Jackson County, Tennessee

Jackson County Education, Geography, and History

Jackson County is a county located in the state of Tennessee. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 11,638. Its county seat is Gainesboro.

Jackson is part of the Cookeville, TN Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Etymology - Origin of Jackson County Name

Named in honor of Andrew Jackson (1767-1845), US congressman and senator, Tennessee Supreme Court judge, troop commander at the Battle of New Orleans, seventh US president.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

History of Jackson County

Created 1801 from Smith County and Indian lands; named in honor of Andrew Jackson (1767-1845), US congressman and senator, Tennessee Supreme Court judge, troop commander at the Battle of New Orleans, seventh US president.

Jackson County was formed in 1801 from Smith County and Indian lands. (Acts of Tennessee 1801, Chapter 48).

There were fires at the Jackson County courthouse in 1872 and 1926.

Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture
Located in the picturesque foothills of the Cumberland Mountains, Jackson County is known as the "Switzerland of the Cumberlands." Although the western part of Jackson County lies within the Nashville Basin, most of the eastern part of the county is situated within the Highland Rim physiographic province at the foot of the Higher Cumberland Plateau to the east and is part of the Interior Low Plateau. There is much rolling land between sharply incised stream valleys.

Jackson County, named in honor of Andrew Jackson, was created by the Tennessee legislature in November 1801. It is the second oldest of the twenty-three counties named for Jackson in the United States; only Jackson County in Georgia is older. Temporary county seats were used until about the year 1806, when Williamsburg, named for Sampson Williams, an early pioneer in the area, was named as the county seat.

In 1817 Gainesboro was designated as the permanent county seat and was incorporated in 1820. The land was donated by David Cox. Gainesborough, as it was then spelled, is one of the oldest towns in the state and was named for General Edmund Pendleton Gaines, who fought with Jackson at the battle of New Orleans. The Gainesboro Historic District, which includes the town square and the 1927 Jackson County Courthouse, is listed 0n the National Register of Historic Places. Find more from the Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture: JACKSON COUNTY

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 320 square miles (828 km²), of which, 309 square miles (800 km²) of it is land and 11 square miles (28 km²) of it (3.34%) is water.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• Clay County (north)
• Overton County (east)
• Putnam County (south)
• Smith County (southwest)
• Macon County (northwest)

Education

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