Return to Houston County Page Return to Home Page by Charles Lovelady Erin, Tennessee
The county of Houston was established by an act of the Legislature of Tennessee passed January 21, 1871. Section 3 of the act provided that John Brown, W. M. blake and J. W. Lewis, of the Humphreys County fraction; Abner Skelton, A. J. Parrish and Dudley Clymer, of the Dickson County fraction; Ransom Dudley, John L. McMillan and J. J. Pollard of the Stewart County fraction, should be a commission to organize the new county of Houston and set in motion the wheels of government. Cumberland City appears to have been the largest and oldest town included in the original boundaries of the county. However, Union Church in Old Town Erin served as a center of operations for setting the government of the new county in motion. The commission met January 31, 1871, and were sworn in by Thomas McIntosh, acting justice of the peace of Stewart County. They at once organized by selecting John L. McMillan, chairman, and James J. Pollard, secretary. An election was held February 22, 1871, to submit the act to the voters. Polling places were at the homes of J. C. Lockhart, on Wells Creek; Allan Barnes, on Cane Creek, and Mrs. Keziah Vickers, on Huricane Creek, in the Stewart County fraction; at the homes of B. W. Swift and John Brown, on White Oak Creek in Humphreys County fraction; at the home of A. B. Skelton, on Yellow Creek, and at Bethany Cumberland Presbyterian Church, on the Dry Branch of Yellow Creek, in the Dickson County fraction; at the mill of Levi Myers on the east fork of Yellow Creek, in the Montgomery County fraction.
As seen above a fraction of Montgomery County had also been proposed as part of the new county but only 14 residents of that area voted in favor, with a majority of 49 against becoming a part of the new county, so no fraction of Montgomery County was included in Houston County. In the Stewart County Fraction votes were 336 for and 110 against. In the Dickson County fraction votes were 102 for 21 against. In the Humphreys County fraction votes were 90 for and 8 against. The commission met at Union Church the day after this total vote of 542 for and 202 against and declared Houston County established by a majority vote from fractions of Stewart, Dickson and Humphreys Counties.
"The county was then divided into ten civil districts, and another election was called March 17, 1871, for the purpose of voting on the selection of a county seat, and also for the election of county and district officers."
The sites voted on for the county seat according to J. B. Killebrew writing in 1874, were, ". . . this place (Erin) competed with Arlington for the county seat. The latter place was selected as a compromise between Cumberland City on the Cumberland River, and Danville on the Tennessee River." Goodspeed twelve years later in 1886 says, "Hollister’s field, the McMillan farm at Arlington, the Bateman farm and the West Farm." Is there a contradiction here or was there a Bateman farm at one of these river towns and a West farm at the other river town?
Why was not old town Erin on the ballot for the county seat? Why Hollister’s field? Perhaps at that early date there had been no flooding of Hollister’s field and perhaps the lower "old town" had been subject to occasionally be flooded.
The election was held and Hollister’s field and the McMillan farm received the most votes, but no place received the required majority, another election was ordered to be held April 21, 1871, to decide between Hollister’s field and the McMillan farm. In this election McMillan’s farm received the majority and the seat of county government was located on the McMillan farm at what would become known as Arlington. Officers elected March 17, 1871, were: James Sanford Lee, County Court Clerk; Robert C. Rushing, Sheriff; Samuel T. Allen, Revenue Collector; G. W. Rushing, Circuit Court Clerk (failed to Qualify); John L. McMillan, Chancery Court Clerk; J. W. Hall, Trustee; C. S. Humphreys, Register.
District Justices of the Peace Constables
1 Norman McKinnon D. C. Wilson
W. J. Vickers
2 Jeremiah Mobley J. Petty
F. M. Turner
3 Thomas McIntosh Gideon French
John Chadwick
4 J. W. Knight William Shelton
J. Shelton
5 J. Y. Knight William knight
N. H. Belcher
6 H. J. Dickson J. C. Dickson
W. H. Rice
7 L. D. Tatom J. M. Russell
J. H. Russell
8 Jacob Parchman J. M. Keel
W. R. Griffin
9 Robert Steele J. I. Allman
R. E. Thomas
10 John Willey Richardson T. J. Reynolds
H. H. Buquo
All three of the parent counties would bring suit in their respective chancery courts against Houston County. Stewart and Humphreys counties had partly legitimate complaints and the courts found in their favor ordering the parties to reach an agreement on new boundaries. In four to five years officials in Houston County realized that an agreement was impossible without moving the boundaries farther than was necessary to bring their population back to what the law required. This was the only one of the charges that was found to be legitimate, but time was running out for the looser to comply with the order of the courts. The plaintiff counties were determined to gain back as much as possible. Dickson County also brought suit against Houston County but court found this suit unjustified.
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Changes last made on: Dec. 31, 2000