History of Crockett County Tennessee United States of America

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Crockett County was erected on December 20, 1845, from parts of Haywood, Madison, Gibson, and Dyer counties. The caption of the act is "An act to establish the county of Crockett, in honor of and to perpetuate the memory of David Crockett, one of Tennessee's distinguished sons." In this act commissioners were appointed to hold an election to ascertain if the voters in the fractions appropriated to the new county acquiesced in this action. In 1846 Judge Read, of Madison County, decided that Crockett was not a constitutional county.

On July 7, 1870, the Legislature passed another act with the same caption as that of 1845 and, this time, Crockett County was constitutionally erected. In the latter act the commissioners appointed were: A. B. Howlett, James Emerson, David Whitacre, A. T. Fielder, G. W. Bettes, John Lyon, J. C. Thorp, and T. F. Conly. Considerable opposition from the old counties had to be overcome. E. B. Mason, of Madison County, filed injunction suits in the Chancery courts of the four counties affected but the organization of the new county was finally effected.

On March 9, 1872, an election was held for county and district officers and the County Court, with Isaac M. Johnson, chairman, was organized in the same month.

The Circuit Court was held on April 8, 1872, in Alamo, the county seat, named for the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, where Crockett lost his life.

The earliest pioneers, about 1823, were: John B. Boykin, Robert Johnson, Giles Hawkins, Cornelius Bunch, John Bowers, E. Williams, and John Yancey.

Statistics of Crockett County: Population, 1921, 17,438. Assessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $9,235,694. Area, 275 square miles. Number of farms, 3,072. Railway mileage, 36. Drained by Forked Deer River and well timbered in parts. Soil in eastern portion sandy loam and clay and adapted to profitable growing of fruits and vegetables. Western portion level and fertile and well adapted to the production of cotton, corn, wheat, and other staple crops. Alamo, the county seat, has a population of 720, has good schools and churches, two banks, flourishing stores, and manufacturing establishments. Bells, on the railroad, has a population of 920, good schools and churches, a weekly newspaper, two banks, manufacturing establishments and stores. Gadsden, Crockett Mills, and Maury City are other towns. Scholastic population, 6,037; high schools, 2; elementary schools, 47.

From: Moore, John Trotwood. Tennessee, The Volunteer State, 1769-1923. Vol. 1. Chicago, IL, USA: S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1923.

History of Crockett County Tennessee

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