Author unidentified

During the Civil War, Pickett County was in parts of Fentress and Overton Counties.

Lem C. Wright, from this area was a lieutenant in the Union Army under Captain Rufus Dowdy. He was elected as a state representative thirteen years after the end of the war, in 1878, and in time for the area to get back to some sort of normalcy.

During his term in the Civil War he spent some time in Smith County where he possibly became acquainted with H.L. Pickett and his father. H.L. Pickett represented Wilson County in the state legislature.

Constitutionally no citizen of Tennessee should be over a days travel or 11 miles from the county seat. A radius of 11 miles was drawn from Livingston and from Jamestown. What was left over went into the new county. The eastern neck was left because it needed to be enough territory to meet the constitutional guidelines.

Representative Wright and the house determined to honor H.L. Pickett by naming the county after him. It seems that he had done some previous work in alleviating some of the debt that was assessed upon Tennessee during the Civil War. The only connection that H.L. Pickett had to the area was possibly his relationship to Mr. Wright. It was determined to name the county seat Wrightsville. The bill passed the house in 1879 but when it got to the senate a Senator Byrd sent it back to the house and told them he would see that it passed as long as they named the county seat Byrdstown after him. Byrdstown was positioned in the geographic center of the county.

Although a Democrat and a slaveholder, Senator Byrd had been a Colonel in the Union army. He had done all he could to try to keep the State from seceding from the Union. It was determined that he would be honored by naming the county seat Byrdstown. The bill was sent back to the House but the legislature only met every two years back then and it was not formally passed and Pickett county was not official until 1881.

When Pickett County was legally formed there was a party rejoicing the new county called Pickett. A newspaper article describing this party was recently found while going through Mary Lou Winningham’s collection of mementos.

Source: http://www.theborderlands.org/Formation.htm (via the Internet Archive)

The old newspaper article below was recently found while going through Mary Lou Winningham’s collection of mementos.

The most pleasant recollection of my life was the short time I spent or lived in Tennessee. I lived with a Mr. Buckles near Olympus Post Office. Then in Overton County, Tennessee but now a part of Pickett County and Olympus Post Office was located in a store owned by W. B. Grimsley and Harvey Ryan. William (Bill) Hatcher run a saw mill close to Grimsley & Ryan store and East of Olympus a mile or so was a large school building two story. The upper story was used for a Masonic Hall, the lower story was for a school known as the Smyrna Academy run by Prof. Capps and his widowed daughter. The success of this school was widely known and well attended. Several cottages of two rooms each was built near this school building. Some with a stock chimney with an open fireplace in each room and young men would live in those cottages kept “Batch” and attend school whose homes were too far away to live at home and go to school. Some of the young men was from Kentucky.

One day as I was passing the school house I saw a lot of men assembled there and as there was no school some others with myself decided to go in the school building and see what was going on. Seated at a table was W.B. Grimsley, Ryan and William (Bill) Hatcher, a Mr. Buckles the man I was staying with a Mr. Mitchell, probably a Mr. Young, a Mr. Pendergrass, Prof. Capps and other men in the congregation I knew besides a great many I did not know. They were discussing the organizing of a new County and the location of the County Seat and me being quite a young man and realizing this was a history making event with some other young men we left the meeting.

We had not got very far from the school house when we saw three men riding up on horse back, dismount, hitch their horses to some young trees and walk hurriedly toward the school building, and someone said, “There is a Sheriff”, and as this was one of the most peaceable and law abiding communities as there was in the State the presence of a sheriff caused everyone to want to know his mission. So we all rushed to the school house to see what was going to happen. As they walked down the aisle one pulled a bundle of papers from his inside coat pocket and said as he walked up to where W.B. Grimsley and others were seated. Gentlemen I am the Sheriff of Fentress County, Tennessee and authorized legally to serve notice against any effort to adjoining a new County or something like that. Mr. W.B. Grimsley still seated at the table run his fore finger around a brush of whiskers on his chin and looked up to the man and said, “My friend, you are too late, we have done organized Pickett County, Tennessee.”

The crowd cheered and laughed and the sheriff laughed too and after chatting a short time and reading some papers he said, “Well, I have done about all I can do.” and he and and those who came with him got on their horses and rode away.

Now I do not remember the day of the week, the day of the month or the month but it must have been in the summer or early fall as the weather was pleasant and trees and the vegetation was green, and I do not remember what year this was but from what happened later this must have been in 1879 or 1880. For in 1882 I was invited to attend a “Ball” at Byrdstown which was then the established County Seat of Pickett County.

The Ball some time during the Christmas Holidays was in what was called “Bates Hall” the second floor of a large two story frame building. The lower floor was used by Miller Bros. who carried a large stock of general merchandise.The attendance at the ball was large, many from different parts of the State as well as several from Kentucky, but the hall was large enough for the occasion.

The music was fine and the dancing good and I thought several times that night and many times since what a well behaved crowd and what universal enjoyment of all present. While there was several present who did not dance they seemed to enjoy the occasion as much as any that did dance.

This Ball was given in honor of a man named Bates who was Governor of Tennessee or a candidate for Governor and I doubt if there ever was or ever will be another gathering of as many as there was at this Ball when the behavior was better or even as good as it was on this occasion. Everybody seemed anxious to tell some one else what a delightful time they had had. Ever man there was a gentleman and I cannot remember ever seeing as many ladies together where every one was so beautiful and one especially. I thought then and think now the most beautiful girl I ever saw. If I am correct about the dates this was 46 years ago this Christmas and this girl that was at this Ball that I thought the most beautiful is still living in good health and active.

Sixty six years old the only one I know that was at that ball that is still alive. These statements are from memory of purely boyhood days as I have never been in Byrdstown since the night of the Ball and wonder if there is any one now living that was at Smyrna at the time of the above mentioned meeting in the Ball.

Ice B. Reeves • 1602 E. Lamar St. • Sherman, Texas