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Seal
State of Tennessee
Fayette County Map
Utilities Serving Fayette County
Mayors
County Commissioners
Appointed Officials and Department Heads
Elected State Offices and Judicial Offices
Property Taxes
Visit the Fayette County website for additional information
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Fayette County
The Tennessee General
Assembly established Fayette County on September 29, 1824, and was formed
from
Shelby and
Hardeman Counties. It
was Marquis de la Fayette (1757-1834), French nobleman, statesman and
soldier who entered American service in the Revolutionary War and was
commissioned major-general. The county seat, Somerville, was named to honor
Lieutenant Robert Somerville, hero of the battle of Tohopeka in Alabama. The
first court proceedings took place at the home of Robert G. Thornton on the
banks of the North Fork of the Wolf River on December 6, 1824.
Settlement began in the area as early as 1820, and by 1826 there were enough
residents for the incorporation of the two oldest towns, Somerville and
LaGrange. In both towns restored antebellum homes symbolize the wealth and
culture of the plantation period. The entire town of LaGrange, named for
Lafayette's ancestral home, is listed in the National Register of Historic
Places. Today there are nine incorporated towns in the county: Braden,
Gallaway, LaGrange, Moscow, Oakland, Piperton, Rossville, Somerville, and
Williston.
Newspapers were published in
Somerville. Scattered early issues are available from 1840, and a
complete run began in 1957.
There was a fire at the Fayette
County courthouse in 1925. |
