Cannon County Historical Society
Preserving and sharing the history of Cannon County, Tennessee. Please share any photos, articles, ads or information that you may have.
It was early 1976 when the word went out among members of a Woodbury Lion's Club Committee, chaired by the late Austin Jennings, making known to all Cannon Countians interested in preserving our history and heritage to meet at the Adams Memorial Library. This meeting was held on February 17, 1976. Thirty-seven attended. The late William 'Bill' Smith, who has been so active in preserving our county's past had served as the society's Secretary-Treasurer, his steady hand became the model for the society's future course.
This was not the first attempt to promote Cannon County's past. "Goodspeed Histories" of Tennessee Counties published in the 1880's recorded some rare historical data about Cannon's pre- and post-history became the catalyst that directed the county's future historical interests. Histories recorded by the Goodspeed project, completed in the 1880's, included biographical sketches of all counties in Tennessee. No doubt Goodspeed recorded the key data about the county that otherwise would have been lost.
Out of a call to promote the county's past in the early 1930's came the first county wide historical committee to collect and supply necessary information from which an accurate history could eventually be written about the county. These historical committee members that promoted a history for the county were Miss Lutie Jones, Miss Grace Brown, Mrs. W.C. Houston, Mrs. Joe Stephens, Mrs. E.L. Macon, Mr. L.H. McCrary, Walter Campbell and Judge and then standing mayor for the town of Woodbury, Sterling S. Brown. According to the preface in the book that was published "History of Woodbury and Cannon County" 1936, this committee set about to do this work but was greatlly handicapped by the loss of records during the war between the states along with a fire on November 13, 1934 that destroyed the county's old-majestic courthouse. It is not known to this day to what extent how much historical data was lost in that tragic courthouse fire.
The late judge and Mayor Sterling S. Brown, already promoting a one-hundred year celebration for the county after the completion of a new courthouse, (1936) along with this first historic committee pushed to publish a book that would coincide with this celebration.
Sterling S. Brown was assigned the task to write the book's narrative and a great effort was made by this committee to contact individuals that knew something about the county's historical past. There were many Cannon Countians living at the time such as Carson Forks Archibald Todd that could recall information handed down from previous elderly generations even before there was a Cannon County. Even the Brown family, as early settlers along the Carson Fork, could recall relevant information and activities along that Fork of the Stones. Beginning in 1984 another Historical Society milestone was achieved with the publication of the late Dr. Mason's book "History of Cannon County." Again, a publication committee was formed from members of the Historical Society (Austin Jennings, Beecher Bowen, Steve Cates, Mary Lawrence Oliver, Larry Richards, and county historian Mary Wood) where efforts were made to research some vague areas of the county's history with footnotes added at the end of each chapter to add to the credibility of the text. There were footnotes that referred back to Sterling S. Brown's original narrative of 1936. Chapter, end-notes compiled by the late Dr. Robert Mason are a great resource and should be the place to start in researching Cannon County history. Cannon County's church committee provided much needed information on the county's religious history and early background.
Again, 1997 proved to be another productive year for the Historical Society. Under President Austin Jennings, a publication committee was formed with the mission of creating a photo history of our county. The result was the book, 'Cannon County Tennessee: A Pictorial History' was published in 1998. Some 3,600 pictures were submitted by Cannon Countians for analysis, but less than 1,000 were selected for the book. That publication committee consisted of Joe Nichols, Austin Jennings, William 'Bill' Smith, Winfred Gaither, Juanita Nichols, Wilma Adams, Carmine Jennings, Betty Joe Jones, Gladys Hayes and Christine Dillion.
This was not the first attempt to promote Cannon County's past. "Goodspeed Histories" of Tennessee Counties published in the 1880's recorded some rare historical data about Cannon's pre- and post-history became the catalyst that directed the county's future historical interests. Histories recorded by the Goodspeed project, completed in the 1880's, included biographical sketches of all counties in Tennessee. No doubt Goodspeed recorded the key data about the county that otherwise would have been lost.
Out of a call to promote the county's past in the early 1930's came the first county wide historical committee to collect and supply necessary information from which an accurate history could eventually be written about the county. These historical committee members that promoted a history for the county were Miss Lutie Jones, Miss Grace Brown, Mrs. W.C. Houston, Mrs. Joe Stephens, Mrs. E.L. Macon, Mr. L.H. McCrary, Walter Campbell and Judge and then standing mayor for the town of Woodbury, Sterling S. Brown. According to the preface in the book that was published "History of Woodbury and Cannon County" 1936, this committee set about to do this work but was greatlly handicapped by the loss of records during the war between the states along with a fire on November 13, 1934 that destroyed the county's old-majestic courthouse. It is not known to this day to what extent how much historical data was lost in that tragic courthouse fire.
The late judge and Mayor Sterling S. Brown, already promoting a one-hundred year celebration for the county after the completion of a new courthouse, (1936) along with this first historic committee pushed to publish a book that would coincide with this celebration.
Sterling S. Brown was assigned the task to write the book's narrative and a great effort was made by this committee to contact individuals that knew something about the county's historical past. There were many Cannon Countians living at the time such as Carson Forks Archibald Todd that could recall information handed down from previous elderly generations even before there was a Cannon County. Even the Brown family, as early settlers along the Carson Fork, could recall relevant information and activities along that Fork of the Stones. Beginning in 1984 another Historical Society milestone was achieved with the publication of the late Dr. Mason's book "History of Cannon County." Again, a publication committee was formed from members of the Historical Society (Austin Jennings, Beecher Bowen, Steve Cates, Mary Lawrence Oliver, Larry Richards, and county historian Mary Wood) where efforts were made to research some vague areas of the county's history with footnotes added at the end of each chapter to add to the credibility of the text. There were footnotes that referred back to Sterling S. Brown's original narrative of 1936. Chapter, end-notes compiled by the late Dr. Robert Mason are a great resource and should be the place to start in researching Cannon County history. Cannon County's church committee provided much needed information on the county's religious history and early background.
Again, 1997 proved to be another productive year for the Historical Society. Under President Austin Jennings, a publication committee was formed with the mission of creating a photo history of our county. The result was the book, 'Cannon County Tennessee: A Pictorial History' was published in 1998. Some 3,600 pictures were submitted by Cannon Countians for analysis, but less than 1,000 were selected for the book. That publication committee consisted of Joe Nichols, Austin Jennings, William 'Bill' Smith, Winfred Gaither, Juanita Nichols, Wilma Adams, Carmine Jennings, Betty Joe Jones, Gladys Hayes and Christine Dillion.