Hardeman County, Tennessee

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

County Seat: Bolivar
Year Organized: 1823
Square Miles: 668

Court House:

100 North Main Street
County Courthouse
Bolivar, TN 38008-2351

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Named in honor of Thomas Jones Hardeman (1788- 1854), Creek War and War of 1812 soldier, prominent figure in the fight for Texas independence and Republic of Texas Congressman.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History of Hardeman County

Created 1823 from Hardin County and Indian lands; named in honor of Thomas Jones Hardeman (1788- 1854), Creek War and War of 1812 soldier, prominent figure in the fight for Texas independence and Republic of Texas Congressman.

Hardeman County was formed in 1823 from Hardin County and Indian lands. (Private Acts of Tennessee 1823, Chapter 108).

There was a fire at the Hardeman County courthouse in 1864.

Located in the upper plateaus of southwestern Tennessee near the headwaters of the Big Hatchie River, Hardeman County has an area of 655 square miles. The county was formed from the Jackson Purchase and attached to Hardin County, then to Madison County, before the Tennessee General Assembly created Hardeman County in 1823. The county was named in honor of Colonel Thomas Hardeman, a veteran of the War of 1812 who served as the first county court clerk. He was commissioner of the town of Bolivar before moving to Texas in 1835.

Settlement of the county began almost immediately, with most settlers migrating from Middle Tennessee, Virginia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Kentucky. Among the early settlers were Ezekiel Polk, the grandfather of President James K. Polk, and his son and son-in-law, William Polk and Thomas McNeal, and Rufus P. Neely, the grandson of Thomas Hardeman.

The county seat was established first on Hatchie River and named Hatchie Town. In April 1824 the commissioners chose the present site on land offered by William Ramsey and called the town Bolivar in honor of the South American patriot Simon Bolivar. The town was incorporated in 1847 and was governed by a mayor, recorder, and five aldermen.

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

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 670 square miles (1,736 km²), of which, 668 square miles (1,729 km²) of it is land and 3 square miles (7 km²) of it is water. The total area is 0.42% water.

Chickasaw State Park is partially located in Hardeman County.

Neighboring Counties:

Madison County (north)
Chester County (northeast)
McNairy County (east)
Alcorn County, Mississippi (southeast)
Tippah County, Mississippi (south)
Benton County, Mississippi (southwest)
Fayette County (west)
Haywood County (northwest)

Cities and Towns:

- Bolivar (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Grand Junction	city	Incorporated Area
- Hickory Valley	town	Incorporated Area
- Hornsby	town	Incorporated Area
- Middleton	city	Incorporated Area
- Saulsbury	town	Incorporated Area
- Silerton	town	Incorporated Area
- Toone	town	Incorporated Area
- Whiteville	town	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resources

The history of our nation was a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names given the counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of this 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."