - 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 Warren County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Warren County Military Records by clicking the link below:

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Warren County Tax Records

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 tax lists enumerated for Warren County for the years: 1805, 1812, 1836, 1838, 1876-1883, 1885, 1887-1900 ; are available on microfilm at the Tennessee State Library and Archives. They are generally filed with each county's records, but some early lists are in a separate collection. To order a search of the records by mail, follow this link [EMAIL]

   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 Warren County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Warren County Tax Records by clicking the link below:

  • Warren County, Tennessee Tax Books at Amazon.com
  • ?

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Warren County Genealogical Addresses

   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 Warren County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Warren County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:

  • Warren County Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 411, McMinnville 37110
  • Brady-Hughes-Beasley Photographic Archives, 102 S. Spring Street, McMinnville, TN 37110 931-473-8226
  • William H. & Edgar Magness Library, 118 W. Main Street, McMinnville, TN 37110 931-473-2428
  • Local Tennessee Researchers, Find a local researcher or become a local researcher.
  • Tennessee State Library and Archives, 403 Seventh Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37243-0312; Phone: (615) 741-2764 , Fax (615) 741-6471
  • Tennessee Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 3343, 9114 Davies Plantation Rd, Brunswick, TN 38014, (901) 381-1447; [EMAIL]
  • Tennessee Historical Society, 300 Capital Boulevard, Nashville 37243
  • Tennessee Newspapers & Periodicals Records - Newspapers and periodicals are the diaries of local communities. They are excellent sources of family history details - often recorded nowhere else. Look for obituaries, marriages, legal notices, and more found in our Historical Newspaper Archives.

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Warren County Church & Cemeteries
Search Online Click Here to Search Tennessee Obituary Records! - This database is a compilation of obituaries published in U.S. newspapers, collected from various online sources. 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 Warren County. Some transcriptions are online. A great site is the Warren 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. .

   As with cemetery records, the DAR has collected church records for Tennessee, available at the DAR Library in Washington, D.C., and through the FHL. Many compilations of church records have been compiled and/or published for the state. The Tennessee State Library and Archives has records of over one hundred churches that pre-date 1900.

There is a online Tennessee Marriage and Bible Records which contains over 25,000 records for the state of Tennessee for the years approximately 1720-1890. This includes marriages, births, deaths, and wills, etc., has been obtained from family bibles, church, court, and county records.

   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 Warren County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Warren County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:

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Family Trees & Genealogy Tidbits

Search Online Click Here to Search Tennessee Family Tree Records! - 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 Warren County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information . Email us with websites containing Warren County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:

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County History

 The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture © Tennessee Historical Society

At the time of its creation, the county contained some 900 square miles, but this area was reduced to approximately 433 square miles from 1836 to 1844 by the creation of Cannon, Coffee, DeKalb, Van Buren, and Grundy Counties. The Tennessee State Constitution of 1834 provided that, in the formation of new counties, no county boundary could be closer than twelve miles from the county seat of the former county from which the new county was to be formed. Each of the new counties established their boundaries exactly twelve miles from McMinnville, with the result that by 1844 Warren County had acquired its distinctive round shape and its nickname, "the round county."

From its earliest days, the population was dependent upon an agricultural economy, although the terrain was not conducive to large plantations or large tillable fields. While some cotton was produced, it never dominated the county's economy. The presence of many oak, chestnut, beech, and other nut trees encouraged the raising of hogs, and settlers coupled this with the breeding of horsestock and mules. Their success in these endeavors earned Warren County the reputation as a prime source of pork and mules for the great plantations further south. A thriving orchard industry, especially apples, blossomed before the Civil War, and apple brandy became one of the major cash crops during Reconstruction. The diverse agriculture was not geared to slave labor, and only 10 percent of the population was slave; fewer than 10 percent of Warren County families owned slaves.

During the county's first fifty years, the construction of the Manchester and McMinnville Railroad, organized in 1850 and operational in 1856, represented the most important economic advancement. The establishment of the Cumberland Female College in 1850, coupled with the development of the Central Cotton factory at Faulkner's Springs, also contributed to local growth.

