History of Decatur County Tennessee United States of America

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Decatur County was created in November, 1845, from a part of Perry County, by Section 11, of Chapter VII of the Acts of that year. The wording is as follows: "That a new county be and is hereby established to be composed of all that part of Perry County lying on the West side of Tennessee River, to be known and distinguished by the name of Decatur County, in honor of and to perpetuate the memory of Commodore Stephen Decatur, of the United States Navy, of whose services our nation should be proud, and whose memory should be revered."

The board of commissioners mentioned in this act to organize the county were: John C. Yarbrough, Wm. J. Menzies, John S. Walker, Samuel Brashear, and David B. Funderburg.

The provision was also made that the act should go into effect, 'from and after the first Thursday in March, 1846.'

Decaturville was chosen by popular election as the county seat.

Statistics of Decatur County: Population, 1920, 10,198. Assessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $3,182,916. Area, 310 square miles. Number of farms, 1,813. Railway mileage, 11. Bounded on the east and south by the Tennessee River. Surface comparatively level and covered with a fine growth of timber. Iron ore, marble, granite, and phosphate are found in the county. Corn, cotton and hogs are staple products. Decaturville, the county seat, has a population of 315, and is five miles from the Tennessee River and the same distance from the N. C. & St. L. Ry. It has good churches and schools, a weekly newspaper, a bank, and prosperous business establishments. Parsons, on the railroad, has a population of 429, good schools, churches, two banks and prosperous business establishments. Scholastic population of county, 3,580; high schools. 4; elementary schools, 55.

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

History of Decatur County Tennessee

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