G O V ER N M E N T
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT
WILLIAMSON COUNTY HIST ORY
Williamson County, established in 1779, is named for Dr. Hugh Williamson. Williamson (1735-1819) was surgeon general of the North Carolina militia, a Continental Congress member and signer of the Constitution. But he never resided here. Franklin, its county seat, is named for his good friend (who also never lived here), Benjamin Franklin. The county originally had been inhabited by at least five Native American cultures, including tribes of Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Shawnee. Early settlers came from Virginia and North Carolina as part of the western migration following the American Revolutionary War. Many were war veterans paid in land grants, others were speculators who purchased land grants from those not wanting to move. Prior to the Civil War, the area’s natural resources of timber and rich soil provided a stable and diverse agrarian economy. By 1850, there 40
were 13,000 slaves in the county, making up nearly half the population of more than 27,000. Three Civil War battles were fought in the county. The Nov. 30, 1864 Battle of Franklin saw some of the highest fatalities of the war, including the deaths of six Confederate generals. Two years later, 1,481 Confederate soldiers who died in battle were re-interred on the grounds of Carnton plantation. The McGavock Confederate Cemetery is the largest private Confederate cemetery in America. The war had a significant effect on the county’s population, which did not surpass that of 1880 until 1970. In 2017 the county’s population was 226,257. Today the county and its individual cities are consistently ranked among the nation’s best in the areas of education, recreation, health and cost of living. Twelve of the 25 largest publicly traded companies in the Middle Tennessee are based here and 40 corporate headquarters call Williamson County home.
The Williamson County Board of Commissioners, the county’s legislative body, consists of 24 members, two from each of the county’s 12 districts. Commissioners serve four-year terms. While the Williamson County Schools’ board of Education sets school policy, the county commission is the schools funding body. The full board meets at 7 p.m. the second Monday of January, February, March, May, June, September, October and November. The July meeting begins at 9 a.m. Meetings are held in the Williamson County Administrative Office Complex auditorium at 1320 West Main Street, Franklin, TN. The Tennessee Constitution provides for each county to elect an executive officer, referred to as the County Mayor. The mayor is elected by popular vote every four years and may serve unlimited terms. Williamson County Mayor Rogers Anderson, re-elected for a fifth term in August 2018, is responsible for the county’s fiscal management and other executive functions.
D EPAR TM E N T S AN D SERV I C E S Williamson County Public Library: Beyond its extensive book collection, the county library offers genealogy workshops, art displays, book clubs, story time, computer classes and more. 1314 Columbia Ave., Franklin, has branches in Bethesda, College Grove, Fairview, Leiper’s Fork and Nolensville. 615595-1243. http://lib.williamson-tn.org/
GUIDE TO WILLIAMSON COUNTY
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