Click on the district number, to view a larger map of that district.
A very special thank you to my friend, Sue Hall, who drew the Civil District boundary lines on this map. Sue said that many of these boundary lines follow long gone roads, which would explain why some of the lines are so crooked!
Originally published in 1886, The Goodspeed Publishing Company
Contributed by Natalie Huntley.
The following is from The Goodspeed History of Tennessee, Crockett County, published by the Goodspeed Publishing Co., 1887.
Up to 1825, the territory within the limits of what is now Crockett County, contained not a single religious organization or church building. At about that time, however, the circuit rider of the Jackson Methodist Circuit was induced to make appointments, and hold services once every four weeks at the house of Henry A. Powell, a member of the Methodist Church, who lived near where now stands Maury City. These were, probably, the first religious meetings held in the county. After the crops had been gathered in the fall of 1830, eight or ten farmers living in the neighborhood of what is now Johnsonís Grove, went to work and erected the first regular meeting house in the county. The building stood half a mile east from Johnsonís Grove, and was a small pole cabin, the logs scalped down inside and out, and the cracks lined on the inside with oak boards. The floor was of puncheons, and the seats were made by splitting open poplar logs, hewing the face smooth with a broad-ax, and were supported by stout oaken legs. The pulpit was an oblong frame arrangement, weather-boarded to the proper height, with drawn oak boards, on top of which, supported by four posts, was a broad board for a book rest. The church was given the name of Old Liberty, and was used by all denominations. A singular fact in connection with this first church was, that it was built by men none of whom were members of any church. In the latter part of the same year, the farmers in the neighborhood of what is now Maury City, built a similar log meeting-house on the site of that village, and gave it the name of Palmyra. In the summer of 1831, Capt. Porter, one of the early settlers of the Lanefield neighborhood, and an enthusiastic Methodist, conceived the idea of holding a camp-meeting , and the following fall Palmyra Campground was established at the church of that name, and a camp-meeting held. The meeting continued for a week, the people camping in tents and improvised shanties, and upward of 100 conversions were made. The result of the meeting worked quite a religious revolution over the entire Forked Deer River country, and from that time on, churches were established in all sections of the county. The Methodists, within the next few years, erected in different locations, the following churches, all of which were built on the same plan as Old Liberty: Pond Creek, Poplar Grove, Mount Zion, Elizabeth, Holly Grove and Cross Roads.
Churches of other denominations were erected during the succeeding four or five years as follows: Between 1835 and 1840, the Missionary Baptists organized and erected Shady Grove, Dyer, Mill Creek and Quincy, while the Cumberland Presbyterians erected Bethesda in about 1838, and Salem in about 1850. In about 1847 the Christians, or Campbellites, effected an organization and held regular services at Old Liberty, and in 1850 built a church at Chestnut Bluff. At about the same time the Christians built Miller Chapel, and later on built churches at Alamo and Bellís Depot. In 1882 the Gadsden Christian Church was erected, and in 1883 Crockett Mills Church, of the same denomination, was built, the expenses of which was borne entirely by Mr. J. F. Robertson, of Crockett Mills. In 1867-68 the Northern Methodists began organizing in the county, and soon afterward erected a church at Cairo, Siloam Church, in the Thirteenth District, and Dunlapís Chapel in the Third District.
The churches of the present, outside of the towns, are as follows: First District, Walnut Hill, Missionary Baptist; Second District, Bethel Missionary Baptist and Masonís Grove, Methodist Episcopal South; Third District, Dunlapís Chapel, Northern Methodist; Fourth District, Salem, Cumberland Presbyterian, Coxís Chapel, Christian and Center, Methodist Episcopal South; Sixth District, Mill Creek, Primitive Baptists; Seventh District, Quincy, Methodist Episcopal South and Quincy, Missionary Baptist; Eight District, Pond Creek, Methodist Episcopal South; Ninth District, Bethesda, Cumberland Presbyterian, Providence, Missionary Baptist and Crockett Mills, Christian; Eleventh District, Floydís Chapel, Methodist Episcopal South, and Dyer, Primitive Baptist; Twelfth District, Elizabeth, Methodist Episcopal South, Mount Moriah, Missionary Baptist and Mount Zion, Methodist Episcopal South; Thirteenth District, Lebanon, Methodist Episcopal South, and South Fork, Union Baptist. Fourteenth District, Lanefield, Methodist Episcopal South, Johnsonís Grove, Missionary Baptists and Johnsonís Grove, Christian.