In 1861 Warren County initially voted against secession, but a strong anti-Lincoln sentiment quickly developed and produced a pro-secession vote in a June referendum. Warren County contributed nearly 2,000 citizens to the Southern cause during the four-year conflict. A Confederate conscription center, Camp Smartt, was located south of McMinnville. As a railroad terminus to north central Tennessee, Warren County became a primary target for Northern, as well as, Southern armies. Repeated military activities left the area in shambles at the war's end.

After the Civil War, industrialists developed the area's mineral and timber resources. Beginning with the organization of the Caney Fork Iron and Coal Company in 1885 and continuing through the days of the Rocky River Coal and Lumber Company, a flourishing lumber business emerged, and numerous lumber manufactures, beginning with the T. F. Burrough Lumber Company, provided work and income to many area residents. Local investors in the booming George C. Brown Lumber Company accumulated substantial wealth during the early years of the twentieth century, earning for McMinnville a reputation as the "wealthiest little town in the South."

After World War I the textile and lumber industries remained the principal sources of employment. The people of Warren County soon felt the effects of economic hard times, however, and during the 1920s and 1930s many people migrated north after the failure of the Tennessee Woolen Mills, Read Hosiery Mill, Menzies Shoe Company, and Fly Overall Company.

Industry in Warren County grew after World War II. The formation of a chamber of commerce in 1950, coupled with the development of countywide electrical, telephone, and water distribution, provided incentives for the establishment or relocation of industrial plants. General Shoe Corporation built the first modern plant in Warren County in 1946 and was followed by Oster in 1957, Century Electric (Magnatek) in 1960, DeZurik in 1963, and Carrier Corporation in 1968. Oster's training of tool and die personnel attracted other companies as well, including Bridgestone, Calsonic, and Gardener Manufacturing.

A unified school system, branches of Motlow State Community College and Tennessee Technological University, and a well-staffed vocational school provide the people of Warren County with a wide variety of educational opportunities. Many major Christian denominations have local congregations. An eighteen-hole golf course and a modern civic center have become the focus of recreational activities. A four-lane highway through McMinnville from Manchester to Cookeville displays the scenic beauty of the area's mountains and rivers. A temperate climate and adequate rainfall make the county increasingly attractive to retirees. The 2000 population was 38,276.

Four notable Warren Countians have left their mark in American and Tennessee culture: folklorist and composer Charles F. Bryan, country music star Dottie West, journalist Carl Rowan, and writer Lucy Virginia French. The Southern School of Photography (1904-28), established by W. S. Lively in McMinnville, was one of the first such schools in the country. Local photographers Anthia Brady Hughes and Willie Hughes left an invaluable record through their thirty-five thousand photographs of people and everyday life in Warren County. .

