Lafayette, the county seat of Macon County,
is located on the Highland Rim.
The first settlers were John B. Johnston
and his wife, Mary Gresham Johnston, who
built a log house on a rise near a big
spring called Town Spring.
Several citizens wanted the town to be
named Johnstonville, but since there were
other towns with similar names, it was
decided to call the town LaFayette, so
named for the Marquis de LaFayette, the
famous French general of our Revolutionary
War. In later years, the spelling was
changed to Lafayette.
Johnston - spelled with a "T" - is a
Swedish name, and descendants have since
spelled the name Johnson.
Like many areas, land grants were given for
war service, and early settlers farmed
their land, and sold parts of it to other
settlers. This was a rural area for many
years after Macon County was established 26
May 1842 by a deed transfer of 20 acres
from J.B. Johnston to the Commissioners of
Macon County. This was land on which
downtown Lafayette is now located. King
Kerley was appointed the first sheriff for
Macon County. The City of LaFayette was
granted a charter by the Tennessee General
Assembly on 26 March 1899.
During the War Between the States, the
majority of men from the northern part of
the county served in the 9th Kentucky
Volunteer Infantry (Union). The southern
section of the county had the most slave
owners, and supported the Confederacy.
On 25 April 1865, Colonel Blackburn of the
Virginia Army gave orders to send four
companies of soldiers to Lafayette to
assist civil authorities with protection.
There have been three courthouse fires at
Lafayette, the last being in 1934,
destroying many historical documents, thus
making research most difficult.
It has been said that Macon County, which
had no railroad system, remained mostly
isolated until Highway 52 was cut through
across the county making it more accessible
to neighboring towns.
Today, Lafayette still has a few businesses
around the square, but most of the growth
of new businesses are expanding outward
from downtown, i.e. the new Criminal
Justice facility, North Central Telephone
Company, Macon County Junior High School,
Tri-County EMC.
In recent years, an addition has been built
onto the Macon County Public Library which
serves the Lafayette area, and a new
library facility is now located in Red
Boiling Springs.
The Macon County Fair is still held each
year at the Lafayette fairgrounds located
near the airport.
The local newspaper in Lafayette, The Macon
County Times, was founded in 1919, and
still continues to publish a weekly
edition. There were other earlier
publications, but they did not last long.
The Chamber of Commerce and Lafayette Post
Office are located in Lafayette. Farming is
still a big business. Burley tobacco is the
main crop for the many county farmers who
still prefer the good life on the farm.
In todays economy, small factories cannot
compete, and Lafayette lost several of
these businesses in recent years. However,
many new businesses now are located here,
as the population growth has increased with
many citizens moving here from
out-of-state.
From a population of only 126 in the 1850
census, Lafayette now has a population of
3,885 according to the last census.
It is a growing city with a hospital,
library, radio station, many churches,
police and fire protection, weekly
newspaper, civic organizations, a Chamber
of Commerce, and most of all, good,
friendly people.
Red Boiling Springs, Tennessee
Indian and other peoples followed the
animals trail to the salt lick located four
miles northwest of town (downstream). Among
them was Daniel Boone whose name and the
date 1775 were said to have been carved on a
beech tree in a nearby community. The Macon
County Historical Society plans to mark the
spot where this tree once stood.
In the mid 1780s, the first surveys for land
grants in the vicinity were made, and the
stream that flows through the town today was
named Salt Lick Creek. In 1791, nearby
Jennings Creek was named for Edmund
Jennings.
Some of the early settlers in the area were
Ferguson, Brandon, Patterson, Davis,
Chitwood, Bean, York, Vaughn, Rush, Vincent,
Morrow, White, Hall, Roddy, Crawford,
DeWhitt, Jones, Hudson, and Whitley
families.
The Salt Lick Creek post office was
established in 1829 with Samuel DeWhitt as
postmaster. In 1842 Samuel Jones, Sr. died.
He had possessed 400 acres of land (more or
less) leaving this land to his youngest
son, Jesse Jones, and a life estate in the
same land to his widow, Elizabeth Jones. On
the land were several fresh water springs
and at least one well-known red sulphur
spring having reported medicinal
properties. The Red Sulphur Spring or Red
Boiling Spring, also called then Jones
Spring, and about 20 acres of land
including freestone springs were sold to
Samuel E. Hare in 1844. A Mr. Shepherd
[probably James Shepherd] was employed to
build cabins at the site.
In 1847 the name of the post office was
changed to Red Boiling Springs Post Office.
Boiling referring to the movement of the
water, not the temperature.
In 1848, Mr. Hare sold an interest in the
Red Boiling Springs to Jesse G. Bledsoe.
Mr. Bledsoe was the innkeeper in 1850. In
the 1870s, Capt. James D. Jim Bennett, a
Civil War veteran, ran the Red Springs
Hotel. In the 1900s, word of the medicinal
benefits of the mineral waters had spread,
and many visitors came to the town for
lengthy stays during the summer months.
