Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-04-06
DICKSON COUNTY.

~ DICKSON COUNTY.
Dickson county is situated on the high
land rim of Middle Tennessee, between
the Cumberland and the Tennessee rivers,
and lies Immediately south of the county
of Montgomery, about twenty-five mics
from the Kentucky line. 1t contains
about 40 square miles and has popula-
ton of 9, $40, diminution of GAP since
1860, caused probably by the exodus of
the black population. 1t was originally
part of Robertson county, and began to
be settled about the year 1893, at which
date large bocy of land was granted by
the State of North Carolina to Robert
Bel, described as lying in the county of
Robertson on Jones' Creek. The first en-
try in the Registers Office was made in
1901, and all deeds were proven before
Andrew Jackson, one of the Judges of
the Superior Court of Law and Equity
for the State of Tennessee. The first
Register was James Walker, who
showed his fitness for the DO
sition by the excellence of his chirography.
THE RARLY SETTLERS
were mostly from North Carolina and
Virginia and appear to have been attract
ed to Dickson county on account of the
plentifulness of wood and water. Game,
too, which at that early day was so abund-
ant, was another inducement which the
early pioneers could not resist. Many of
them relied for provisions upon the deer
and wild turkeys, which roamed the wild
woods by thousands. Fish abounded in
the streams, and even to this day the
salmon and the trout of Dickson are well
known TO the disciples of Izaak Walton.
During the summer months scores of our
citizens seek the ''shsdy hooks and bushy
dells" on Jones Creek or Harpeth, and
forget for while the dusty and parched
streets of the city. To US at this day it
appears a little singular that the
rich and level lands of Christian,
Todd and Logan counties, of
Kentucky, should have been neglected by
these early settlers for the rolling, undu-
lating and comparatively thin soils of
Dickson and Robertson. But it must be
remembered that land was then no object.
Millions of acres were to be had for
trifle, and the disadvantages of not having
wood and water convenient, Overbalanced
every other consideration. 1t should also
be borne in mind that cisterns, a COM
paratiyely modern invention, were un-
known, and wells and springs were the
sole dependence for water. As the dig
ging of wells was expensive, those parts
of the country that had the largest num-
Der of springs were first settled; then the
wooded regions. Nearly all the old
dwellings in the country are situated in
low places, near stream of water, and
to which wood might be easily hauled by
yoke of cattle, in which, oftentimes, a
half dozen families had an interest.
CHARLOTTE,
the county seat, was laid off into town
lots in 1904. The surface of the town is
very uneven, rising gradually from a
small stream that skirts it, and is broken
by deep ravines and washes. Some of
the streets are rendered impossible from
this cause. The surroundings are pictu-
rescue, hill rising above hill, covered with
dense forests. Among the earliest set
tiers were John Reed, Sterling Brewer,
Benz. Josline, Frank Ellis and Marble
Stone. The first house was erected by
Peacock, about the year 1901, and for
the next thirty years Charlotte appears to
have been place of considerable import
ance. The Supreme Court held its regular
sessions there, and the iron interest made
it place of much traffic. In 1880 the
Courthouse was destroyed by hurricane
which swept over the country. destroying
houses and forests, the course of which
may be easily traced at the present day,
J. ho IL Oh, 81,
where trees were uprooted. In 1884 the
new courthouse was completed, which
though small, is much more conveniently
arranged than most public buildings.
Charlotte has two churches, one for the
white people and another for the negroes.
A negro school has been in operation in
the town for year, and Prof. Larkins
has charge of the academy for the white
children. For twenty seven years he has
held this position with honor to himself
and is now the intellectual father of more
children n Dickson than any other ten
men in it. There are four commercial
establishments in the place, one hotel,
one blacksmith-shop and many com Ort-
able private residences. Altogether
Charlotte is pleasant, rural town where
one may steal away from the hurry and
excitement of railroads and cities, and en-
JOY that quietude and ease so promotive
of long life and philosophic reflection.
The population is about three hundred
and fifty.
DICKSON OR sMRDRYILLR
is a flourishing little village on the North
western Railroad, settled since the war
by Pennsylvanians. About three hundred
have bought land in and around Dickson,