 |
|
 |
Dickson
Dickson is a railroad town. Platted in 1868, Dickson was established where a railroad station and maintenance facility was constructed in 1865. Dickson was originally named Smeedsville, in honor of E. C. Smeed, the civil engineer who designed the trestles originally constructed when Union Troops extended the railroad from Kingston Springs to the Tennessee River in 1864. On approval of a post office, the official name became Smeedsville until 1869 when it was changed to Dickson. During the War Between the States, the track siding was referred to as Mile Post 42.
The first house was built by W.H. Crutcher during the War Between the States. He also started a store building but this and his home were destroyed by Union soldiers camped at Cox Spring before these buildings were completed. The Union soldiers took the building materials and built quarters for their troops. He finally built his store in 1865 and other homes and taverns and general merchandise stores were built in 1865 and 1866. 
Dickson was first incorporated in 1873 and rescinded its charter in 1882 as the prohibitionists sought to prevent liquor from being sold inside Dickson. Then on May 12, 1899, the town was re-incorporated and became Dickson County’s largest town. By the turn of the 20th century, Dickson had overtaken Charlotte and Cumberland Furnace as the commercial and industrial center of the county. The enormous effect of the railroad intersecting at Dickson, combined with an influx of commercial and industrial leaders from northern cities enabled Dickson to develop a new kind of southern inland city. Without river access, the town grew around its transportation links. A Courthouse was located on the grounds of the present War Memorial Building from 1899 until 1927.
One of the first industrial successes was the relocation of A. H. Leathers from Pennsylvania to establish Leathers Handle Factory in 1897. The company became famous for manufacturing the “Dixie Swatter” baseball bat which was popular with both professionals and amateurs. The 1910s saw impressive commercial growth in Dickson. Main Street was rebuilt following a great fire in 1905 that destroyed 21 buildings. New hotels were constructed, including the Hotel Halbrook in 1912. A new brick depot was finished in 1914. Beginning in the 1930s, Red Kap Industries, Henry I. Siegel and others located here employing hundreds of employees. In 1962, TENNSCO Corporation began operations in Dickson. A manufacturer of office equipment and products, the company has grown to employ more than 800 people and maintains five local facilities. The success of TENNSCO and other local employers led to the development of the Dickson’s industrial park. In the 1940s, Dr. L. C. Jackson began a practice of medicine in a one-room medical clinic on the second floor of a retail establishment on Dickson’s Main Street. Soon afterwards, his brothers, Drs. William and Jimmy Jackson joined him in caring for the community’s medical needs. In 1958, the Jackson brothers built Goodlark Hospital, organized as a not-for-profit public benefit trust. The hospital grew to its current 176-bed status that offers medical and surgical care, obstetrics, gynecology, skilled nursing services and 24-hour emergency services and outpatient care. In 1995, the hospital sold to Columbia/HCA for $103,000,000.00. As a non-profit organization, the proceeds from the sale were converted into The Jackson Foundation, Inc. which operates the Renaissance Center, a fine arts and technology learning center unlike any other in the country. The Renaissance Center opened in 1999. Education has always been important to Dickson citizens. Begun in 1885, Dickson Normal College was located on East College Street at the site of Dickson Middle School, providing an excellent education. In fact, one graduate, Hattie Wyatt succeeded her husband, Senator Thad H. Caraway (also a graduate) in 1931 from the state of Arkansas. Then, defying conventional wisdom and party leadership, she became the first woman in American history to be elected to the United States Senate in January 1932. While in the US Senate (1931-1945), Caraway, in 1933 became the first woman to chair a Senate Committee and in 1943 she became the first woman to take up the gavel on the Senate floor as the Senate’s presiding officer. On Feb. 21, 2001, the United States Postal Service paid tribute to this dedicated American by issuing the 76-cent Hattie W. Caraway postage stamp in Little Rock, Ark. The county’s first four-year high school was established at the former Dickson Normal College in 1919 and operated until all county high schools were consolidated in 1972. Dickson County Senior High School continues to serve the Dickson community. Dickson County’s African-American high school from 1936 until integration in 1965 was Hampton High School. It was located at the corner of Walnut Street and Cowan Street, the present location of the Coca-Cola Bottling Plant Dickson’s success during the past 50 years was greatly influenced by Frank Goad Clement. Clement was born on June 2, 1920 at the Hotel Halbrook in Dickson. A graduate of Dickson High School in 1937, he attended Cumberland College in Lebanon for two years and graduated from Vanderbilt University Law School in 1942. Afterwards, he became the country’s youngest FBI agent before entering military service. He served as the State Commander of the American Legion in 1949 and was elected Governor of Tennessee three times (1953-55; 1955-59; and 1963-67) and in 1953, at age 32 became the youngest Governor in Tennessee history. During his three terms of office Clement inaugurated the organization of the Department of Mental Health, creation of the state’s first speech and hearing center, beginning of a long-range highway construction project, including the Eisenhower Interstate Highway System, and providing free textbooks for school children. On a national level, Governor Clement, who was renowned as an orator, was chosen to deliver the keynote address at the 1956 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois. Senator Adlai Stevenson was nominated for President, and the impact of his speech prompted his consideration for the Vice Presidency of the United States. The idea of an industrial park for Dickson was advanced by Chamber President Warren G. Medley in 1957 to the Dickson County Quarterly Court. Property was later acquired in the Colesburg area, just South of Dickson. Industries located there sporadically until the mid-1970s when the County under the leadership of County Executive William D. Field and the City of Dickson under the leadership of Mayor J. Dan Buckner began to plan its further development. Their first success was Parade Magazine – a 250,000 square feet facility employing more than 250 people – in 1977. Other successes followed and job development in Dickson County reached its highest levels in the mid-1980s with the combined efforts of County Executive Field and Dickson Mayor Tom H. Waychoff. The William D. Field Industrial Park is located within the city limits of Dickson on the South Central Tennessee Railroad, formerly the Nashville and Tuscaloosa Railroad and only 2 miles from Interstate 40. Transportation advantages continue to direct Dickson’s prosperity. The location of Interstate 40, a part of the Eisenhower Interstate Highway System, planned in the 1950s and constructed in the 1960s, has had a defining impact on the quality development of Dickson County. Although Charlotte is the county seat of government, Dickson is the county’s largest city. Dickson boasts several large industries including TENNSCO Corporation, Quebecor Printing, Teksid Aluminum Foundry, Wabash Alloys, Fiesta Grills, Premdor Entry Systems, Sumiden Wire Products, Amhil Enterprises, Tennessee Bun, Porcelain Industries, Shiloh Industries and Crossville Ceramic Tile. Dickson is also home of the Renaissance Center, a private not-for-profit institution that offers a broad spectrum of educational programs and cultural opportunities for individuals from around the world. Of special interest to historians and genealogists is the Dickson County Public Library and Life Long Learning Center in Dickson and the Dickson County Archives in Charlotte that house a fine collection of materials concerning the Cumberland Region and its people. The 1990 census showed Dickson to have a population of 10,575 following a major annexation program. The population has risen to 12,244 in the 2000 census. Contact Information City of Dickson, 202 South Main Street, Dickson, TN 37055, (615) 441-9508 Mayor Don L. Weiss, Jr. Population 2000 Census 12,244 Website www.CityOfDickson.com | ||
|
© 2005 Dickson County Chamber of Commerce - 119 Highway 70 E., Dickson, TN 37055-2080 phone: (615) 446-2349 fax : (615) 441-3112 contactus@dicksoncountychamber.com |