History of White County Tennessee United States of America

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Local History Notes:

White County was erected on September 11, 1806, from a part of Smith County, and was named for John White, one of the first settlers in this county. The first settlements were made in the valley of the Calf Killer River, so named for an Indian chief. Among the early settlers were John White, Elijah Cameron, Wm. Phillips, John Knowles, Archibald Overton, Aaron England, Wm. Scarborough, Isaac Taylor, Alexander Lowery, Geo. W. Gibbs, John Hancock, T. B. Rice, Joseph Terry, Anthony Dibrell, Jacob A. Lane, Thos. Simpson, Wm. Anderson, Matthias Anderson, Benj. Lampton, Lewis Fletcher, Thos. Bounds, Jesse Lincoln, Wm. Glenn, Wm. Burton, Joseph Collins, Montgomery Carrick.

The first court was held at the house of Joseph Terry, on the present site of Rock Island, in Warren County, on October 15, 1806.

In 1809, the Legislature passed an act for the establishment of Sparta, the county seat, and the following commissioners were elected to lay it off: Thos. Bounds, Benj. Weaver, Aaron England, Turner Lane, James Fulkerson, Alexander Lowery, and Nicholas Gillentine.

The first courthouse was built of logs, in 1810, and stood until 1815, when a brick building was erected, which was used until 1894, when a new building was constructed.

For several years the Superior Court met in White County, at first at Rock Island, and later at Sparta.

Among the early lawyers were Alexander Lane, David Ames, Nathaniel Hoggard, Richard Nelson, John H. Anderson, Hopkins L. Turney, Sam Turney, John Catron, and Geo. W. Gibbs.

The first representative in Congress from White County was Thos. K. Harris. He was killed in a duel with Col. John W. Simpson at Shell's Ford on Caney Fork River. Prior to this unfortunate occurrence Colonel Simpson had distinguished himself at the battle of New Orleans as had Captain Gibbs, also of White County.

White County also furnished troops for the Creek war, the war with Mexico and the War between the States.

About 1815, a turnpike road, built from Nashville to Knoxville, passed through Sparta.

The mineral wealth of White County, especially coal, is remarkable. In 1882, the Bon Air Coal, Land & Lumber Company was organized by Gen. Geo. G. Dibrell and his associates, ex-Governor John C. Brown, Col. John F. House, Gen. J. D. Adkins, Gen. W. C. Whitthorne, Hon. Benton McMillin, then a member of Congress, Dr. W. M. Morrow, D. W. Dinges, Samuel G. Jones, and W. C. Dibrell.

Statistics of White County: Population, 1920, 15,701. Assessed valuation of taxable property, 1921, $7,845,005. Area, 390 square miles. Number of farms, 2,024. Railway mileage, thirty-six. Drained by the Caney Fork River. The surface is uneven and extensively covered with timber. Soil is fertile. The staple products are corn, wheat, oats and live stock. Good fruit growing section. The Bon Air Coal Mines are located in this county. A branch of the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway extends into the county. Sparta, the county seat, with a population of 1,517, is on the railroad and is a town of good schools and churches, a weekly newspaper, two banks, and manufacturing and commercial establishments, electric light and power plant. Scholastic population of county, 5,869; high schools, three; elementary schools, fifty-six.

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

Biographies:

Foster Vincent Brown, representative, was born in White county, Tenn., Dec. 24, 1854; was graduated at Burritt college, Van Buren county, Tenn., in 1871, and in law at the Cumberland university in 1873. He located in the practice of his profession at Jasper, Tenn., was elected attorney-general of the fourth judicial district in 1866, and held the office for eight years. In 1890 he removed to Chattanooga, where he became a partner with Charles D. Clark, U.S. district judge. He was a delegate to the Republican national convention of 1884, and voted for James G. Blaine for President. In 1894 he was elected a representative to the 54th Congress from the third Tennessee district and declined a re-nom-ination in 1896.

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

George Gibbs Dibrell, representative, was born in White county, Tenn., April 12, 1822. He matriculated at the East Tennessee university, leaving at the end of the year to devote himself to agriculture. In 1861 he was elected a member of the state constitutional convention, and later in the same year represented his district in the Tennessee legislature. In 1862 he entered the Confederate army, rising by promotion from private to the rank of colonel, and in 1864 to that of brigadier-general of cavalry. After Lee's surrender he was stationed in Greensboro, N.C., as custodian of the archives. In 1870 he was again a representative in the state legislature. He was a representative in the 44th, 45th, 46th, 47th and 48th congresses, 1875-85.

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

History of White County Tennessee

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