The Tennessee General Assembly created Williamson County on October 26, 1799, from a portion of Davidson County. This territory had long been inhabited by at least five Native American cultures, including the Cherokee, the Chickasaw, the Choctaw, the Creek, and the Shawnee. It is home to two mound complexes from the Mississippi Period, the Fewkes site and the Old Town site, built by people from a culture that dates back to around 1000 AD, that preceded those historic tribes. European-American settlers arrived in the area in 1798, after the Revolutionary War.
Scottish merchants had married Native American women and had families with them. Both parties thought that these relationships could benefit them. Most of the settlers were immigrants from Virginia and North Carolina, who were part of a Western movement through the Appalachian Mountains after the American Revolutionary War. Others arrived after living for a generation in Kentucky. Many brought slaves to grow labour-intensive tobacco crops, as well as to care for livestock.
At 18 in the morning, Maury charted Franklin, the county seat, which was obtained thanks to a land grant that he had purchased from Major Anthony Sharp. The county was named in honor of Dr. Hugh Williamson, from North Carolina, who had been a colonel in the North Carolina militia and had served three terms in the Continental Congress. Many of the county's first residents were veterans who had been paid in land grants after the Revolutionary War. Many veterans chose not to settle in the area and sold large parts of their land concessions to speculators.
These, in turn, subdivided the land and sold smaller lots. In the years before the war, the county was the second richest in the state. As part of the Central Tennessee region, it had fertile land resources, which planters developed with slaves for a variety of crops, including rye, corn, oats, tobacco, hemp, potatoes, wheat, peas, barley and hay. This diversity, combined with timber resources, helped to create a stable economy rather than relying on a single cash crop. Slavery was an integral part of the local economy.
By 1850, the county's planters and small slave owners had 13,000 enslaved African-Americans who constituted nearly half of the population of more than 27,000 inhabitants (see table below). The county continued to be agricultural and rural until the early 20th century. Most of the residents were farmers who grew corn, wheat, cotton and livestock. In the post-Reconstruction era and in the early 20th century white violence against African-Americans increased in an effort to assert their dominance. Five African-Americans were lynched by white mobs in Williamson County.
Among them was Amos Miller a 23-year-old black man who was taken out of the courtroom during his trial in 1888 as a suspect in a sexual assault case and hung from the balcony of the county courthouse. The victim of sexual assault was a 50-year-old woman. In 1924 15-year-old Samuel Smith was lynched in Nolensville for shooting and injuring a white shopkeeper. A mob took him out of a hospital in Nashville and brought him back to the city to be murdered. He was the last recorded lynching victim in the Nashville area. Many blacks left Williamson County between 1880 and 1950 as part of The Great Migration to industrial cities in The North and Midwest to work and escape oppression and violence of Jim Crow.
The county's population didn't exceed its 1880 level until 1970 when it began developing suburban housing in response to growth in Nashville. According to The U. S Census Bureau The county has a total area of 584 square miles (1 510 km) of which 582 8 square miles (1509 km) is land and 1 2 square miles (3 1 km) is water The Harpeth River and its tributary The Little Harpeth River are The county's main streams. The county's population declined from its peak recorded in 1880 for most of The next few decades largely because African Americans moved to towns and cities in search of work or left The area entirely The oppression of Jim Crow and The violence related to it and The decline in The need for agricultural labor in The early 20th century when mechanization was adopted caused many blacks to leave Tennessee to go to industrial cities in The North and Midwest during The Great Migration. The age distribution was 29 28% under 18 years of age 61 00% between 18 and 64 years of age and 9 72% of those aged 65 and over The average age was 38 5 years. This chart shows The stock breakdown of The major industries for residents of Williamson County Tennessee although some of these residents may live in Williamson County Tennessee and work elsewhere The executive director of Williamson County government is The mayor of The county who is popularly elected for a four-year term. Williamson County is ranked as The richest county in Tennessee as well as one of The richest counties in The country Adjusted for The relative cost of living Williamson County is one of The richest counties in The United States. This graphic illustrates The stock breakdown of The main jobs held by residents of Williamson County Tennessee Williamson County Government currently has numerous open positions available both full time and part time Over The past 50 years some counties were merged or divided and The resulting data was redistributed to other counties Williamson County is estimated to be The county in Tennessee with The highest percentage of Asian residents. Since The 1970s, Williamson County has been one of The most Republican suburban counties in The country. The table below shows The percentage of residents born abroad in Williamson County Tennessee compared to that of their neighboring and parent geographies. The largest universities in Williamson County Tennessee by number of degrees awarded are Empire Beauty School-Nashville (57 and 67 9%) the Franklin Hair Academy School of Cosmetology (14 and 16 7%) and Williamson Christian College (13 and 15 5%).
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