History of Putnam County Tennessee United States of America

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Putnam County was erected on February 1, 1842, from parts of White, Overton, Jackson, Smith and DeKalb counties and was named in honor of Gen. Israel Putnam, of the Revolutionary war.

In accordance with the provisions of the act creating this county, the County and Circuit courts were established and their officers were elected and functioned until 1844 when an injunction restraining the officers from performing the duties of their offices was applied for and was granted. February 11, 1854, however, Putnam County was reestablished largely through the efforts of Major Cooke, after whom Cookeville, the county seat, was named. He was one of the most prominent citizens of the county and, at the time, was an influential member of the State Senate. The way for the reestablishment of the county was facilitated by the decision of the State Supreme Court that after the organization of the county was complete and the original commissioners had performed their duty, it was not within the jurisdiction of the courts of justice to enjoin the civil officers from proceeding in their official duties.

The commissioners named in the reorganization act located the county seat and laid off the town which was named Cookeville. Monticello was a competitor for this honor. This commission was composed of Joshua R. Stone and Dr. Green H. Baker, of White County; Austin Morgan and Maj. John Brown, of Jackson County; Wm. Davis and Isaiah Warthon, of Overton County; Wm. B. Stokes and Bird S. Rhea, of DeKalb County; and Benj. A. Vaden and Nathan Ward, of Smith County.

Putnam County furnished many gallant officers in the War between the States. Among them were: Sidney S. Stanton, John B. Vance, Harvey H. Dillard, Holland Denton, Walton Smith, S. H. McDearmon, John H. Quarles, W. B. Carten, S. J. Johnson, Rison Robinson, C. J. Davis, S. G. Slaughter, Wm. Ensor, Abraham Hord. Gen. Alvin C. Gillem, one of the three general officers furnished the Union Army from Tennessee, was a Putnam countian.

Monterey (called in the early days Standing Stone) and Bloomington Springs are noted summer resorts. There are important deposits of coal, phosphate, lithograph stone, sandstone, and petroleum.

Statistics of Putnam County: Population, 1920, 22,231. Assessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $9,784,713. Area, 430 square miles. Number of farms, 2,983. Railway mileage, forty-nine. Drained by tributaries of the Caney Fork and the Cumberland. Its surface is undulating and partly covered with fine timber. County well adapted to stock raising and fruit growing. Staple products are corn, grass and live stock. Fine coal deposits are found in the mountain section of the county. The Tennessee Central Railway traverses the county. Cookeville, the county seat, has a population of 2,395, and has fine churches and schools. It is the seat of the Tennessee Polytechnic Institute. It has fine electric light plant, water system, weekly newspaper, two banks, several manufacturing establishments, prosperous stores, and is the jobbing center for a considerable territory. Monterey, on top of a mountain, has a population of 1,445, and is the center of the spoke and handle and stave industry for that section. It has good schools and churches and prosperous business establishments. Algood and Baxter are other towns in the county. Scholastic population of county, 7,739; high schools, five; elementary schools, seventy.

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

History of Putnam County Tennessee

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