The following is from The Goodspeed History of Tennessee, Crockett County, published by the Goodspeed Publishing Co., 1887.
Owing to its organization, Crockett, as a county, has no military annals. During the late civil war, however, three companies of infantry were organized and sent out from what now constitutes the county, as follows:
In April, 1861, a full company was organized at Bellís Depot, of which John P. Burns was elected captain; F. J. Wood, first lieutenant; W. N. Beasley, second lieutenant and A. C. Allen third lieutenant. The company joined the Twenty-seventh Regiment of Tennessee Infantry, as Company G, and with that regiment passed through the entire war, taking part in the many engagements in which it participated. After the battle of Shiloh the company was reorganized, when F. J. Wood, was chosen captain; W. N. Beasley, first lieutenant; W. B. Jones, second lieutenant; Lafayette Edwards, third lieutenant. In the reorganization of the regiment Lieut. A. C. Allen was elected major, and was killed at Atlanta, Ga., July 22, 1864. At the general surrender of the army in 1865, but three men out of the company of 107 were present, and they surrendered in different States, Lieut. W. B. Jones surrendering at Jonesboro, N. C., Frank Brigance in Mississippi, and Capt. F. J. Wood at Macon, Ga., where he was serving as provost-marshal at the time of surrender.
Of the other two companies but little can be learned. In 1861, Capt. James M. Collingsworth, took out a company which was organized at Gadsden, and was named the Gadsden Spartans. The Spartans joined the Sixth Regiment of Tennessee Infantry and remained with that regiment throughout the war. Capt. Collingsworth was succeeded as commander of the company, by William McKinney. During the same year a company was organized in the county, which was known as the Forked Deer Rangers. Under command of Capt. Clem Clay, the Rangers joined the First Regiment of Tennessee Infantry, and subsequently the Seventh Regiment of Tennessee Infantry, remaining with that organization until the close of the war. [For history of above regiments, see war chapter of State history.]
The following is from The Goodspeed History of Tennessee, Crockett County, published by the Goodspeed Publishing Co., 1887.
But little is now known of the very early schools of Crockett County. The principal schools of the early days were at the county seats of the four counties from which Crockett County was taken, and those schools were attended by the scholars living in what is now this county. The earliest school of consequence, of which there remains a record, was one taught in 1828 by Isaac M. Johnson, in a small log schoolhouse, at the village of Laneville. This school was taught the year around, and was well attended. Several other schools were taught in different parts of the county from that time on, but beyond the fact that they existed nothing more can be learned.
A good male and female academy was established at Cageville, now Alamo, in about 1850, and in 1867, a large frame building was erected at Bell’s Depot and a good school established. This building is standing at present, but is not in use. In 1870 a good male and female school was established at Friendship, and a school building erected. The schools of the present, other than the public schools, are as follows: Thompson’s Classical Institute, at Alamo, established in 1883 by Prof. R. S. Thompson. This school is a private enterprise, being a school for advanced pupils. The number of scholars, both male and female, is limited to thirty in number, and all the higher branches are taught. Prof. Thompson erected his present school building in 1883 at a cost of $1,600. It is a neat and commodious brick building, erected with an eye single to school accommodations. The school is the leading one of the county, and is deservedly successful and popular; the Home Institute, at Friendship, a chartered school of the four-mile law order (see note below), established as such in 1885; the Crockett Mills Academy, chartered in 1883; the A. G. Schoolhouse [should probably be Agee School House], in the Thirteenth District, chartered under the four-mile law in 1882; the Bell’s Academy, established in 1881, when a brick building was erected at a cost of about $1,400. The public schools of the county are on a par with the schools of other counties of West Tennessee. The average school term is five months, and the attendance generally good. The teachers, however, are inferior to those of ten years ago, and are chiefly young men and women, it being a noticeable fact that not a single married person applied for license during 1886. This is explained by the fact that the small and inadequate salaries paid are driving all the better teachers either out of the county or into other pursuits.
The scholastic population of Crockett County, between the ages of six and twenty-one years, on June 30, 1885, was as follows: White – male 1,954, female 1,924; colored – male 747, female 789; total, white and colored, 5,414. During the same year, the teachers employed in the county were as follows: White – male 22, female 9; colored – male 11, female 2; total white and colored, 44. At that time, there were forty-five school districts in the county, and 29 white and 13 colored schools, making a total of 42 schools in the county. During the year 1885 teachers were licensed as follows: White – male 25, female 12; colored – male 13, female 2; total, white and colored, 52. The number of pupils enrolled in the county during the same year was as follows: White – male 741, female 619; colored – male 250, female 245; total pupils enrolled, both white and colored, 1,855.
