The History of Yorkville, Tennessee, Gibson County

Yorkville sits about fifteen miles northwest of Trenton in Gibson County's Eighth Civil District, and ranks among the county's oldest settlements. Local tradition holds that the community was first called Belt Buckle, though no one recorded why. Before real settlement took hold, the site was known simply as a watering trough — a large cypress container near the main highway where travelers could water their livestock.

Permanent settlement began in 1830, when John C. Kuykendall arrived from Yorkville, South Carolina, and built a home and store there, giving the place its lasting name. Earlier settlement in the surrounding area had already begun with William Holmes, followed by the Reed family — Samuel, James, William, Robert, and Hugh — along with Benjamin Tyson, Benjamin S. White, and John W. Needham.

Yorkville was incorporated in 1850, with W. H. Miller serving as its first mayor. The Yorkville Hotel had already opened a decade earlier in 1840, and by 1870 the town supported both a flour mill and a cotton gin. Today Yorkville is known for hosting the annual International Washer Tournament.