The Goodspeed Publishing Co., History of Tennessee, 1887
WARREN COUNTY occupies a position nearly midway between the northern and southern boundaries of the State, and lies for the most part at the western base of the Cumberland table-land. Portions of the county have a high elevation, but most of it is from 900 to 1,000 feet above sea level. Ben Lomand, within about two miles of McMinnville, is the end of one of the spurs included within the county. Most of the county is based on the lithostrotion bed of the Lower Carboniferous. On the slopes of the table-land, including its spurs and out-liers, the mountain limestone outcrops in full force, and at points, especially on the northern slopes, it is covered with a rich soil. Capping the table-land and its flat-topped spurs are found the coal measures, which include two or three thin strata of coal, but which are of little value. In the lithostrotion bed are a number of layers of impure limestones, which, when burned, yield a hydraulic lime or cement. Quite a number of wells have been bored in the county for petroleum, but with poor success, very little of that article of commercial importance being met with. Excluding the mountain portion, the county may be said to be flat high-land, sufficiently cut by streams, with deep valleys, to give contrast and variety to the surface. The eastern portion is made rough by the spurs and outliers of the table-land, and it supplies many mountain valleys, coves, and picturesque gorges, precipices and waterfalls. The south-eastern part of the county lies on the Cumberland plateau, and has the elevation, soil and physical features which pertain to that region. Over thirty varieties of stone are found in the county, varying from the grayish limestone to coarse sandstone. Near Collins River, seven miles from McMinnville, running into Forest Peak, is Higginbotham Cave; which consists of numerous halls and grottoes, adorned and beautified with encrustations. Some of the chambers are magnificent in their proportions, one extending over and area of seven acres. The cave is a point of much interest to pleasure seekers.
       The lands situated on the lithostrotion bed have the characteristic chocolate color, and are naturally very fertile, being in some respects preferable to the rich, black lands of the central basin. the depth of the clay sub-soil enables the land to retain an amount of moisture which the underlying limestone in the central basin renders impossible. Three-fourths of the county are red or chocolate lands, and the remainder are mountainous, but some of the best soils in the county are to be found in coves on the mountain sides. By cove lands are meant those lands which run up on the sides of the mountains. They are generally very productive. The north sides of the mountains are of unusual fertility. Corn, wheat, rye, oats, the grasses, and all fruits grow well in the county, particularly the latter, of which the apple grows in extreme abundance.
       The timber of the county includes yellow poplar, ash, linn, chestnut, buckeye, sugar, hickory, oak, black walnut, locust, dogwood and the many other unimportant species.
       Collins River is the main stream of the county. this stream rises in Grundy County, passes near McMinnville, just below the town receives the waters of Barren Fork, and empties into Caney Fork. Hickory Creek is a branch of Barren Fork, and Charles Creek empties into Collins River, they, with the two named and Mountain Creek composing the principal streams of the county.
       When the pioneers came to what is now the territory of Warren County, they found the valleys and coves covered with an almost impenetrable growth of tall cane and the mountains and hills with heavy timber. Game was plentiful and many are the stories of exciting bear and deer hunts handed down and now told with keen relish by the sons of the hardy pioneers. The Indians had all been removed prior to that time, yet ample evidence of their presence here at one day remains; the ruins of an Indian village on Woodley Creek in the Seventh District, near John Woodleys old mill site, and an Indian mound of large dimensions on Collins River, in the Sixth District, and numerous other mounds and old burying grounds remaining at present. Among those who secured grants from North Carolina calling for lands in Warren County were Wm. Banton, P. W. Anderson, Richard Butcher, Jeremiah Bolin, Joseph Colville, John Doak, Jesse Dodson, Sarah Elam, Joseph Franks, Robert Gordon, James Hubbard, Edward Hogan, Edward Hopkins, John Jones, Enoch Tobe, David Johnston, Wm. Johnston, Thomas Lowery, Isaiah Lowe, Luthrell Lott, John Looney, Samuel McGee, Wm. Richardson, John McGee, Daniel Cherry, Wm. C. Smartt, James Kane, John Woodley, Henry