Carroll County, Tennessee

Carroll County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Huntingdon
Year Organized: 1821
Square Miles: 599

Court House:

PO Box 29
County Courthouse
Huntingdon, TN 38344-0029

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Named in honor of William Carroll (1788-1844), colonel and major-general in the War of 1812, governor of Tennessee for six terms, known as Tennessee's "reform governor."

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History of Carroll County

Created 1821 from Indian lands; named in honor of William Carroll (1788-1844), colonel and major-general in the War of 1812, governor of Tennessee for six terms, known as Tennessee's "reform governor."

Carroll County was formed in 1821 from Indian lands (Public Acts of Tennessee 1821, Chapter 32).

The Tennessee General Assembly created Carroll County on November 7, 1821, and named it for the governor, William Carroll. The area from which the county was taken had been part of the Western District, which was controlled by the Chickasaws until ceded in the Jackson Purchase of 1818. Settlers began to move into the area in 1820, where they found abundant game, fertile land, and large forests. Grass-covered areas known as "barrens" provided pasturage for livestock and easy cultivation. Realizing that the temperate climate and natural resources offered a bright future, the settlers established firm roots in the county and founded a number of communities and towns that continue today, including McKenzie, Trezevant, Bruceton, Atwood, McLemoresville, Clarksburg, and Huntingdon.

Find more from the Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture: CARROLL COUNTY

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 600 square miles (1,554 km²), of which, 599 square miles (1,551 km²) of it is land and 1 square miles (2 km²) of it (0.14%) is water.

Neighboring Counties:

Henry County (north)
Benton County (east)
Decatur County (southeast)
Henderson County (south)
Madison County (southwest)
Gibson County (west)
Weakley County (northwest)

Cities and Towns:

- Atwood	town	Incorporated Area
- Bruceton	town	Incorporated Area
- Clarksburg	town	Incorporated Area
- Hollow Rock	town	Incorporated Area
- Huntingdon (County Seat)	town	Incorporated Area
- McKenzie	city	Incorporated Area
- McLemoresville	town	Incorporated Area
- Trezevant	town	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resource Guide

Counties: US Map

The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of our country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."

Penn Foster High School

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