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White County was erected out of Smith County by an act entitled an act to form a new county south of the counties of Wilson, Smith, Jackson and Overton, passed by the General Assembly on September 11, 1806, with the following boundaries: "Beginning at the late Indian boundary line at the southwest corner of said Wilson County; thence eastwardly with the said counties of Wilson, Smith, Jackson and Overton to the west boundary of Roane County; thence southwardly with the line of said Roane County to
the south boundary line of this State; thence with the said south boundary line to the southeast corner of Rutherford County; thence north with the east boundary line of Rutherford County to the beginning aforesaid." Thus it will be seen that at its form
ation White County embraced all the territory east of Smith County to Walden's Ridge and extended to the southern boundary of the State. Yet, possessed as it was of such vast domain at its organization, this county is at present below the average of Tennessee counties in size, having been reduced in 1807 by the erection of Warren County on the south, on the west by DeKalb County in 1837, again on the south by Van Buren County in 1840, and on the north by Putnam in 1854, and Cumberland on the east in 1856.
At present the county has an area of 440 square miles, or 281,600 acres, and is bounded on the north by Putnam County, on the east by Cumberland County, on the south by the counties of Warren and Van Buren, and on the west by De Kalb County. The above act designated the house of Joseph Terry, at what is now Rock Island, in Warren County, mention of which is made in the history of that county, as the place of holding the courts of White County until a permanent seat of justice should be located, and it was there the county was organized in 1807. A temporary log courthouse was erected, in which the courts were held for three years. The General Assembly, on October 18, 1809, passed an act entitled to establish the permanent seat of justice for White County, which act provided for the calling and holding of an election for the selection of seven commissioners whose duties would be the locating of a county seat, which town should be called Sparta, the surveying and laying off into lots of said town, the selling of such lots, and the erection of the necessary county buildings, the expenses to be met with the moneys accruing from the sales of the lots. The election was held on the first Monday and Tuesday in January, 1810, and resulted in the election, as such commissioners, of Thomas Bounds, Aaron England, Benjamin Weaver, Turner Lane, James Fulkerson, Alexander Lowrey and Nicholas Gillentine. A site on the Calf Killer River was immediately chosen, but being unable to agree upon which side of the river the location should be made, the commissioners called an election and submitted the question to the people, who chose the east side, though the west side was more suitable, for the reason that the owner of the west side, Alexander Lowrey, one of the commissioners, donated forty acres to the county, while the owner of the east side, thinking of course his land would be selected, placed too high, and at that time an exorbitant, value on his land. The town was at once surveyed and laid off into lots, the same sold, and in the course of a few months a log courthouse and jail were erected, and the courts removed from Rock Island to Sparta. The log court-house stood until about 1815, when the present brick building was erected at a cost of not over $5,000. The building is a small, square-shaped, two-story structure, which when erected answered fully the requirements of a courthouse, but at the present is inadequate, and two of the most important county officials find quarters elsewhere. The building bears ample evidence of its extreme old age, being probably one of the oldest public buildings in the State, and should be replaced with a structure more in keeping with the advancement of the town, county and times. The log jail was but little more than a pen, yet answered all purposes until about 1820, when a brick jail was erected. This building has been damaged by fire on several occasions, but was each time repaired, the last time in about 1869, and is now a substantial building, valued at about $2,000.
In 1810 White County had a population of 4,028, of 8,701 in 1820, of 9,967 in 1830, of 10,747 in 1840, of 11,444 in 1850, of 9,881 in 1860, of 9,875 in 1870, of 11,143 in 1880, and of 12,500 in 1886. The voting population in 1870 was 1,900, and at the August election, 1886, the county polled 2,183, of which 1,811 were Democratic and 372 Republican. In 1870 there were 217,101 acres assessed for taxation in the county, valued at $1,140,836, and the total valuation of taxable property was $1,820,610. In1886 there were 220,228 acres assessed, valued at $936,960, and the total valuation of taxable property, including real, personal and all other property, amounted to $1, 132,844. The tax aggregate for 1886 shows the following tax assessment: poll, $1,618; State, $3,395.43; county, $3,803.02; school, $4,528.41; special, $1,132.81; railroad, $1,699.23; highway, $906.28; total $15,465.18.
The cereal products of the county in 1860 were, of wheat, 55,181 bushels; corn, 847,944 bushels; oats, 22,129 bushels; rye, 1,158 bushels; potatoes, 15,500 bushels; tobacco, 21,180 pounds, and of wool, 15,000 pounds. In 1886 the products were, of wheat, 45,653 bushels; corn, 650,000 bushels; oats, 25,900 bushels; rye, 2,887 bushels; tobacco, 80,000 pounds; potatoes, 17,000 bushels, and of wool, 16,000 pounds. The live stock of the county in 1870 amounted to 2,694 head of horses and mules, 2,988 head of cattle, 8,144 head of sheep, and 17,840 head of hogs. In 1886 the live stock amounted to 3,625 head of horses and mules, 8,208 head of cattle, 5,000 head of sheep, and 25,000 head of hogs.
The McMinnville branch of the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway, was extended to Sparta in 1884. There are thirteen miles of track in White County, and Sparta is the terminus. Work, however, is in progress on an extension of the railroad from Spa
rta to the Bon Air Coal Mines,which, when complete,will be about six and one-half miles in length. The work is being pushed with a large force of hands, and is to be completed and cars running during the year 1887.
The county has erected but three bridges of consequence in the county, they all spanning Calf Killer River, one of which is at Sparta, one at Simpson's mills, in the First District, and one at Gillin's mills, in the Twelfth District.
There are no turnpikes in White County, but numerous highways lead out from Sparta to all parts of the county. These, during the late spring, summer and fall months are in splendid condition, but in winter are all but impassable for vehicles. The county is subdivided into thirteen Districts, though originally there were but eight.
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