Mrs. Grundy. (Tracy City, Tenn.) 1903-1930, 1913-03-20
GRUNDY COUNTY.
By w, O. ALTERNATELY. |

-
State cf Tennessee at Nashville
on The 10Th lay Of January 1871 F.,
said act provided tbat tha new
county shall be taken and made
up Of territory from War; n and
Coffee Counties; il also a. point.
ed Adrian NortLcut and William
Dugan residents of that part of
the new county which was taken
from the cotuty of Ware and
John Burroughs aud alfred
l}raley reside nts of shat part of
the new county which was taken
from the county of Coffee, Com
missioners 20 organize the new
county which had bsen named in
honor of Felix Gruudy, q former
United Stat Senator from Ten
4 essee, and who With Sam rel b.
Darrell, OF Boston, Mass, aud
others had been dealing extern
s,vely IN mountain ands i'll this
section, and Of whom vs. will
have more to say hereafter
The act creating Grundy coun
tv also fixed the time and place
foN holding the first courts If the
county at Beersbeba Sprin 5, the
first County Cout6 g. be b ID en-
tao first Monday N August, 1874 !;
i also authorized the commits.
soners of orgcuiza zion oG the
new county to open and held an
election on he 65h day Of Jaly,
1914, for the purpose Of eiacting
county and districJ officers for
Grundy county. The election
was held by the commissioners
aud the most rlgit restrictions
were thrown around every ballot
box, which, by tile way, consist.
ed of two hats at each voting
precinct; the hats were borrow
ed from some Innocent by-stand-
ers, as an assurance tina they
were not previously stuffed"
aud one hat was placed top side
down aud the other one top side
up over it, and v hen the ballots,
which were anything xcept
uniform in size aud color, were
/ anded to the officer of the elec.
on he would raise the top hat
aud drop in the piece Of paper
containing the names OF the
voters choice for the various Of
fees. No printed ballots were
used in those days, but any and
every kind OF paper large enough
to contain the names of the can
didates being voted for, was good
aud had to be counted.
The campaign which preceded
this irst election was somewhat
sDirited, but the best of feeling
prevailed throughout, The can
Gidates were placed at a di5ad.
vantage for the reason that the
new county YVES partly taken
from Coffee and partly from
Warren county, and SO many
gulches intervening rendered the
people in the northern part of
the county and those in the
southern part practically etrang-
er5. The south boundary line Of
Gruudy county, as it was then
established, crossed the moun-
tain running west from Seq match
lie and Marion county, leaving
the place where Mr.. Smith Falts
| ! lived in Marion county, ana pass
ed near the place where M Jno.
Lockbart now resides, eigh miles
portb of Tracy City theline CON
tlnued west to the top # the
mountain and then followed the
top Of the mountain south ardly
and westwardiy 80 as TO Include
in the new county all the Pelha n
valley and coves on that de of
the mountain that ere now in
Grundy cou aty; it tlso in lluded
IIubbards cove, Fults cove,
Northcuts cove and Collin, river,
as well as the noun ain top Ter
lritory that today eomposes the
2nd, 5th and 10Th road districts
Of Grundy county The terri
-, ,,,l,,,ro n ,,o -. NsG,, VI