More hotels and other accommodations for
entertainment were built. The town boasted
a lake, dance hall, bowling alley, shooting
gallery, bath houses for mineral baths,
skating rink and swimming pool. It became
famous for its water and hotels. The Dedman
Hotel, built by Joseph M. and Bessie
Dedman, burned around 1910, and the Palace
Hotel was built in its place. In 1959, it
was torn down and The Palace Nursing Home
was built on the spot. The Cloyd Hotel,
built around 1890 by Henry Cloyd, is still
operating as The Thomas House Hotel. The
Donoho Hotel built around 1900 by Squire
Donoho is still operating with the same
name.
The Arlington or Central Hotel, built
around 1908 by Sam Hance, burned in 1953.
The Moss Hotel was built around 1921 by Jim
Moss. The Red Boiling Springs or Lincoln
Hotel was built in 1926 by Ellis Witcher.
The Counts or Smiths Brick or Smiths Hotel
was built before WWII by Henry Counts. This
hotel is still in operation today as The
Armour Hotel. The Colonial Hotel was the
home of Charles B. McClellan and was made
into a hotel around 1944. It burned in 197
6. The Missouri House was operated by Mrs.
Haywood Smith. The Hudson House was built
in the early 1900s by Riley Cap Hudson and
wife, Molly. Governor Whitley House was run
by Jefferson Cannon and wife, Elizabeth
(Slate) Whitley. The Joines House was
operated by Tom Joines. The Walter Knight
House or Trousdale House, The Farmer Hotel
(built around 1913 and burned in 1955 had 1
7 rooms), the Davis House, the Jordan House
and many other boarding houses were opened
to the thousands of people who came to the
town each year.
The health resort era ended in the 1940s
after WWII due to new technology,
transportation and recreational attractions
that lured visitors elsewhere, and only
three of the original hotels are still in
business.
Downtown businesses were built by Glenn,
Ray and Kenneth Witcher, Dr. Lillard Sloan,
Scott and Georgia Wood. Norman & Rose
(Donoho) York had a theater and beauty
shop. Perry Drivers Feed Store is still
operated by J. L. Deckard. Nearby Hillwood
Shopping Center was built by Fred Holman,
Don Carver, Bubbie Witcher, Bill Martin.
The first bank was the Red Boiling Springs
Bank organized in 1919 with the name later
changed to Macon Bank and Trust. Lumber-
producing operations and garment industries
have provided jobs for several years.
The town was incorporated 27 April 1953.
The first mayor was Dayton Chitwood.
Councilmen were Glenn Witcher, C.H.
Russell, B.W. Chitwood, C.P. Joines,
Cordell Parkhurst and Charles McClellan.
A new section of Highway 52 has recently
opened bypassing downtown Red Boiling
Springs. If you are traveling this way, be
sure to visit this historical town of about
1,000 people.
Macon County, Tennessee
When the first explorers and settlers came
into what is now Macon County they found
the territory composed of a wilderness
inhabited by Indians and wild animals. Very
little is known of the early history;
however, remains of Native American
villages and burial grounds have been
found. It is believed the early Indian
inhabitants were from the Chickasaw,
Shawnee, Cherokee and Creek tribes.
The first county court met in the house of
William Dunn and appointed Brittion
Holland, William Dunn, Samuel Sullivan,
Eason Howell and Jefferson Short as
commissioners for the purpose of selecting
a suitable site for the county seat. The
place selected was on the land of John B.
Johnson and was named LaFayette in honor of
the legendary French general, Marquis de
LaFayette, a famous Revolutionary War
figure who assisted the American colonies
in gaining their independence. The deed,
dated 26 May 1842, described the property
as lying and being on the dividing ridge
between the waters of Cumberland and Big
Barren River and on the waters of White Oak
Creek. the land, containing 20 acres more
or less, was laid out including the public
square, the streets and 75 lots. The county
was first subdivided into seven civil
districts and by 1850 had increased to 12
districts.
In 1870 a portion of Macon County was cut
off the southwestern corner to aid in
forming Trousdale County. Macon County is
bounded north by Allen and Monroe counties,
Kentucky; East by Clay and Jackson
Counties; South by Smith and Trousdale
Counties and West by Sumner County, TN,
containing approximately 300 square miles.
In the late 1800's, Red Boiling Springs was
widely known for the medicinal properties
of the water that flowed down Salt Lick
Creek. Several hotels were built between
1890 and 1892 with numerous mineral springs
and baths that made the resorts a 1920's
tourist attraction. Information from the
Macon County Times in 1935 lists the
following hotels in Red Boiling Springs:
Counts, Donoho, Arlington, Lincoln, Moss,
Palace, Knight, Farmers, Cloyd, Jordan
House, Hudson House and Russell House.
Present day Red Boiling Springs hotels now
existing are the Armour, Donoho and the
Thomas House.