The semi-annual apportionment of the school fund received by Crockett County in 1885 was $689.64 in April, and $689.64 in October. The amount of school money on hand on July 1, 1884, in Crockett County, was $3,047.16; the amount received during the year 1885, was, from state, $1,352.34; from county, $8,482.54; making a total amount received of $12,882.04. The expenditures of money in 1885 was as follows: Salaries of teachers, $7,735.32; expended on school sites, buildings and repairs, $685.43; expended on furniture, fixtures, libraries and apparatus, $18.37; county superintendent’s salary, $337.50; paid district clerks, $111.11; all other expenses, $70.99; total amount expended, $8,958.72; balance on hand, June 30, 1885, $3,923.32. The estimated value of school property, including furniture and fixtures, of the county in 1885, was $8,800; of apparatus, $125.
Thanks to Charlie Jennings for sending the following information on the Four-Mile law:
Anti-liquor groups in Tennessee succeeded in passing laws forbidding the sale of liquor near the premises of schools, hospitals, and churches. The first such law, passed in 1824, restricted liquor sales near churches. In 1877 the legislature enacted a law forbidding the sale of alcohol within four miles of chartered rural schools, but allowing for the selling of liquor within four miles of schools located in incorporated communities. In 1887, while attention was focused on a prohibition amendment to the state constitution, the legislature amended the Four-Mile Law to prohibit the sale of intoxicating liquors within four miles of any country school, virtually banning the liquor business.
The following is from The Goodspeed History of Tennessee, Crockett County, published by the Goodspeed Publishing Co., 1887.
Maury City lies in the Tenth Civil District, and has a population of 200. The town was laid off in 1876 by Samuel Alexander and Samuel Killebrew, on the lands of J. S. Claybrooks and J. N. Perry. Perry & Balch were the first merchants, they opening a store in 1875. From that time until 1880 the merchants were Balch & Robertson, Perry & Perry, Hamlett & Tucker, Nunn & Revell, Perry & Carter, J. B. Tucker and J. N. Albritton. The business at present is carried on by C. A. W. Jitton, groceries; Mrs. M. L. Boulch, dry goods; A. M. Coaltrain, groceries; W. E. Gibbons, groceries; C. Peal, dry goods; J. B Tucker, dry goods; J. N. Albritton, drugs and W. F. Farron, saloon.
Robertson & Perry erected a large steam-power flour, grist and saw-mill and cotton-gin in 1877, at a cost of $8,000. The mill was afterward purchased by J. L. Poston, and at his death was purchased by the present owners, Messrs. Chandler & Murkerson.
T. H. Robertson and J. S. Moore are the blacksmiths, and J. F. Wilson, Wood worker.
The school building at Maury City, a frame, was erected in 1880 at a cost of about $800.
There is no church building in town. The Missionary Baptists have an organization, however, and own a lot, and have a house contracted for, which they hope will be completed during the year.
The following is from The Goodspeed History of Tennessee, Crockett County, published by the Goodspeed Publishing Co., 1887.
Gadsden, the third town in size and importance in the county, is situated on the L. & M. Ry., seven miles from Bellís Depot, in the Third Civil District, and has a population of 250. The town was founded in 1858-59 by a number of business men, who moved there from Masonís Grove upon the building of the railroad, and was named in honor of Gen. Gadsden, of South Carolina. J. B. Boykin was the first man to engage in business, he opening a store on what is now Main Street, in 1858. He was soon followed by R. W. Simms, who began business on the same street. In 1860 W. W. Williams opened a store, and in 1862 William Richardson began business. All of the above came from Masonís Grove. From 1860 to 1870 the business men were
