The Birth of Houston County
By: Mrs. Bettye McKinnon
In January 1871 the state legislature was as busy as a bee
They wanted another county in Northern Middle Tennessee
In May they told the border counties - give us part of your land and a miracle you will see
Stewart, Dickson, and Humphreys did all agree, to donate the land for this greatest county to be
After many lawsuits and trials, they all said the same
and the land became a new county and Houston was its name
In April of ’71, the county held his first election
for Chairman of the Court, Normandy McKinnon was named
R.C. Rushing was appointed sheriff
Then, business became the name of the game
In October, Houston County Court needed a place to meet
And Arlington was selected as the new county seat
In May of ’72, the county court held its first session
and the L&N railroad said you made a bad decision
In 1874, Houston County had its first newspaper
The Houston County Times was published by James Faxton
It contained news of death, marriages, gossip, and all the political action
The trains could not stop in Arlington coming down that steep drop
And in 1878 the county seat had to move to Erin where the trains could finally stop
In 1881 Mr. Hollister and Jacob Buquo donated the land for the building of the new courthouse in the square to stand
A county jail was built up on the hill ready for anyone caught with the moonshine still
During the World War II years, Houston County’s young men volunteered from the start
Some were just young boys wanting to do their part
Many of them answered the call
Some returned home and sadly some gave their all
In 1953 our own, Lucille Christianson, became the first lady of Tennessee
And when her husband, Frank Clement, returned as governor she represented us again in 1963
In the 50s the county went on a building spree
Three new schools and the courthouse were built
and they’re all still there for us to see
The new courthouse was dedicated in ’57
and the old cold stove in the courtroom was sent to potbelly heaven
In the spring of 1962, Mayor Price and Doctor Luton agreed - there is something we need to do
We should honor our Irish relation and they began planning a big celebration
It will be the greatest we have ever seen,
and we will call it the wearing of the green
It all came together in March of ’63, one year later
And after 57 years it has become even greater
Houston County had its own hospital in 1968 and it was appropriately named Trinity
In 1990 the county commissioners all did agree that we needed to build but also an up-to-date library
Located on Tennessee Highway 149 on the Northeastern Houston County line, proudly stands the county’s state of the art high school, jail, highway department and head start
Equally proud we are of the Western county line, there is the Danville park where the duck hunting and the fishing are fine
We have an RV and a primitive place to camp and a double-wide concrete launching boat ramp
Another amenity we have for all is an airport and thousand-dollar hamburger that is at your beck and call
2020 has been a difficult year
We have all had the corona virus to fear
This is not our first test and trials that have been made
In 1873 we had the yellow fever and five years later a cholera plague
We are very proud and resilient people and we will once again bounce back
So, if you’re visiting or just passing through for a snack
It is said if you unpack for a brief stay you will become a citizen and will never ever want to go away
God Bless Houston County and God Bless America