Establishment of Wilson County

Wilson County was established by an act of the Third General Assembly of Tennessee, passed October 26, 1799, three years after the organization of the State. The act establishing the county is in substance as follows: "An act reducing the limits of Summer County and establishing two new counties," etc., that part referring to Wilson County being in the following language: " Sec. 4, And be it encoded, that another new county established by the name of Wilson, to be contained within the following described bounds: Beginning upon the south bank of the river Cumberland, at low water mark, at the mouth of Drake Lick Branch, the northeast corner of Davidson County; thence with the line of Davidson County to the Cherokee boundary, as run and marked agreeably to the treaty of Holston, and with the said boundary to the Caney Fork, and down the Caney Fork, according to its meanders, to the mouth thereof; thence down the meanders of the Cumberland River, by the south bank to the beginning."

Sections 15 and 16 provide for the holding of the courts of said county on the fourth Monday of December, March, June and September, and designate the house of John Harpole, as the place of holding the first sessions of the courts.

By an act passed by the General Assembly November 6, 1801, a portion of Wilson County was annexed to Smith County, and the present bounds of this were established by an act passed November 13, 1801, as follows: "Beginning on the south bank of Cumberland River at the mouth of the Drake Lick Creek, it being the upper corner of Davidson County, running from thence up said river with the middle of the channel of the same to the Smith County line; thence south twenty-three degrees east along the said Smith County line to the Indian boundary line; thence westwardly with said Indian boundary line to the Davidson County line; thence northwardly along said Davidson County line to the beginning." This act also provides for the appointment of Christopher Cooper, Alanson Trigg, Mathew Figures, John Harpole and John Doak, as a commission to organize the new county, run the boundary lines and locate the county seat, purchasing forty acres for the latter purpose; the said land to be selected with due regard for good wood and water; to lay off the county seat into town lots, sell the same at public auction, reserving sufficient ground for a public square, and with the proceeds of such sales defray the expenses of erecting a court house and jail, and other necessary building for the use of the county.

In the latter part of 1799 the boundary lines were run in accordance with the provisions of the above act, and the county was duly organized. But it was not until in 1802 that the county seat was located, when the present site of Lebanon was selected on account of its almost central location, and of the existence on the land of a large, never failing spring of pure water, and which spring at the present time is as pure, fresh and strong as at that early day. The land selected was owned by one James Menees, who donated the necessary land.

Wilson County is bounded on the north by Sumner County, on the northeast and east ay the counties of Trousdale, Smith and DeKalb, southeast by Cannon County, south by Rutherford County, and west by Davidson County, and has an area of 578 square miles. The county was named in honor of Maj. David Wilson, a native of Pennsylvania, who settled in Sumner County when Tennessee was a part of North Carolina.

Wilson County has a population of 28,747, of which number about 7,200 are voters, a large majority of whom vote the Democratic ticket. Previous to the late elections the county enjoyed the distinction of being the banner Democratic county of the State. Wilson ranks among the best counties in the State. Out of a total of 356,396 acres of land almost 200,000 are improved. In 1885 the cereal products of the county were 1,226 bushels of barley, 1,806,262 bushels of corn, 132,506 bushels of oats, 4,869 bushels of rye and 188,-40 bushels of wheat. At the same time there were in the county 15,502 horses and mules, 6,285 cattle, 18,795 sheep and 49,583 hogs. The total valuation of the land in the county in 1885 was $3,500,679; of personal property, less $1,000, $295,836; of all other property, 158,220; total valuation, $4,440,370. There are 173,100 miles of railroad in the county, which has a total value of $204,360, and 620 town lots, total value of which is $485,635. a 1885 the tax assessment was as follows: Poll tax, 3,979; State, 13,321.11; county $15,-79.89; school, $17,069.46; railroad, $19,750.98; court house, $2,220.18; highway, $3,503.96; total $72,943.12. The tax levy for 1886 is as follows: On each $100, county 25 cents; poll 1; school 25 cents; poll $1.50; railroad 50 cents; poll 50 cents; highway 11 cents; State 10 cents; total, $4.41.

 Wilson County | AHGP Tennessee

Source: History of Tennessee, Goodspeed Publishing Company, 1886