W. W. Richardson, H. H. Richardson, J. F. Fullalore, William Tinder, C.
B. Stewart, John W. Matthews, L. H. Harris, J. P. Taylor & Son, J. S. Medlin, J. A. Tinder, R. J. Williams and Sidney Harris. The hotel was kept by Rev. Payne; W. W. Herndon was the blacksmith, and J. W. Williams owned a cotton-gin. From 1870 to 1880 the business men were R. W. Simms, W. W. Richardson, H. H. Richardson, W. E. Richardson, L. H. Harris, J. A. Medlin, R. J. Williams & Co., F. M. Thompson and G. W. Rooker, hotel. The business men of the present are as follows: W. W. Richardson, dry goods and groceries; Williams & Horine, hardware and groceries; J. A. Tinder, dry goods; R. W. Simms, drugs and groceries; H. B. Wilson, furniture; Humphreys & Welch, groceries; J. F. Parsons, drugs; L. H. Harris, groceries;
J. Fullalore, dry goods and notions; G. M. Cornatzer, groceries; L. L. Cox, saddler; J. A. Medlin, saloon; Jonathan Hall, hotel; W. E. Richardson, livery stable. In 1880 W. W. Sherod erected a frame mill, which was destroyed by fire in 1881. In 1882 the Gadsden Mill Company erected a two-story brick flour, grist and saw-mill and cotton-gin combined, at a cost of about $8,000. F. M. Thompson is president, secretary and treasurer of the mill company.
The first church erected in Gadsden was the Missionary Baptist, which was built in 1866. The building was a common box house, but was used until 1883, when the present frame church was erected at a cost of about $600.
The Christian Church, a substantial brick, was erected in 1882, costing about $1,000, and during the same year the Methodist Church was erected
at a cost of $800.
The school building now in use is a frame house, and was erected in
1883, costing about $800.
The secret societies are Gadsden Lodge, No. 163, F. & A. M., instituted
in 1862 at Masonís Grove and removed to Gadsden in 1866; Gadsden Lodge,
No. 133, I.O.O.F., instituted in 1868 and suspended in 1884; Ladies Friend
Lodge of G.T., instituted in 1876 and suspended in 1883; Gadsden Lodge,
No. 86, G. T., instituted in 1885.
Gadsden was incorporated in 1868 and continued as such until 1883 when
it was changed into a taxing district and continues in that form at present.
The physicians of the town are Drs. Edward Sharp, G. H. Sullivan and W.
H. Adams.
The following is from The Goodspeed History of Tennessee, Crockett County, published by the Goodspeed Publishing Co., 1887.
Friendship, the second town in size in Crockett County, is twelve miles northwest from Alamo, in the Twelfth Civil District, and formerly belonged to Dyer County, and has a population of about 500. In 1844 a postoffice was established in the neighborhood of what afterward became the town site, at the house of A. T. Fielder, who was appointed postmaster. In 1853 the town was founded upon the lands of M. P. and A. T. Hurley and William Johnson. In 1854 J. F. Sinclair & Co. opened a general store at Friendship, they being the first merchants. This firm continued in business until 1856, when the firm changed to Sinclair & Rice, and as such continued until 1874. At the same time as above Dr. T. A. Peacock & Bro. carried on a general mercantile business. From 1865 to 1870 T. A. Peacock & Co., then Peacock & Binford, and Robertson & Briggs were the merchants. From 1870 to 1880 the merchants were F. M. Bowling, Field & Bros. and Walker & White. The business of the present is as follows: Thompson & Perry, groceries; Lore & Lore, hardware; J. A. Coffman, general store; J. D. Smith, L. B. Harwell, J. Q. Craig, F. S. Moore and C. Beaver & Son, dry goods; J. W. Duffeys and J. F. Sanders, drugs; D. E. Love, livery stable; F. J. Rice, hotel; J. G. Lovelace and R. J. Sanders, blacksmiths; W. P. Ripley, woodshop; R. C. Coffman, saw-mill and cotton-gin; Drs. D. A. Walker and Coop & Jork, physicians. In 1870 T. A. Peacock & Co. erected a large flouring-mill at a cost of about $25,000. In 1873 the mill was purchased by Dr. J. D. Smith. Since 1880, however, the mill has not been in operation.
Friendship was laid off into town lots in 1858, and incorporated the following year with W. P. Rice as mayor.
The first schoolhouse was a frame, and was built in 1870. In 1876 the present commodious school building was erected at a cost of about $1,200, and in 1885 the Home Institute, the school of the town, was chartered under the four-mile law. The churches are the Missionary Baptist, a frame, built in 1859, cost $1,000, and the Methodist, also frame, built in 1870, cost $3,000.
The secret societies of Friendship are Enon Lodge, No. 215, I.O.O.F., established as Centre Lodge before the late war, and reorganized as at present in 1880; Crockett Lodge, No. 1535, K. of H., established in 1879; Friendship Commandery, No. 34, K. of G. C., established in 1881.
The following is from The Goodspeed History of Tennessee, Crockett County, published by the Goodspeed Publishing Co., 1887.
