History of Macon County Tennessee United States of America

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Macon County was erected on January 18, 1842, from parts of Smith and Sumner counties and was named for Nathaniel Macon, of whom Thomas H. Benton said: 'He spoke more good sense while getting in his chair and getting out of it than many delivered in long and elaborate speeches.'

The first County Court appointed Britton Holland, William Dunn, Samuel Sullivan, Eason Howell, and Jefferson Short as commissioners to hold an election to select a county seat. The place selected was on land of John B. Johnson on the dividing ridge between the Cumberland and Big Barren rivers and was named Lafayette in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette.

The first County Court met at the house of William Dunn and Patrick Ferguson was chairman of it. The first county officers were: King Kerley, sheriff; Wm. Weaver, register; Daniel O. Pursley, trustee; Wm. Blackmore, county surveyor; David Claiborne, coroner.

The first constables were: Thomas A. Meador, George White, Edward Barbee, Ensley Wilmore, B. Y. Turner, Bennett Wright, and James G. Stone.

The first justices of the peace were: Anderson Bratton, Wm. Roberson, Charles Simmons, Haylum Pursley, Taylor O. Gillum, Jefferson B. Short, Ichabod Young, Jacob J. Johnson, Lewis Meador, Wm. Roark, Jas. J. York, James Patterson, and James Henderson.

The first courthouse was built in 1844. The first Circuit Court was held in May, 1842, at the house of Wm. Dunn, and was presided over by Judge Abraham Caruthers.

Statistics of Macon County: Population, 1920, 14,922. Assessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $4,308,877. Area, 450 square miles. Number of farms, 2,743. Railway mileage, none. Drained by tributaries of Cumberland and Big Barren rivers. Its surface is generally uneven and well timbered. Staple products are corn, wheat, tobacco, grass and live stock. Good gardening and truck growing section. Lafayette, the county seat, has a population of 547, good schools and churches, flourishing business establishments, a weekly newspaper, and one bank. Red Boiling Springs, a noted health resort, is in this county. Scholastic population, 5,128; high schools, two; elementary schools, fifty-nine.

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

History of Macon County Tennessee

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