Perry County, Tennessee
Perry County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,366, with an average population density of, making it the least densely populated county in Tennessee. Its county seat and largest town is Linden. The county is named after American naval commander and War of 1812 hero Oliver Hazard Perry.
In 1806, the Cherokee ceded to the United States the land that would later become Perry County in the Treaty of Washington. The county was established by the Tennessee General Assembly in 1819 from parts of Wayne County, Hickman County, and Humphreys County. In 1845, the portions of Perry County located west of the Tennessee River were split off to form Decatur County.
Agriculture and forestry are the largest components of the local economy, supplemented by light industry and tourism. Perry County is one of the most economically disadvantaged counties in the state. It was severely impacted by the Great Recession of 2008, at one point having the second highest unemployment rate in the United States, and continues to lag behind the rest of the state in various economic indicators, including income inequality and poverty rates. Transportation infrastructure is limited, and no railroads, commercial airports, or freeways are present in the county.
Over 80 percent of the county is forested. The county's terrain is largely defined by its two major rivers, the Buffalo and the Tennessee, and features ridges and valleys that form tributaries to the rivers. Agriculture and outdoor recreation benefit from plentiful fresh water sources, fertile crop land, and abundant wildlife. Mousetail Landing State Park is the largest protected area in the county and a significant driver of nature tourism in the region.
History
Prehistory and early settlement
Archaeological evidence suggests a significant population of mound building Native Americans in the county, with several mounds located near the Tennessee River at Lady's Bluff. One of the largest mounds in the state was built between 1000 and 1300 CE in the county on Cedar Creek. Though it has been reduced in size due to erosion and agricultural activity, it still measures approximately high and in circumference. Archaeological surveys conducted in the 1970s and 1980s discovered evidence of early Archaic through late Woodland settlement concentrated in bottomland in the Tennessee River basin near Mousetail Landing State Park, with evidence of Paleoindian occupation in one site. More recently, shore erosion associated with increased traffic on the river has exposed burial sites and middens associated with pre-European settlement in the park. Arrowheads and spear tips associated the Mississippian, Woodland, and Copena cultures have been found along the Tennessee River tributaries in the western half of the county. One example of ancient Native American statuary, an tall female figure unearthed prior to 1868 near a mound in the county, is in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution.On January 7, 1806, with the signing of the Treaty of Washington, the Cherokee ceded to the United States a large tract of territory in the south-central portion of Tennessee that included the area that would become Perry County. Permanent settlement by people of European descent along with enslaved people of African descent began shortly after this treaty was ratified. The area was found to have very productive bottomland with an abundance of water, timber, and wild game. The earliest settlers likely arrived from nearby counties in Middle Tennessee, although some immigrated to the area from North Carolina, Alabama, and Kentucky.
Between 1810 and 1812, the first gristmill in the area was established on Cane Creek. The first known birth of a person of European descent in the area occurred in 1818 along Toms Creek. Some of the early settlers were veterans of the War of 1812, and some had probably received land grants in the area from the state of North Carolina for service in the American Revolution. It is likely the first settlers arrived via the Tennessee River based on the location of the first settlements being located near natural river landings.
Formation and early history
In 1819, the Tennessee General Assembly passed an act providing: The county, named in honor of Oliver Hazard Perry, was officially organized that same year.In 1820, the first court in the county was held in the home of James Dickson near Lick Creek under a Judge Humphreys. The county's first school was established by Ferney Stanley on Toms Creek the same year. In 1821, the county seat was established in Perryville, a river port located on the west bank of the Tennessee River and originally known as Midtown. A log courthouse was constructed in Perryville, but was later replaced with a brick structure. Early in its history, Perryville was a relatively important river port and settlement, with some sources noting David Crockett, Andrew Jackson, Sam Houston, and James K. Polk all having visited the town at some point. By 1837, however, the town was reportedly in a ruinous state and described as a "miserable looking settlement" by one traveler, even though it remained the county seat and an active river landing.
