Obion County History

The First People

Years before West Tennessee saw the coming of the white man, it was the domain and the hunting grounds of the Native American Indian, the Chickasaw. Although their numbers were few, probably numbering 4500 at the most, they were powerful in warfare and valiant of heart. They had a tenacious love of this land and struggled for many long years to keep their land, before finally giving up West Tennessee by purchase in 1818. West Tennessee is said to be the only part of America that was never conquered by a foreign power.

The Great Quake

In the early morning hours of Monday, December 16, 1811 a great shaking of the ground began. This was the opening shock of New Madrid earthquakes of 1811-1812 and was felt over a million square mile area of North America, from Quebec to Charleston, from St. Louis to Boston. This initial shock was followed by a series of shocks and was to culminate in February with a famous "hard shock", which probably was responsible for the formation of Reelfoot Lake. It was the most violent earth movement of recorded history on the North American continent.

Although many were unfortunate witnesses to much of the devastation during the quake, settlers did not inhabit West Tennessee during that time. It was Chickasaw hunting grounds and some may have been present in Northwestern part of Tennessee to witness the creation of the earthquakes greatest and most permanent wonder, Reelfoot Lake. A Chickasaw legend evolved from the creation of Reelfoot Lake and was later embellished by the white man. The legend involved a crippled Chickasaw chief who was given the name Reelfoot to describe his reeling gait. Chief Reelfoot fell in love with a beautiful woman from another tribe. In defiance of Indian law and custom, Chief Reelfoot took her from her tribe to be his bride. This angered the Great Spirit, and he stomped his foot, causing the ground to shake and his footprint created the lake in whose waters Chief Reelfoot and his bride drowned.

Reelfoot Lake soon became a focal point for migrant waterfowl and the rich spawning ground of numerous varieties of fish. It attracted hunters and fishermen and many remained to earn a permanent living from its waters. The lure and beauty of Reelfoot Lake is fascinating not only because of the American Bald Eagles, ducks and Canada Geese that come to winter, or its superb hunting and fishing, but because of its unique origin.

The Birth of Obion County

On October 19, 1818 the Jackson Purchase added to the United States the fertile land of West Tennessee. The land involved was 8,500 square miles, or 5 million, 440 thousand acres.

Five years and 5 days later, on October 24, 1823, the Tennessee legislature in Murfreesboro (then state capitol) created Obion County. When first formed, it extended to the Mississippi River but, in 1870, Lake County was formed from its westernmost section. The county is bordered on the south by Dyer and Gibson Counties, and on the east by Weakley County, with the Obion River forming a portion of this boundary. The northern boundary of Obion County is the state line separating Tennessee and Kentucky.

Obion County is named for the Obion River, whose forks merge into a single stream within the county. The name "Obion" appears on very early maps of the area. Although uncertain where the name "Obion" originated, tradition states that it is a Native American word meaning "forks or branches", while other tales seem to indicate that is a corruption of the name of an early explorer of the area.

First Settlers

Within months following the 1818 purchase of West Tennessee from the Chickasaw tribe, Elisha Parker is recorded as the first settler in what was to become Obion County. Parker settled in the northeast part of the future county.

By 1820 the center section of the county became the scene of the first major settlement. Colonel William M. Wilson built his cabin about 3 miles southwest of the future site of Troy. His son, Thomas D., was said to have been the first white child born in the county. In 1821, Rice Williams became the first citizen of Troy. The first citizens of other future Obion County communities are A.J. Nelms who located two miles west of Rives in 1821, northwest and east of what would later be Union City came Obadiah Roberts, Benjamin Totten, Jethro L. Byrd, John Harpole and Thomas Sayles. West of future Union City were Willis and James Caldwell. Near the Potemus area settled John Killion, John Y. Brown and Henry Maupin.

Early County Communities

One of the major events of Obion County history came with the arrival of a wagon train led by James Harper in February of 1825. Some 43 persons, including the Harper and Hutchison families, journeyed for 9 weeks from South Carolina, through Nashville and finally to the Obion River about 1 mile from what would later be Rives. From there they crossed the river on canoes, floating across the wagons, and then continued west some four miles; cutting their way through the forest and undergrowth to settle on the high ground and become part of the group centering around what would soon be the first town of Obion County. On March 16, 1825, less than a month after the arrival of Harper, the town of Troy was laid out. According to tradition, hunter and backwoodsman, Davy Crockett was present and helped to layout the town of Troy. Crockett lived very near the Obion County line in Gibson County. Crockett was well known for his record killing of bears, 105 in one year in the Obion bottoms and surrounding areas. The name origin for Troy is unknown, but since many of the early settlers there were men of classical education, one might surmise it was named in honor of the great city of the ancient world.

Pioneers continued to come into the Troy area and settlements fanned out to the north and south. Two such settlements that sprang up were Pleasant Hill and Fairfield. It was in these communities that early pioneers met for barbecues and horse racing. In 1825 the first church service in the county was in Fairfield. Pleasant Hill is still a thriving community, but today even the memory of Fairfield, which once boasted a cotton gin, store, blacksmith, school and church, has nearly faded away.

In 1824, on the northeastern section of the county, Ben Totten settled on his 3500 acres from a land grant. He established his home and dug several wells for his own use, giving rise to the name of the community that grew up around them as Totten Wells. The community prospered very well until the coming of the railroad in the 1850's. The town moved somewhat south to a point closer to the railroad, which is known today as Harris Station.

In 1829 when a Nashville attorney, George W. Gibbs, accepted 5000 acres of land as payment of legal fees from Martin Armstrong and a few other North Carolinians, it set in motion the future formation of Union City. The acquired land was bound on the west by Houser Creek and on the east by Grove Creek. On December 16, 1839, Jacob Palmer, who had secured a 200-acre option within this area, began to build a two-room log cabin on the land. The densely forested area where the Palmer cabin was built is now known as College Street, approximately where the old Union City High School once stood. Others that settled near Palmer were, John White, William Scott, Ezekiel Harrelson, and (earlier) Elisha Parker. East of the Gibbs land was 1300 acres owned by Wilson Cage. South and east, heirs of original grant holders, Cullenall of Pennsylvania and Coonrod of North Carolina, owned the land. This land was settled by Littleton, Ward, Arch White, John Thomas and John C. Grizzard. The western section, in the Houser Creek area, was farmland of exceptionally rich soil, and was settled by Billy Bell, Hugh Catron, Ira Bradford, Capt. J. S. Turner, Sam Wade, Reverend E. Osborne and Thomas Batte.

The difficulties of river access to Obion County and the poor roads common to the area caused the coming of the iron rails to produce a gigantic spurt in growth and gave birth to a number of cities. The first railroad to be surveyed was the Mobil and Ohio, a north-south line. When Tennessee granted their charter in 1848, General Gibbs noted the railroad route lay across his holdings and began to make plans for the future. In 1851 the Nashville and Northwestern Railroad was chartered to run from Nashville to an indefinite terminus in West Tennessee. General Gibbs obtained the charter for a railroad, the Hickman and Obion, to be run from Hickman to a point on his land in Obion County where it would intersect the M&O. He also arranged for the terminus of the N and NW to become that point. Thus in 1854, the city of Union City was born of the marriage of the rails.

History Continued »