J. A. Hill and Aaron Higginbotham. So far as known, the first man to settle in the county was Elisha Pepper, who came to what is now the neighborhood of McMinnville from Virginia in about 1800, and lived to be one hundred years of age, during which time he never saw a train of cars. When the question of voting money to aid in the building the McMinnville Branch Railroad, Mr. Pepper vigorously and bitterly opposed the scheme, and upon the success of the proposition, declared he would have none of the railroad in his, and although living for years in sound of the passing trains, persisted in his opposition and declaration, and never could be induced to look at the cars. Other settlers of the same neighborhood area Andrew Gambill, Lyon Mitchell, Joseph Colville, Drs. John Wilson and Wm. P. Lawrence, Edward Hogue, Wm. North, John Davis and Wm. Lisk, all of whom came between 1800 and 1810. The different settlements over the county made at the above time were as follows: John Smith, James Elkins, Thomas Russ, John Russ, Wm. Collier, James Collier, Wm. Lusk, in the Second District: Rock Martin, Jeremiah Jaco, Thomas Gribble and Joseph Campaign, in the Third District; Wm. Neals and the Hillises, in the Fourth District; Jacob Martin, Jacob A. Kome, W. J. Stubblefield, Wm. Smith, George Edwards, Jesse Safley, David Safley, Ezekial McGregor, Wylie Ware and John Meyers, in the Fifth District; Henry J. A. Hill, John Rogers, Isham Dikes, John Gross, John Bass, James Kane and Charles Sullivan, in the Sixth District: Joseph Cope, Robert Tate, Levi Rogers, John Woodley and Joshua Cartwright, in the Seventh District; Elisha Reynolds, Dr. Archibald Faulkner, Asa Faulkner, Leroy Hammond, Jesse R. Edwards, Stephen Tipton and Ransom Gynn, in the Eighth District; W. C. N. King, Miles Bonner, Wm. Smartt, John A. and James Northcup, George Matthewson and H. J. King, in the Ninth District; Maj. Rains, Silas Alexander, Dr. Turner, Thomas Wilson, Isaac Wilson, Thomas Hopkins, Mason French, John, James and Brown Spurlock and Jesse Crisp, in the Tenth District; Michael Deberry, George Spangler, Allen Youngblood, James Lance, Russell brewer, Richard Ware, Britain Snipes, Isaac Starkley, Reuben Davenport, Archibald Prater, Robert Biles and James Whitlock, in the Eleventh District; John Kirby, Wmn. Kirby, the Hoppes, the Edges, the Stockstills and the Womacks, in the Thirteenth District, Jesse Gibbs, Thomas Borin, Samuel Honn, Clement Sullivan, Absalom Clark, Chesley Webb, Pleasant Blackman, James Durham and Samuel Hooster, in the Fourteenth District; Wm. Womack, James Webb, Sr., Solomon Mullican, Anderson Mulligan, James Green, Biras Webb, Abner Womack and Harrel Byers, in the Fifteenth District. among the settlers of various parts of the county from 1810 to 1815 were James Cope, James Forest, John England, Alexander Brown, Stephen Jones, Wm. Miller, Joseph Mitchell, Elihu Sanders, John Campbell, Joshua Adkins, John Dodson, Jesse Dunlap, Reuben Elan, Micajah Estes, Ralph Elkins, John Flemming, Hughes French, Elijah Fletcher, John Fortner, Jesse Gibbs, Lewis Howell, Joshua Hickerson, Howell Harris, Gillam Hurst, Nicholas Hughes, Irwin Hill, Lewis Jarvis, Reuben Hampton, Thomas Allen, andrew Buchanan, John Barclay, Jeremiah Combs, James Kane, Oliver Charles, Wm. Cummings, Elijah Drake, Martin Johnson, John Lucas, Jonathan McMahan, Wm. Jacobs, George. Lane and Joel Mayberry.
       Among the early mills of the county were the water-power gristmills of Archibald Porter, on the head waters of Barren Fork of Collins River, near the Cannon County Line; Perry and James Whitrock, on Barren Fork, all in the Eleventh District; W. A. Hancock, on the southwest prong of Barren Fork, in the Tenth District; James Martin, on Barnes Creek, in the Fifteenth District; John Woodley, on Woodley Creek, and Josua Cartright, on Henry Creek, in the Seventh District; Henry Hill, on Hill Creek, in the Sixth District; James Shell, on Collins River, John Drake, at Buck Springs, and John Schrader, on Hickory Creek, in the Fifth District; Harry Macon, on Hickory Creek, George Savage, on Barren Fork, and ______ Tillford, on Little Hickory Creek, in the Ninth District; ______ Wilson, on Barren Fork near McMinnville, in the First District; Dr. Archibald Faulkner had a grist-mill, and the first woolen-mill and cotton-gin on Hickory Creek, in the Eighth District; Henry Bridleman built and operated a cotton factory, on Charley Creek, in about 1812. In 1846 Asa Faulkner erected a large cotton-mill on Charley Creek, two miles north from McMinnville, which was operated successfully until the late war, after which time it was converted into a cotton-gin, and run as such for a number of years. In 1861 Mr. Faulkner and S. B. Spurlock erected a second cotton factory on Barren