In 1825, the county's militia was formalized as the 68th Regiment, 11th Brigade, Tennessee Militia. Later, in 1827, the county militia was split into two regiments by the state legislature, with one regiment drawing from the area east of the Tennessee River, and the other drawing from the west, marking one of the first legal splits of the county along the river. In 1830, the settlement of Beardstown was established on a high bluff overlooking the Buffalo River.
By the early 1830s, significant deposits of iron ore had been discovered in the county. Sufficient quantities were being extracted to justify the construction of a large iron ore furnace on Cedar Creek near the Tennessee River between 1832 and 1834. It was one of the first furnaces in the state, possibly the first, designed for the then-new "hot blast" smelting techniques for refining pig iron. By 1838, a community had grown around the furnace, including mills, barracks for free and enslaved workers, a storehouse, blacksmith shops, and other workshops and outbuildings. The furnace shut down in 1862 during the Civil War after being shelled by Union gunboats, and was never brought back to service. The Cedar Grove Iron Furnace is the only twin-stack iron furnace remaining in Tennessee. In addition to iron ore, some marble mining was conducted in the co=unty in the middle of the 19th century.
In February 1833, the issue of nullification, or the ability of state governments to unilaterally invalidate Federal laws as unconstitutional, was raised in a mass meeting in Perryville. After speakers for and against Federal supremacy were heard, a resolution was passed unanimously supporting the right of the President to execute the laws passed by Congress, condemning the acts of nullification in South Carolina, and reaffirming the necessity of the maintenance of the Union. On July 10, 1843, the courthouse at Perryville was destroyed in a fire, and through at least late 1844 meetings that would otherwise have been held in the courthouse were held in warehouses along the river. No record exists of a courthouse being re-built in Perryville.
By the late 1830s, the difficulties of conducting government business in a county split by a major river that lacked reliable crossings was becoming more apparent. In 1837, a bill was passed in the state legislature creating an entry-taker's office in the eastern portion of the county, duplicating many of the county government's functions. Demands to separate the portion of the county west of the Tennessee River were increasing by 1845, citing the "danger and expense in attending courts...and other business in the county seat " by people living on the opposite side. That year, bills proposing the creation of a new county formed by the portions of Perry County west of the river appeared in the state legislature. In November 1845 the legislature passed an act to create Decatur County from the land occupied by Perry County west of the Tennessee River. The seat of government and courts were then temporarily relocated from Perryville to a village near the new geographic center of the county known as Harrisburg.
In 1847, located approximately north of Harrisburg on the west bank of the Buffalo River were donated to the county by David B. Harris for the building of a new county seat. The town was initially named Milton, in honor of Milton Brown, but when it was discovered that there was already a town of the same name in the state, it was renamed Linden after the Thomas Campbell poem "Hohenlinden". The land was divided into plots and a public square, and the plots were sold off to provide funds for the construction of public buildings. Linden was established as the county seat in 1848, where it remains, and is the largest municipality in the county. A temporary structure to house the court was built in 1848, and was replaced by a wooden frame building in 1849. Harrisburg no longer exists as an organized entity or recognized location. During this time period, in 1844, the community of Flatwoods, originally known as Whitaker's Bluff, was established along the Buffalo River in the southern part of the county by a group of settlers from Halifax, North Carolina.
In 1850, it was reported that there were 10 grist mills, a saw mill, a furnace, and two tanneries in operation within the county. Additionally, 21 churches were organized, as well as 23 schools enrolling 685 students. Corn was the primary agricultural product at the time, though oats, sweet potatoes, and tobacco were also grown in smaller quantities. In 1854, Lobelville was established as a trading-post village on the west bank of the Buffalo River about north of Beardstown by a French trader named Henri de Lobel.
By the late 1850s, allegations and rumors of an impending slave insurrection began to spread throughout the southern United States. In 1856, the panic reached Perry County, when multiple enslaved persons were murdered over rumors of the plotting of a revolt. The total number of people killed by so-called vigilance committees is unclear, with contemporary reports citing as many as 15 being hanged, and later historical research noting between 10 and 12.