The county of Franklin was created by an act of the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee, passed December 3, 1807. The act provided "that there be a new county established within the following bounds, to wit: Beginning on the southeast corner of Warren County; thence with the south boundary line of Warren County to the eastern line of Bedford County; thence with said line to the southern boundary line of the State; thence east with the State line to the southwest corner of Bledsoe County; thence northwardly to the beginning; which said bounds shall constitute a new and distinct county, to be known by the name of Franklin."

The act also provided that the courts should be held at the home of Maj. William Russell, near Cowan, until otherwise provided by law; and that the general musters and courts-martial should be held at the same place, or place of holding courts. By a subsequent act, passed November 14, 1809, creating the county of Lincoln, all the territory east of Lincoln, south of Bedford and north of the State line, was attached to and made a part of Franklin County. And by later acts of the General Assembly creating Moore, Coffee, Grundy and Marion Counties, Franklin has been reduced to its present limits. Before the organization of Franklin County a portion of its territory lay in what was then called White County, and in many of the original conveyances the lands were described as being in White County. The early records of the county court, or court of quarter sessions, were lost or destroyed during the late Civil War, and consequently no account of the first election of magistrates and county officers can now be given. It is certain, however, that such election was held in the year 1808, and the first county court organized at the home of Maj. William Russell, as provided by the act of creation.

An act of the General Assembly, passed November 22, 1809, provided for the holding of an election "at the place of holding courts on the first Thursday and Friday of February, 1810, for the purpose of electing seven fit and proper persons as commissioners to fix on and establish a permanent seat of justice in and for the said county of Franklin," with power to fix on a place for the seat of justice, and to purchase a tract of land not less than forty acres;" to lay off the same into lots, streets and alleys, and to reserve in the most convenient place two acres for a public square, on which to erect the public buildings; to sell the lots at public sale, and make deeds of conveyance to purchasers; "to let out the building of the court house, prison and stocks, and to appropriate the money arising from the sale of lots in payment for the same."

And the act further provided that the town so laid off should be called and known by the name of Winchester, and should be the place of holding courts for the county of Franklin, as soon as the improvements would authorize an adjournment thereto. This election was accordingly held, and George Taylor, Jesse Bean, Samuel Norwood, James Dougan, John Cowan, John Bell and George Davidson were duly elected as such commissioners. In compliance with the foregoing, it is evident that the commissioners selected the site for the seat of justice, and caused the town to be surveyed and platted, but owing to reasons already given, neither the original plat nor the record thereof, nor the record of the sales of lots can now be found.

The register's office shows that on the 10th day of February, 1812, the said commissioners purchased of Christopher Bullard, for a consideration of &1, twenty-six acres of land, upon which the town was located; and that they afterward sold the town lots and made deeds of conveyance to the purchasers. And it is to be presumed that they performed all the duties incumbent upon them pertaining to the erection of the public buildings, etc., the details of which cannot be given in full on account of the loss of early records. The first court house and jail were erected soon after the foregoing purchase. The former was a small brick structure on the site of the present court house. The latter was erected on a lot at the west end of College Street, and in 1813, very soon after its completion, it was consumed by fire. On the 8th of November, the General Assembly passed an act authorizing the drawing of a lottery for the purpose of rebuilding the public prison in county of Franklin, and for other purposes; and Wallis Estill, William Russell, Sr., Col. James Lewis, Christopher Bullard, James S. M. Wherter and Thomas Eastland were by said act appointed commissioners to superintend the lottery, and upon the receipt of the proceeds thereof, to proceed to rebuild the public prison in said town, erect stocks, and finish the work of the court house therein, by the appropriation of said moneys thereto. From the foregoing it is evident that the first court house was finished in about 1814. It was small and inconvenient, having no room sufficient for holding the sessions of the courts. However it was used until the year 1839, when it was torn down and the present court house erected in its stead. The contract for the brick work was let to Elisha Meridith, and that of the wood work to Reeves & Oehmig. The building cost about $10,000. It is a substantial brick structure of medium size, with county offices on the first floor, and the court room on the second.

The prison was rebuilt as provided by said act, on the west end of College Street, and was used until 1855, when it was condemned on account of its being insecure. A committee, consisting of W. W. Brazelton, L. W. Gonee, John T. Slatter and Thomas Finch was then appointed by the county court to erect a new jail. Accordingly at the July term, 1855, of the county court, this committee reported that they had sold the old jail for $300, and that the new one had been constructed on Main Street and was then completed and occupied by the jailor and his prisoners. The new jail was built under contract by John Steele, of Lincoln County.

In January, 1881, the county purchased of Luke Kelly and wife, for a consideration of $3,200, a farm consisting of 150 acres, with buildings thereon, as a home for the paupers of the county. This farm lies about seven miles northwest of Winchester. The authorities have employed a man to superintend the farm and oversee the paupers at a salary of $350 a year.

The average number of inmates in the poor-house thus far has been about fourteen; Prior to the purchase of this farm the paupers of the county were provided for by annual appropriations made by the county court, and a few outside of the poorhouse are still furnished relief in that way.

The county is divided into civil districts numbering from one to eighteen, respectively. The First District has four magistrates, and all the others have two each, making a total of thirty-eight.


Source: History of Tennessee, Goodspeed Publishing Company, 1886

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