Fork of Collins River, within 100 yards of the railroad, which went into operation the following year with 2,000 spindles, and had a daily capacity of 2,500 yards of cotton domestics. The mill was destroyed by the federal Army in 1863, and rebuilt on the same foundation in 1866, and has 2,016 spindles, 60 looms, employs 54 hands and has a daily capacity of 2,400 yards. Since Mr. Faulkner’s death, in the latter part of 1886, the mills have been idle, the property being in litigation. The mills of the present, outside of McMinnville, are as follows: First District, Mood & Debard’s planing-mill, saw, flour and grist, on Collins River, at Shell ford; Marshall & Mason’s, J. C. Ramsey’s and C. M. Fingers’ saw and corn mills, on Charley Creek; W. T. Chasteen’s saw and corn-mill on Collins River; J. Grizzle’s and Wisley Wilson’s saw and grist-mills on Barren Fork, Third District; T. H. and Clay Faulkner’s saw-mill on Caney Fork, Fourth District; Jacob Stype’s flour and corn-mill on Rocky River, Fifth District; George Mead’s corn and saw-mill on Collins River, sixth District; H. L. W. Hill’s grist-mill on Hill Creek, T. J. Mansfield’s grist-mill on Woodley Creek, and Fitts & Faulkner’s saw-mill on Dry Branch of Hill Creek, Seventh District; John Woodley’s corn and saw-mill on Woodley Creek, Eighth District; Garrison McCullough’s saw, flour and corn-mill at Viola, and thomas Pea’s grist-mill on Dry Branch of Hill creek, Ninth District; W. T. Swan’s corn-mill on Hickory Creek, and Widow Davis’ corn-mill on Barren Fork, Tenth District; Dave Darnell’s saw-mill on Barren Fork, Eleventh District; B. F. Youngblood’s woolen and corn-mill on Barren Fork, and J. B. Justice’s corn-mill on Mountain Creek, Thirteenth District; C. Finger’s and Adam Title’s corn-mills on Charley Creek, Fourteenth District; Cleve Williams’, William Houston’s and Dr. Parker’s saw and grist-mills on Charley Creek, Fifteenth District; S. W. D. Green’s corn-mill and A. J. Goodson’s corn-mill on Caney Fork.
       On November 22, 1807, the General Assembly passed an act entitled “An act to divide the County of White into two separate and distinct counties,” thereby establishing Warren County, and in February, 1808, the new county was organized with following boundaries: “Beginning on Cumberland Mountains where the line of White County strikes the same; thence northwesterly with the said mountain to the Indian boundary line; thence along said line to the most eastwardly branch of Duck River; thence north to the east boundary of Rutherford County; thence with lines of Rutherford, Wilson, Smith and White Counties to the beginning.” The territory of Warren was subsequently materially reduced by the formation of Franklin and Grundy Counties on the south in 1809 and 1844 respectively; Coffee and Cannon Counties in 1836, and De Kalb in 1837, leaving and area of only 440 square miles, and with boundaries as follows: “North by the Counties of De Kalb and White, east by Van Buren County, south by the Counties of Grundy and Coffee, and west by the Counties of Coffee and Cannon. During the first two years of the county’s existence the courts were held at the house of Joseph Westmoreland, and in a log courthouse erected near there, on the east side of Barren Fork of Collins River, only a short distance from the present county site. In March, 1809, the county court appointed James Taylor, Thomas Matthews, Benjamin Lockhart, John Armstrong and James English as commissioners to locate a site for the permanent seat of justice, purchase the same, lay it off into town lots, and after selling them at public auction, let contracts for the erection of a courthouse and jail. The commissioners selected a site on the lands of Robert Cowan, Joseph Colville and John A. Wilson on the north side of Barren Fork of Collins River, which land is described as follows: “Beginning at a stake near Dr. Wilson’s improvement and running thence west 99 1/2 poles to a stake; thence south 66 poles to a stake; thence east 99 1/2 poles; thence north 66 poles to the beginning, containing 41 acres.” The land was deeded to the commissioners August 4, 1810, for the consideration of $100, and later in that month McMinnville was laid off and the lots sold. Contracts were at once let for the erection of a brick courthouse and jail, both of which were completed the following year. The courthouse was a two-story building and stood in the center of the public square. It was torn down and the present building erected in 1858 at a cost of about $12,000. The building is a large, roomy structure, two stories in height, and stands to the left of the public square, the Iatter having been neatly fenced and converted into a park. A log jail was built near the log courthouse in 1808, and a brick one was built at McMinnville in 1810 upon the removal of the county site. A third jail was erected in 1839, and the present substantial stone and brick was erected in 1876, costing about $4,000.