Alamo, the county seat, is situated near the center of the county, in a healthy locality, six miles northwest from Bellís Depot, the nearest station on the railroad, and 160 miles southwest from Nashville on a air line, and has a population of about 300. The town lies in the Sixth Civil District, which was formerly a part of Haywood County, and was founded in 1846 by Isaac M. Johnson, who named it Cageville, in honor of his mercantile partner, Lycurgus Cage. The name was changed to that of Alamo in 1872, upon the organization of the county, the act creating Crockett County specifying that the county seat should bear that name. Messrs. Johnson & Cage were the first men to do business in the town, they engaging in general merchandising in 1847. The following year a post-office was established, and Mr. Johnson appointed postmaster. The only other merchants of Alamo from 1847 to 1850 were Johnson & McFarland and John B. Johnson, and from 1850 to 1860 Isaac M. Johnson & Son, Perry Farrow & Son, and Crisp & Fleming.
The merchants doing business at different times between 1860 and 1870 were Perry Farrow, Curtis, Freeman & Co., Fleming & Conley and P. B. Nance; from 1870 to 1880, G. W. Tatum, Fleming & Conley, Green & Bro., P. J. Bowers, Wm. Craddock, V. M. Tucker, Nunn & Bro., Powell & Epperson, J. W. McFarland, J. B. Howell & Co., A. A. White, J. G. Cloy, C. Montgomery & Co., W. J. Roberts, L. S. J. Simmons, P. M. Stilly, Cook & Son, Fisher & Fleming, J. T. Burgess, T. G. Johnson, S. E Johnson, W. W. Harris, Wm. Brown, H. M. Klyce, carriage factory; Hopkins & Durham, cabinet shop, and J. M. Klyce, photographer. The business of the present is conducted as follows: Klyce & McCutcheon, dry goods and drugs; R. T. D. Fouchee, hotel and grocer; Burgess & Stalling, dry goods; Fisher & Fleming, dry goods; B. M. Tucker, groceries; F. P. Oldham, drugs and groceries; S. T. Austin & Son, drugs and groceries; J. M. Klyce, photographer; Brown & Ragen, saloon; John Schichtl, saloon; H. M. Klyce, undertaker; W. F. Poston, livery stable and blacksmith; J. H. Clay, broom factory; Rhodes & Hannah, cotton gin; Crandall & Durham, flouring-mill and cotton-gin.
The Methodists built the first church in Alamo in 1849, which was a frame. In 1866 the Methodists with the Odd Fellows and Masons built the present two-story frame building, the first floor being the church and the second the lodge room. In 1858 the Christian congregation erected a frame church, which they sold to the Baptists in 1875, and erected their present brick church. The Cumberland Presbyterian Church, a substantial frame, was erected in 1878. The colored churches, both frame, are of African Methodist Episcopal, and the Northern Methodist Episcopal denominations.
The schools of the town are Thompsonís Classical Institute, established in 1883, and the public schools.
The secret societies are Alamo Lodge, No. 64, F. & A. M., organized as Quincy Lodge No. 72, in 1849, removed to Cageville, and re-organized as Cageville Lodge, No. 64, in 1867, and name changed to that of Alamo Lodge, with the changing of the name of the town in 1872; Damon Lodge, No. 1588, K. H., organized in 1878. At one time the I.O.O.F. and A.O.U.W. had organizations, but they have long since been abandoned.
The Crockett County Sentinel, the only paper in Crockett County, was established May 3, 1873, by F. B. Fisher and W. J. Elliott. The paper continued under that management until 1873, when the present proprietors, W. J. Elliott & Co., assumed charge. The Sentinel is a six column folio, of neat appearance, and has a circulation of 700. It is Democratic in politics and wields considerable influence with the party.
The physicians who have practiced in Alamo since the founding of the town are as follows: David Whittaker, Jesse Harris, T. B. Cousins, T. J. Hicks and N. I. Hess. The present physicians are H. W. Cook, J. W. Johnson, E. T. Austin, John Shivers, J. H. Clay and D. W. Harris.
Alamo was incorporated in 1873 when H. H. Mahon was elected mayor.
Note: No hotel is listed in Friendship, but I know personally that John McCanless owned the hotel in Friendship for many years before moving to Arkansas and dieing.
The above directories were copied from a Supplement and Trade Edition of the Alamo Signal, published November, 1903, reprint printing in 1972 for E. T. Dunlap.
Source: Margaret N. Nichol
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