Tennessee the Volunteer State 17691923: Volume 1 THE CUMBERLAND SETTLEMENT In 1778, the first settlement of about a dozen families located near Bledsoe's Lick, now Castalian Springs, in Sumner County. Near this settlement Richard Hogan, Spencer and Holliday planted corn in the same year. About the same time a number of French traders advanced up the Cumberland River as far as the Bluff, where they erected a trading post and a few log cabins. Tennessee the Volunteer State 17691923: Volume 1 ORGANIZATION OF STATE MILITIA In 1799 Smith County, named for Gen. Daniel Smith, was carved out of Sumner County, and Wilson County and Williamson County were also created. Legislative acts were passed to prevent the malicious killing of slaves, to suppress excessive gaming, concerning divorces, and to provide for the election of electors for President and Vice President by a committee of three citizens in each county. The first camp meeting in Tennessee (possibly the first camp meeting in the United States), was held at Cane Ridge, in Sumner County. Tennessee the Volunteer State 17691923: Volume 1 SMITH COUNTY Smith County was erected in 1799 from a part of Sumner County and was named in honor of Gen. Daniel Smith, a pioneer surveyor, secretary of the Southwest Territory and United States senator succeeding Andrew Jackson. Tennessee the Volunteer State 17691923: Volume 1 SMITH COUNTY page 872 The early settlers were mostly from North Carolina and Virginia, some of them via East Tennessee. They raised cotton, corn, tobacco and hemp. Wm. Walton was the first settler, having located, probably in 1787, on what was afterwards the site of Carthage. Other early settlers were: Daniel Burford, Richard Alexander, Peter Turney, Wm. Saunders, Tilman Dixon, Micajah Duke, [p.872] Wm. McDonald, Wm. Goodall, Armstead Flippin, Jas. Hodges, Geo. T. Wright, Arthur S. Hogan, the Gordons, Smiths and Fites. Tennessee the Volunteer State 17691923: Volume 1 SMITH COUNTY On December 16, 1799, the first session of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions was held at the house of Tilman Dixon on the site of Dixon Springs. The following named magistrates were present and qualified: Garrett Fitzgerald, chairman; Wm. Alexander, Jas. Gwinn, Tilman Dixon, Thos. Harrison, Jas. Hibbetts, William Walton and Peter Turney. The last named was the father of Hopkins L. Turney and grandfather of Governor Peter Turney. The oath was administered by Moses Fisk, who was appointed clerk, pro tem. Amos Lacey was chosen constable. During its first years this court had its meetings sometimes at the house of Major Dixon and sometimes at Wm. Saunders', then ****at Fort Blount, then at Colonel Walton's. But in 1804, the county site was established at the place where Carthage now stands, which was laid out on the land of Col. Wm. Walton, who built the road, called after him, the Walton Road, from the junction of the Caney Fork and the Cumberland across the mountain, along which road he erected houses for the entertainment of travelers. The courthouse was completed in 1805, and in March, 1806, the court was held in it. Tennessee the Volunteer State 17691923: Volume 1 SMITH COUNTY The Circuit Court held its first session, it is thought, in 1810, with Judge N. W. Williams, presiding. The Chancery Court held its first term in May, 1825, and was presided over by Judge John Catron, chief justice of the state, 1831-1835, and then member of the United States Supreme Court. Among the prominent members of its bar were: Robert L. Caruthers, elected governor in 1863, and his brother, Abraham Caruthers; Wm. B. Campbell, governor, 1851-1853; Wm. Cullom, Samuel M. Fite, James B. Moore, Jordan Stokes, John D. Goodall, Andrew McClain, A. A. Swope, E. L. Gardenhire, and Sam Turney. Tennessee the Volunteer State 17691923: Volume 1 SMITH COUNTY Smith County furnished for the War of 1812, two companies whose captains were respectively, Robertson and James Walton; four companies for the war with Mexico, commanded by Capts. William Walton, L. P. McMurry, Don Allison, and John D. Goodall; and twelve companies for the Confederate Army. Tennessee the Volunteer State 17691923: Volume 1 SMITH COUNTY Pioneer ministers were: David P. Timberlake, David Halliburton, John Page, Jesse Moreland, and John Maffit. Tennessee the Volunteer State 17691923: Volume 1 SMITH COUNTY Important educational institutions were the Geneva Academy and the Female Academy. Tennessee the Volunteer State 17691923: Volume 1 STEWART COUNTY Statistics of Smith County: Population of 1920, 17,134. Assessed valuation of taxable property, 1923, $13,652,578. Area, 368 square miles. Number of farms, 2,908. Railway mileage, twenty-seven. Drained by the Cumberland and its tributary, the Caney Fork. Surface hilly and well covered with timber. Staple products are corn, wheat, oats, tobacco and hay. It is one of the best live stock counties in the state. Carthage, the county seat, is on the Cumberland River and the terminus of a branch of the Tennessee Central. It has a population of 920, has good schools and churches, a weekly newspaper, one bank, manufacturing and mercantile establishments. Large shipments of to****cco are made from Carthage. Dixon Springs is another prosperous town in the county. Scholastic population of county, 6,832; high schools, two; elementary schools, seventy-two. ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com