Located not far from the Hatchie River is the town of Stanton.
History of Stanton, Tennessee*
The land where Stanton is located belonged to the Chickasaw Indians. There were heavy forest lands, with virgin trees, thick vines and dense undergrowth. No one lived here. There were no roads, only tiny trails snaked out by the Indians as they hunted. There were all kinds of wild animals and birds throughout this area. The Chickasaws called it their ” Happy Hunting Grounds.” Then, in 1818, they sold this land – 6 million wonderful acres of it – to the young United States for $300,000. It was a steal, about a nickel an acre, and for very good land. According to history Andrew Jackson and Isaac Shelby negotiated the deal.
But land was cheap in those days. One old history book tells the story of when the governor of North Carolina swapped his old ” indifferent gig horse” for 640 acres of this land.
The land grant maps show that much of it was given away. The ink was hardly dry on the papers signed by the Indian chiefs before the 1st land grants were made. Some say they were made even before. By 1820 the grants were being surveyed. The surveyors, among whom were Oliver B. Hayes, James Vaulx, Oliver Alexander and Henry Rutherford, charged 1/5th of the acreage as their fee. Consequently they came out with big hunks of the land for themselves. Part of the town of Covington was James Vaulx’s land. Stanton lies on land granted to Oliver, B. H. Hayes, Lee Sullivan, James Scruggs and Rosy Miller.
But many of the grantees did not come here to live. Back when Stanton came into being this land seems to have been owned by J. B. Stanton, J. B. Somervell and G.G. Ware, with Mr. Stanton owning the biggest part. A mighty surge of emigration began. People came from Va., N.C., S.C., Ky., Middle and East Tennessee. They came on flat boats, floating down the Ohio, Tennessee and Mississippi Rivers and up the Big Hatchie and Forked Deer Rivers. They came in covered wagons, carriages, carryalls, carts and on horseback, following for the most part the trails or traces snaked out by the Indians years before. In 1820 there was only one county wholly within the Western District. That was Shelby, with 251 white souls living there. Memphis had 53 people. But other counties were soon organized and by 1824 Haywood County was fully set up and functioning. The 1826 census shows 256 families living in the county. Now we have not been able to determine exactly when nor where the 1st settlement South of Hatchie River was made. Maybe it was in District #1 where the Kinneys, Powells and Shorts were some of the earliest settlers; or in #2 where the Alexanders and their related families were; or it might have been in #3, in the Wesley area. Certainly, we know this, that there were growing settlements in all three districts, in the 1820’s, possibly as early as 1824 in this area for Bradford’s Landing was established there. Bradford’s Landing is close to where our bridge is now. It’s possible too, that our earliest settlers could have come through Tipton County. We may not know the exact date of our settlement.
It was in the 30’s that there comes to this section a certain man who was to work considerable changes in the map of District #3. That man was J.B. Stanton. He came here from South Carolina. He was quite wealthy. He immediately began to buy land. He bought it, sold it, received it as grants, upwards of 6,000 acres in this area. In 1834 he bought the acreage we think of as Stanton land for around $3.50 an acre, and on it built his fine home, reputed to be one of the very finest in this whole section. It was three stories and the tale is that there was a swimming pool in the top of it. He lived there until his death in 1860. This beautiful old home burned in April 1879, and was replaced by the house now owned by Mrs. Frank Beaty. But his was not the only family which was to come in and influence this section. In the 1830’s Col. Nathan Adams, who was born in Ireland, the Colliers, Culbreaths, McBrides, McCools, Muexs, Stanleys, Wares and Walkers. In the 40’s came the Browns Coles, Cores, Fields, Greens, Groves, Gibsons, Hicks, Kimbroughs, Maclins, Nelsons, Sanders, Somervells, and our Connecticut Yankee, Corydon Spencer. There were others to read more about Stanton Go to* Free pages on STANTON TN. History and families of Stanton, Tennessee