       Warren County is divided into fifteen civil districts and has a total area of 281,600 acres of land. In 1870 there were 247,070 acres assessed for taxation, which were valued at $1,800,862, and the total value of taxable property was $2,535,768; in 1886 the number of acres assessed was 231,888, valued at $1,135,563, and the total value of taxable property was $,1617,171. The tax aggregate for 1886 shows taxes assessed in the county as follows: State, $1,976; county, $3,234.34; school, $4,042.92; poll, $494. In 1870 the cereal and fruit products of the county amounted to 73,391 bushels of wheat, 339,250 bushels of corn, 56,348 bushels of oats, 1,072 bushels of rye and $27,639 worth of fruit, while 12,328 gallons of brandy was distilled from the latter. The live stock for the same year amounted to 3,884 horses and mules, 3,687 cattle, 12,495 sheep and 18,814 hogs. In 1886 the products amounted to 66,200 bushels of wheat, 680,850 bushels of corn, 52,500 bushels of oats, 2,173 bushels of rye and $60,000 worth of fruit, from which there were distilled 50,000 gallons of brandy, and the live stock amounted to 4,500 horses and mules, 6,816 cattle, 8,100 sheep and 22,000 hogs.
       The county had a population of 5,725 in 1810, of 10,348 in 1820, of 16,210 in 1830, of 10,803 in 1840, of 10,179 in 1860, of 11,147 in 1860, of 12,714 in 1870, of 14,092 in 1880 and of 16,060 in 1886. There were 2,431 votes cast in the county at the August election, 1886, of which 1,885 were for the Democratic nominees and 546 for the Republican.
       While the county is watered by numerous streams, several of which become at times too high for fording, there is not a single bridge of any consequence in the county and not one built by the county. The county roads are improved to a certain extent, but not sufficient to prevent their becoming almost impassable during a few of the winter months. There is but one railroad in the county the McMinnville branch of the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway which enters the county near the Warren, Grundy and Coffee lines, passes in a northeast direction almost through the center of the county and out near where the Warren, White and Van Buren County lines come together, the length of the road in the county being thirty-four miles. The road was completed from Tullahoma to McMinnville in 1868 and to Sparta, in White County, in 1886.
       The county court of Warren County was organized in March, 1808, at the house of Joseph Westmoreland, half a mile south of Barren Fork, where a log courthouse was afterward erected. Upon the location of the county seat at McMinnville, the court was removed thereto. though early records of this court were destroyed during the late war, and but little or nothing can be learned of the proceedings or of the officers of the same. The same is true of the other courts. The following is an incomplete list of the officers of this court:
       Chairmen - Since 1860 the chairmen of the county court have been in the order given, Philip Hoodenpyle, Thomas Mabry, John Smith, Philip Hoodenpyle, Thomas S. Meyers, S. D. Walling, John Smith, John S. Meyers, W. B. Smartt, S. C. Norwood, John Smith, John W. Ford, J. L. Miller, J. W. Gales, I. B. Neal, S. J. Walling, John R. Parker and J. C. Meyers, the present incumbent.
       Clerks - Joseph Colville, from 1808 to 1836; then in the order given: Wm. Edmondson, Wm. Armstrong, Wm. Lusk, Richard McGregor, J. F. Morford, A. R. Hammer, Samuel Henderson, J. H. Roberson, S. Henderson, J. H. Roberson, A. H. Gross and W. L. Swann, the present incumbent.
       The circuit court was organized with the county, but as to the early officers nothing can be learned, save that Pleasant Henderson was probably the first clerk. Since 1865 the clerks have been S. C. Norwood, John J. Lowery and A. J. Curl, the present incumbent.
       Sheriffs - Wm. Smartt, from 1808 to 1816, Isham Perkins succeeding him. Since 1848 the sheriffs have been J. E. Higgenbotham, Chas. M. Forrest, R. P. Burks, Wm. Grove, G. W. Hennegan. Wm. Grove, R P. Burks, W. L. Lust, R. P. Burks, John M. Drake, W. L. Steakley, H. P. Maxwell and Ulysses Vanhooser, the present incumbent.
       The chancery court was organized in 1836 with Wm. Anderson presiding as chancellor, who appointed J. F. Morford clerk and master.
       Since the organization the chancellors have been Wm. Anderson, B. L. Ridley, John P. Steele, B. M. Tillman, A. S. Marks, John W. Burton, E. D. Hancock and Walter S. Beardon, present incumbent.
