Cities, Towns and Villages of Wilson County

Statesville, a village of about 200 inhabitants, is situated on Smith Fork, in the Fifteenth District, eighteen miles southeast from Lebanon, and has nineteen town lots.

The town was established on the lands of William Bumpass in 1812, and was first named Maryville, in honor of Mrs. Bumpass, but was subsequently changed to the present name in honor of Statesville, North Carolina.

The town reached its zenith in about 1835, there being at that time about seven stores and sundry mechanic establishments in the place. From that time until recent years the business of Statesville retrograded. At present there are three general stores, the proprietors of which are J. R. Hale, J. M. Jennings & Bro. and A. L. Jennings, all of whom do a good business. The blacksmiths are S. T. Moody, J. W. Armstrong and Brittain Barby. A good steam saw and grist-mill is operated by A. T. Young.

The public schools consist of one each of white and colored, which are well attended and successfully conducted.

Cainsville, in the Seventeenth District, is about eighteen miles south of Lebanon, on the Statesville and Murfreesboro Pike, has about 100 inhabitants and nineteen town lots. The village is situated in a healthy and fertile country, and was established in 1829 on the lands of George I. Cain, from whom it derived its name. The present business interests are represented by T. L. Huddleston, R. J. Harris and Florida Bros., general merchants R. B. Pearcy, undertaker, and Peyton Woods, blacksmith. Both white and colored schools are located in the village, the former being a chartered academy under the "four mile" law. The churches of Cainsville are two in number, Presbyterian and Methodist.

Gladesville is a village of about 100 inhabitants, situated about twelve miles southwest from Lebanon, in the Twenty-fourth District. The village is located on a rocky glade, from whence came its name, and was established in 1852 upon the land of Benjamin Hooker, Jr.
The business of Gladesville consists of three general stores owned by I. B. Castleman, Baker & Meyers and F. Y. Begley & Son, two blacksmith shops by Ned Martin (colored) and Richard Murry (colored), wood shop by Robert McPeak, and saddlery shop by Wood Woodrum. The Missionary Baptists and Methodists have good churches. An excellent high school is conducted in the town, which was chartered in 1878 under the "four mile" law.

Mount Juliet is a station on the Tennessee & Pacific Railway, fourteen miles west from Lebanon, in the First District, and was established in 1870 upon the land of Newton Cloyd. Originally the town stood on the Lebanon & Nashville Road, on the land of John J. Crudoup, and was first established in 1835. The merchants of Mount Juliet are Grigg & Smith, general store, and Elly Fuqua is the blacksmith. The Cumberland Presbyterian Church is the only one in the town, and Lodge No. 379, F. & A. M., the only secret society. Mount Juliet Academy, a chartered school, ranks among the best in the county.

Green Hill is situated on the Lebanon & Nashville Pike, fifteen miles from the former place, in the First District, and has a population of about fifty people The town was established in 1836 on the land of Hugh Robinson, and before the construction of the Tennessee & Pacific Railway was a place of considerable importance, it being the halfway point between Lebanon and Nashville. The present merchants are Cook & Cook, Gillaim & Purdue and J. N. Adams, general stores. Green Hill Academy, a chartered school, furnishes the educational facilities of the town, and one church building serves for the several denominations.

Lagardo is one of the thriving towns, of the county, and has a population of about 250. The village lies twelve miles northwest from Lebanon in the Fourth District, and in the valley of the Cumberland, two miles from that river. It was established in 1835 upon the land of Turner Vaughan. The business of the town is at present represented by Wright & Vaughan. Davis Bros, and James A. Woods, general merchants; Greer & Shepard, blacksmiths, and Davis Bros., steam saw, flour and grist-millers. Lagardo has three secret societies as follows: Masonic Lodge, No. 237; Good Templar's Lodge, No. 78, and V M. A. Lodge (a colored organization). A splendid high school is conducted in the town, in which from two to three teachers are employed. Five churches are located in Lagardo as follows: Baptist, Cumberland Presbyterian and Christian, and Colored Missionary Baptist and African Methodist Episcopal.

Leeville is a small station on the Tennessee & Pacific Railway, six miles west from Lebanon, in the Twenty-second District, and was established on the land of Rev. D. C. Kelley, in 1871, and named in honor of Gen. Robert E. Lee. The present merchants are A E. Beard and A. G. Rogers & Son. The town has an excellent high school and Methodist Episcopal and Baptist Churches.

Taylorsville is a small town lying on Cedar Creek, seven miles northeast from the bounty seat in the Sixth District. The town was established in 1840 on the lands of John Sf Taylor and Philander Davis, and named for the former. J. R. Ware, a general merchant, has the only store in the town, and James Brewington has the only blacksmith md wood shop. A chartered academy is located in Taylorsville, which ranks with the nest schools in the county.

Commerce, a village thirteen miles east from Lebanon, in the Twelfth District, was established in 1822 upon the land of Joshua Taylor, and has a Cumberland Presbyterian church and an excellent chartered school known as the Commerce Academy. Messrs. Bell & Phillip and Smith & Lanham are the merchants, both of whom keep general stores.

Cherry Valley is a small town on the Sparta Pike, ten miles southeast from the county -eat in the Sixteenth District, and was established in 1848 upon the land of Wilson T. Cartwright. The merchants are Phillips & Clemmons, Phillips & Henderson, and Grandstaff & Waters. The town has a chartered school, Methodist Church and Masonic Hall.

Green Vale is a village of seventy-five inhabitants, situated in the Seventeenth District, and was established in 1871, upon the land of W. D. Quarles, and William M. Johns. The merchants are A. J. Quarles and Cox & Gwinnett, general stores; J. Busey, undertaker and Patton & Reeves and Jennings & Attwood, blacksmiths. Green Vale Academy is located in the town and also Wetumpka Lodge, No. 142, I. O. O. F.

Other villages, or post offices, are Silver Spring, in the Second District. Tucker's Cross toads and Bellwood in the Eighth District, Cottage Home in the Thirteenth District, hop's Springs in the Nineteenth District, Saulsbury, Baird's Mill, Round Top, Fall Creek, Mount View, Oak Grove, Tucker's Gap, Austin, Beckwith and Rural Hill.

 Wilson County | AHGP Tennessee

Source: History of Tennessee, Goodspeed Publishing Company, 1886