History of Jackson County Tennessee United States of America

Our database does not include an historic photo for Jackson County Tennessee, do you have one you would like to contribute? Contact Us!

Local History Notes:

Jackson County was erected in 1801 from a part of Smith County and was named in honor of Andrew Jackson, who, at that time, was a judge of the Superior Court of Law and Equity, having, since 1796, resigned both as a member of the House of Representatives and as a member of the Senate of the United States.

Early settlers came in soon after the establishment of Nashville, and, as the Indians were a menace, a fort, named Fort Blount, after Governor Wm. Blount, was erected in this county, on the Cumberland River, as a protection for the settlers and travelers.

Gainesboro, the county seat of Jackson County, named for Gen. Edmund Pendleton Gaines, was established in 1817, and incorporated in 1820.

Statistics of Jackson County: Population, 1920, 14,955. Assessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $5,981,662. Area, 280 square miles. Number of farms, 2,403. Railway mileage, none. Drained by Cumberland River and tributaries. Surface hilly and well covered with timber. Soil along the river and in the valleys very fertile. Staple products are corn, wheat, tobacco, grass and live stock. Splendid county for fruit growing. Gainesboro, the county seat, has a population of 351, and is near the Cumberland River. It has good schools and churches, one bank, a weekly newspaper, and flourishing stores. Granville is another flourishing town in the county. Scholastic population of county, 6,022; high schools, four; elementary schools, sixty.

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

Biographies:

Alvan Cullem Gillem, soldier, was born in Jackson county, Tenn., July 29, 1830. He was graduated at the U.S. military academy in 1851, and saw active service as brevet 2d lieutenant and 2d lieutenant of artillery in the Seminole war, 1851-52. He was promoted 1st lieutenant in 1855; captain in 1861; was assistant quartermaster at Fort Taylor, Fla., 1861, and brigade and chief quartermaster in the army of the Tennessee, 1861-62, being engaged at Shiloh and Corinth. He was made colonel of the 10th Tennessee volunteers in May, 1862, and served as provost-marshal of Nashville, Tenn. He was promoted brigadier-general in August., 1863, and with his brigade prosecuted a series of expeditions against General Bragg, which lasted till the end of the year For bravery on the field of battle he received brevets including that of major-general in the regular army. When the state government of Tennessee was reorganized in 1865 he was vice-president of the convention and was elected a member of the first legislature convened under the new constitution. He commanded the Tennessee cavalry in an expedition into North Carolina in 1865 and aided in the capture of Salisbury, which action gave him his highest brevet. He was promoted colonel in the regular army July 28, 1866, was mustered out of the volunteer service in September. 1866, commanded the district of Mississippi, 1867-68, served on the Texas frontier with the 11th infantry, and in California in 1870-72 with the 1st cavalry. In 1873 the engaged in the campaign against the Modoc Indians and led at the attack at the Lava Beds, April 15, 1873. He died near Nashville, Tenn., Dec. 2, 1875.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

History of Jackson County Tennessee

Local History Notes:

Biographies:

Local History and Genealogy Links: