HENDERSON COUNTY'S FIRST CIVIL DISTRICTS

Jonathan Kennon Thompson Smith

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Under the provisions of the newly-adopted Constitution of the State of Tennessee, in 1835, the counties in the state were divided into local governing units called CIVIL DISTRICTS, thereby replacing the captains' districts.

In the Manuscript Department of the Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville, is Map 1086, Henderson County, drawn by the commissioners appointed to lay off the new civil districts for Henderson County in 1836. Accompanying the map is the report of these commissioners, a transcript of which follows below.

"Pursuant to an act of the Legislature of the State of Tennessee entitled 'An Act to Provide for the Laying Of f the Several Counties in this State into Districts of Convenient Size Within Which Justices of the Peace and Constables Shall be Elected and for Other Purposes' we whose names are hereunto assigned being appointed commissioners by a resolution of said Gen'l. Assembly after being duly sworn have proceeded to lay of f the County of Henderson in the State of Tennessee agreeable to the above recited act as follows (viz).

"The 1st District to begin at the northwest corner of Henderson County, running thence south with the line of Carroll & Madison counties to where the Madison County line crosses the road leading from Lexington in Henderson County to Jackson in Madison by Garland Anderson's, thence east with said road to where it intersects the range line dividing ranges three & four in the 9th Surveyors District, thence north with said line to the north line of the county, thence west to the beginning. Elections in sd. district shall be held at the house of JOHN BELL.

"The 2nd District to begin where the west boundary line of Henderson County crosses the road leading from Lexington to Jackson by Garland Anderson's running thence south to the south west corner of the 9th section & 3rd range in the 9th Surveryors District thence east to the south east corner of said section, thence north with the range line dividing ranges three & four to where it intersects the above road, thence west with said road to the beginning. The elections in sd. district to be held at the house of WILLIAM A. MEACHAM.

"The 3rd District to begin at the north west corner of the 8th section in the 3rd range, running east to the north west corner of sd. section, thence south with the range line dividing ranges three & four to where it crosses the first hollow south of Samuel McCroskie's entry for 300 acres, thence down said hollow until it intersects Clarks Creek, thence down sd. creek to the west boundary line of an occupant reserve entered in the name of James Jewell, thence north with the line of the same to the south line of a 640 acre entry in the name of the trustees of the University of N. Carolina, thence west &co. with the lines of the same to its most western south west corner, thence on west to the west boundary of Henderson County, thence north with the Madison County line to the beginning. Elections to be held in sd. district at MIFFLIN.

"The 4th District begins at the south west corner of Henderson County, runs thence east to where the county line intersects the range line dividing range three & four in the 9th Surveyors Distr. thence north with sd. line to where it crosses the first hollow south of a 300 acre entry in the name of Saml. McCroski, thence down sd. hollow to where it intersects Clarks Creek, thence down said creek to where the west boundary line of James Jewell's entry crosses the same, thence north with the same to the south line of a 640 acre entry in the name of the trustees of the University of N. Carolina, thence west &co. with the line of the same to the most western south west corner of the same, thence on west to

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the Madison County line thence south with sd. line to the beginning. The elections to be held at the house of JAMES NEELLY.

"The 5th District to begin on the south boundary of Henderson County where the range line dividing ranges three & four in the 9th Surveryors District crosses the same running thence east to where the range line dividing ranges four & five crosses sd. county line, thence north to the north east corner of section seven, range 4, thence west to the north 4wes corner of sd. 7th section, thence south to the beginning. The elections to be held in sd. district at the house of JAMES CALLEY.

"The 6th District shall begin at the south west corner of section 8th range 4th running thence north with the range line dividing ranges three & four in the 9th Surveyors Dist. to where it intersects the road leading from Lexington to Jackson by David Ballard's old place & Tunis Hood's, thence east with said road to where it intersects the range line dividing ranges four & five, thence south with sd. range line to the south east corner of section 8th range 4th, thence west to the beginning. The elections to be held at the house of EDMUND KNOWLS.

"The 7th District shall begin where the range line dividing ranges three & four crosses the road leading from Lexington to Jackson by the way of David Bellows old place and Tunis Hood's, thence east with said road to where it crosses the range line dividing ranges four & five in the 9th Surveyors District, thence north to the old Ross ferry road, thence west with sd. road to where it intersects the range line dividing ranges three & four in sd. Surveyors Dist., thence south with sd. line to the beginning. The elections to be held at the house of ELI TEAGUE.

"The 8th District shall begin at the north west corner of the 11th section of the 4th range & 9th Surveyors Dist., running thence south with the range line dividing ranges three & four to where it intersects the old Ross ferry road, thence east with sd. road to where it intersects the road leading from Lexington to Huntingdon by the way of Parkers thence north with sd. Huntingdon z~oad to the north boundary of Henderson County, thence west to the beginning. The elections to be held at the house of ______ (left blank) WILLIAMS.

"The 9th District beginning on the north boundary line of Henderson County where the road leading from Lexington to Huntingdon by the way of Parkers crosses the same running thence south with said road to where it intersects the old Rosses ferry road, thence east with sd. road by John Coffey's, to where it intersects the old Reynoldsburg & Natchez road, thence with sd. road to the north boundary line of sd. cour~ty, thence west with the Carroll County line to the beginning. Elections to be held in PLEASANT EXCHANGE.

"The 10th District shall begin where the old Rosses ferry road leading from sd. ferry to Jackson by the way of John Coffey's intersects the range line dividing ranges four & five in the 9th Surveyor District running south with sd. range line to the south west corner of the 9th section & 5th range, thence east with the section line -dividing 8th & 9th sections to where it intersects the old Reynoldsburg & Natchez road, thence with sd. road north to where the sd. Rosses ferry road intersects the same, thence west with the same to the beginning. Elections in sd. district to be held at LEXINGTON.

"The 11th District begins where the old Reynoldsburg & Natchez road crosses the section line dividing the 8th & 9th sections in the 9th Surveyors District, running thence west with sd. line to the north west corner of the 8th section & 5th range, thence south to the south west corner of sd. 8th section, thence east to the south east corner of the

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same, thence south with the range line dividing ranges 5 & 6 to where it intersects the old ridge road leading from. Roarks. old place to Shannonville, thence with sd. road to where it intersects the road leading from Lexington to Pattons Ferry by the way of Butler Hicks' thence north with the same & said Natchez & Reynoldsburg road to the beginning. Elections to be held in said district at the house of THOMAS MORGAN.

"The 12th District begins at the north west corner of section 7th range 5th in the 9th Surveyors District running thence south with the range line dividing ranges 4th & 5th to the south boundary of the county thence east to where the county line crosses Hurrican Creek thence up said creek to the road leading from Roarks old place to Shannonville near Henry Lipe's, thence west with said road to where it intersects the range line dividing ranges five & six, thence north with said line to the north east corner of said section 7th range 5th thence west to the beginning. Elections to be held in said district at BURNS' & GILBREATH's store.

 "The 13th District begins where the ridge road leading from Roarks old place to Shannonville crosses the east boundary line of Henderson County running thence west with said road to the head of Hurricane Creek near Henry Lipe's thence down said creek to the south boundary of the county thence east & _____ the beginning including all that part of Henderson County lying south & east of the above line. Elections to be held at the house of JOHN KENTS.

"14th District begins where the ridge road leading from Roarks old place to Shannonville crosses the east boundary line of Henderson County running thence west to where it crosses the road leading from Pattons ferry to Lexington by Butler Hicks', thence with said Pattons ferry road until it intersects the old Natchez road, thence with said Natchez & Reynoldsburg road to where it intersects the line dividing the 9th & 10th sections in the 6th range thence east with said line to the Perry County line thence south to the beginning. Elections to be held in said district at the house of WILLIAM MILLS.

"And the 15th District begins where the road leading from Reynoldsburg to Natchez intersects the line dividing the 9th & 10th sections in the 6th range & 9th Surveyors District running thence east with said section line to the Perry County line thence north with said line to the north east corner of Henderson County, thence west to said Reynoldsburg & Natchez road thence with said road to the beginning. Elections to be held in said district at the house of ZACHARIAH BEVILL.

"Mifflin 7th January 1836"

This report was posted to Luke Lea, Esq., Secretary of State, January 17, 1836 and filed in his office January 25, 1836.

Note: The village of Reynoldsburg was spelled ReynoldsburgH in this report and Natchez Road as Nachez Road.

This report makes for tedious reading but it is worth detailing as the names of prominent individuals and local roads are mentioned.

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Filed with the commissioners January 1836 report was a crude map outlining the boundaries of the civil districts, including as well the sections and range lines. The present writer has used that part of this map, in this publication, showing the boundaries of the civil districts, deleting the sections and ranges of the Ninth Surveyor District (which are shown in another volume). The district numbers are placed in the map below within the districts and districts later formed are numbered within circles and placed in the general areas they covered.

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A large portion of southern Henderson County was taken to form several civil districts of Chester County when it was created in 1879; a portion of southeast Henderson County was taken to form a section of Decatur County in 1849. These areas are shaded on a map, below, designed by James H. Hanna, retired civil engineer and used with his permission.

Other works by Jonathan K. T. Smith can be found at the Madison County Records Repository at TNGenWeb.