History of Hardin County Tennessee United States of America

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Hardin County lies partly in Middle Tennessee and mostly in West Tennessee. It was formed on November 13, 1819, from the Western District and extended to the Mississippi River. It was named in honor of Col. Joseph Hardin. Colonel Hardin came from Roane County in 1815 with a grant for 2,000 acres of land for services as a colonel in the Revolutionary war. On the east bank of the Tennessee River, at Horse Creek near Savannah, he located his land, settled there in 1818 or 1819, and established the nucleus for the county soon afterwards named for him.

His sons and daughters soon settled there as did the Brazletons, Goodens, Thackers, Courtneys, Garners, Dicksons, Dorans, Duckworths, Cherrys, Kincannons, Sloans, Williamses, Boyds, Wisdoms, Rosses, Shannons and others.

The first Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions was organized in January, 1820, by the following named magistrates: Isham Cherry, David Kincannon, James Barnes, Samuel Harbour, and Joseph McMahan. The first county officers were: Henry Mahar, ranger; Joseph McMahan, trustee; James Barnes, register; Stephen Roach, coroner.

The commissioners appointed for the purpose located the county seat in the approximate center of the county and called it Hardinsville, later known as Oldtown, where the county government functioned until 1830, when it was moved to Savannah, then called Rudd's Ferry, and a log courthouse was built. This courthouse was soon replaced by a brick structure.

The most outstanding event in the history of this county was the battle of Shiloh, or Pittsburg Landing, which was fought on the west bank of the Tennessee River on April 6 and 7, 1862. The National Cemetery is maintained at Pittsburg Landing and the Shiloh National Park, consisting of several thousand graves, in charge of DeLong Rice, is one of the most attractive and well kept parks in the nation.

Statistics of Hardin County: Population, 1920, 17,291. Assessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $5,665,008. Area, 587 square miles. Number of farms, 2,907. Railway mileage, none. Borders on Alabama and Mississippi and intersected by Tennessee River, which is navigable the year round. Western portion generally level, while eastern portion is hilly, with fertile valleys. Eastern part well timbered. Staple products are cotton, corn and live stock. Savannah, the county seat, is on the Tennessee River, and has a population of 758, excellent schools and churches, a weekly newspaper, two banks, and prosperous mercantile establishments. Scholastic population of county, 5,915; high schools, 6; elementary schools, 77.

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

History of Hardin County Tennessee

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