History

The Chickasaw Indians held claims to the lands of West Tennessee and West Kentucky until 1818, when General Andrew Jackson and Isaac Shelby purchased the land for $300,000. This purchase later became known as the Jackson Purchase.

Weakly County was established October 21, 1823, from land ceded by the Chickasaw Indians, and was named for Colonel Robert Weakley, who was then speaker of the State Senate.

The first recorded white settlers into this uncharted land that later would become Weakley County were Ruben Edmontson and John Bradshaw, who both arrived here in the fall of 1819. They originally settled about six miles west of Dresden and three miles south of Martin. Other settlers were soon to follow.

One of the more famous settlers was David Crockett, who arrived a year before the county was officially organized in 1822. Crockett built a log cabin in the southwestern part of the county along the South Fork of the Obion River. He and his family resided in this cabin until his ill-fated trip to Texas in 1835. In 1837, the property once owned by the Crockett's was ceded during the restructuring of the county and now lies in Gibson County near Rutherford, Tennessee.

In the early years Weakley County was primarily an agriculture based society. The county remained so until mid-way through the twentieth century.

Former Governor Ned Ray McWherter of Dresden with former Governor Don Sunquist

The Civil War had a devastating effect upon Weakley County as the residents of the county were divided in their loyalties. History shows that approximately 1,100 men of the county joined the Confederate Army and fought for the South while 400 men chose to fight for the Union Army. Several minor skirmishes between units of the Confederate and Union armies occurred in Weakley County. The battle of Lockridge's Mill was the most prominent skirmish of the Civil War in Weakley County.

Weakley County is 26 miles from north to south and 24 miles from east to west. Presently, it covers an area of 576 square miles.

Weakley County has five incorporated municipalities. They are Dresden, Gleason, Greenfield, Martin and Sharon. There are several smaller, unincorporated municipalities in Weakley County, which provide significant contributions to the culture of the county.

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