       Clerks and masters - J. F. Morford, R. H. Mason, P. H. Coffee and J. C. Biles, the present incumbent.
       Among the early lawyers of Warren County were Thomas K. Harris, Commodore Rogers, Stokley D. Rowan, B. L. Ridley, Andrew J. Marchbanks, Napoleon Baird and William Armstrong. Other lawyers of a later date and up to the beginning of the civil war, were Archibald Hicks, John B. Forrester, George Stubblefield, Joseph Carter, Washington Britain, Horace H. Harrison, Wright S. Hackett, John L. Spurlock and Thomas V. Murray. For several years after the close of the war the practicing attorneys were T. V. Murray, J. F. Thompson, John H. Savage, F. M. Smith, C. J. Spurlock, W. J. Clift and M. D. Smallman. The lawyers of the present are John H. Savage, F. M. Smith, E. W. Munford, M. B. Smallman, James S. Burton, C. C. Smith, Thomas Lynd, W. V. Whitson, W. E. B. Jones, Samuel T. O. Neal, W. W. Fairbanks, W. T. Murray and Frank Spurlock.
       Several of the above were men of profound learning and of more than ordinary ability, while all of them enjoy reputations of successful lawyers and practitioners. B. L. Ridley was judge of the chancery division from 1840 until 1861; Andrew J. Marchbanks was circuit judge from 1836 until 1861; John H. Savage represented the district in Congress from 1849 to 1857 and was chairman of the Tennessee Railroad Commission from April, 1883, to December, 1884, and is, at present, member of the House of Representatives of Tennessee; M. B. Smallman is at present, circuit judge; W. V. Whitson is the present attorney-general, and W. W. Fairbanks is a member of the present Tennessee Senate. Col. H. L. W. Hill, now a resident of the Sixth Civil District, represented the district in Congress in 1847-48.
       When a call for volunteers to defend Texas in her struggle for independence was made, a company was quickly raised in Warren County, at the head of which, as captain, was Gen. John B. Rogers. Later, when a call was made for volunteers to enlist in the Florida war another company was organized, but from some cause was not received. Again, in 1846, Warren County responded to the call for volunteers, and organized and sent a company to the war between the United States and Mexico. The company was commanded by Capt. Northcup, and belonged to the First Regiment of Tennessee Volunteer Infantry.
       When the war between the North and South broke out Warren County, with her usual promptness, arrayed herself on the side of and espoused the cause of the South, and in answer to Gov. Harris’ call for volunteers raised four companies. The men rendezvoused at Estill Springs, Coffee County, and from there, on May 24, 1861, went to Camp Trousdale, where they were organized into the Sixteenth Regiment of Tennessee Volunteer Infantry, of which John H. Savage, of McMinnville, was unanimously elected colonel, and Thomas B. Murray lieutenant Colonel. The Warren County companies were as follows: Company 1, Thomas B. Murray, captain; A. P. Smartt, first lieutenant; James Hill, second lieutenant; Thomas York, third lieutenant. Company 2, D. M. Donnell, captain; W. S. Hackett, first lieutenant; E. C. Read, second lieutenant; J. M. Castleman, third lieutenant. Company 3, P H. Coffee, captain; George Marchbanks, first lieutenant; W. W. Mooney, second lieutenant; J. A. Rains, third lieutenant. Company 4, L. H. Meadows, captain; H. L. Simms, first lieutenant; W. G. Etter, second lieutenant, B. J. Solomon, third lieutenant. At the reorganization of the regiment at Corinth, Miss., in 1862, Col. Savage was re-elected, and of the Warren County companies the following officers were chosen: Company C, D. C. Spurlock, captain; E. C. Read, first lieutenant; Cicero Spurlock, second lieutenant; J. L. Thompson, third lieutenant. Company D, J. G. Lamberth, captain; Wm. White, first lieutenant; F. M. York, second lieutenant; H. L. Brown, third lieutenant. Company E, J. J. Womack, captain; J. K. P. Webb, first lieutenant; B. B. Green, second lieutenant; Jesse Walling, third lieutenant. Company H, James M. Parks, captain; W. G. Etter, first lieutenant; H. L. Hayes, second lieutenant; John Akeman, third lieutenant.
       The Fifth Regiment of Tennessee Volunteer Infantry, subsequently known as the Thirty-fifth Regiment, was organized at Camp Smartt, near McMinnville,
       September 6, 1861, and of which Benjamin J. Hill, of McMinnville, was elected colonel. Five companies of this regiment were raised in Warren County, as follows: Company B, Capt. John W. Towles; Company C, Capt. Charles W. Forrest; Company D, Capt. W. T. Christian; Company F, Capt. Ed. J. Wood; Company H, Capt. John Macon. From Camp Smartt the regiment went to Camp Trousdale, and from that place went to Bowling Green, Ky., and was placed in Gen. P. R. Cleburne’s brigade of Albert Sidne