Born in North Carolina
Died in Tennessee
Benton Co., Tennessee
was created Nov. 24, 1834, from the larger Henry & Humphreys
Co's. The County Seat is Camden, TN 38320; It is located in West
Tennessee; Bounded by
Henry Co., on the Northwest;
Stewart Co., on the Northeast;
Humphreys Co's on the East;
Decather Co. on the South, with
Carroll Co., on the West.(First Census 1840)
<---See: 1895 County Map! <---See: Wikipedia.org, Benton Co., Tennessee
|HISTORY OF BENTON COUNTY
This County belongs to the western division of the State. It extends fifty miles along the west bank of the Tennessee River and is bounded on the north by Henry County, on the west by Henry and Carroll Counties and on the south by Decatur and the "Panhandle" of Carroll County. Including one half of the Tennessee River along its border, it has an area of about 400 square miles, lying partly in the Western Valley and partly in the plateau of West Tennessee. It has an average elevation of about 370 feet. The character of the surface is extremely varied Near the center of the county, in the vicinity of Camden, it is gently undulating while along the margin of the river valley are found many steep bluffs and spurs. The valley has an average width of about two miles and contains the most productive land in the county. Along the creeks which thread the county, are usually found flats or bottoms, averaging about one-half mile in width and fringed by low, but distinctly marked ridges. Along the ridges, especially in the southern part of the county, limestone is found at various depths and in the Third Civil District on Birdsong Creek, there is found a variegated marble of handsome appearance, and capable of taking a fine finish. Some iron is also found along the Tennessee River but no effort has ever been made toward developing it. A marble quarry was opened and worked for some time, near Rockport, but was abandoned several years ago. The soil on the bills is mainly argillacious while that of the bottoms is sandy and black loam. The county is exceedingly well watered possessing innumerable small streams fed by springs of pure water. The creeks emptying immediately into the Tennessee River are Eagle, Birdsong, Harmony, Sulphur, Crooked Lick and Cypress. The Sandy River forms the dividing line between Benton and Henry Counties.
Its Principal Tributaries:
The first settlement in Benton County, was made by Willis and Dennis Rushing, on Rushing Creek, six miles north of Camden, about 1819. A year later Nicholas and Lewis Brewer settled in Rumble Creek, twelve miles north of Camden, and at the same time M. Mimms located on Birdsong Creek. During the next four or five years the settlement went on quite rapidly, many coming from Hickman, Stewart and other counties lying on the east side of the Tennessee River.
Among those who located along the Big Sandy
River were David Watson, John and Wm. Pierce, Lewis Graham, Wm.
Cottingham, George McDaniel and James Craig.
During the first few years, the settlers depended for a subsistence upon deer, turkey and other wild game, which was very plentiful, and upon bread made from meal ground either in hand-mills or horse-mills. The first water-mill in the county was built by Matthew Williams, on Cypress Creek in 1824. Another was erected at about the same time on the banks of the Big Sandy, by a man by the name of King. About 183Z a mill was built by James Hogg, on Birdsong Creek, not far from Chaseville. It was afterward owned and operated by Green Flowers. The mill on the same creek, now owned by John Allen, was built by Pleasant Mullinix, early in the thirties. The first cotton-gin in the county was built by Dorsey P. Hudson, on his farm northeast of Camden, in 1828. William Thompson also built one at very nearly the same time. The mills mentioned above were all grist mills at first, but later saw-mills were attached to them. Several other mills have been built on the various creeks of the county, but they have been most numerous along the Big Sandy. No other manufactories with the exception of a tobacco factory at Camden, have ever b