Goodspeed's Introduction to Gibson County, Tennessee, 1887

This page preserves the introductory section on Gibson County, Tennessee from Goodspeed's History of Tennessee, published in 1887. Goodspeed's county-level histories remain a foundational reference for Tennessee genealogists, and the Gibson County introduction is among the more heavily cited entries in this archive.

Gibson County was formed by legislative act on October 21, 1823, carved from land taken in the Chickasaw Cession. It was named in honor of Colonel John H. Gibson, who had served under Andrew Jackson in the Natchez campaign, the Creek Wars, and the New Orleans campaign. Notably, it was David "Davy" Crockett himself who introduced the bill in the state legislature that formed Gibson County that same year.

Trenton, the county seat, was originally named Gibsonport, after the trading post that Thomas Gibson, brother of the county's namesake, operated near the town site before it was officially laid out. The name was changed to Trenton, after Trenton, New Jersey, in February 1826.