Acts of 1853-54 Chapter 320

SECTION 10. And whereas, a small fraction of the north east corner of DeKalb county, adjoining the county of Putnam, and a small fraction of the eastern boundary of the county of Smith, has by the citizens of said fractional parts of DeKalb and Smith county, prayed this Legislature by petition to be attached to said county of Putnam; therefore Be it enacted, That so much of the county of DeKalb, as lies north of the south boundary line, of the county of Putnam as described in the second section of this act, be and the same is hereby attached to the county of Putnam, to wit: beginning at the north-east corner of said DeKalb county, and running south with the east boundary line of said county, crossing the Falling Water near the falls, and with said line one mile and a half to a corner on the White county line, thence in a north western direction, crossing the Falling Water between the mouth of Cane Creek and Riley Medlin's old place; and crossing Mine Lick Creek, bearing twelve miles from Smithville to the north boundary line of DeKalb county, and said last described line shall be regarded as the line dividing the county of DeKalb and Putnam counties, and the said county of Putnam shall have and exercise jurisdiction over the fraction north of said line, and which shall hereafter be and constitute a part of the county of Putnam, any law or usage to the contrary notwithstanding. And be it further enacted, That so much of the fractional part of the county of Smith as lies east of the Caney Fork river, and a line running from the mouth of Rock Spring Creek in a northern direction to the eastern boundary line of said county of Smith as described in the second section of this act establishing the boundary line of the county of Putnam, is hereby established as a part and parcel of the said county according to the prayer of the petitioners, and said Caney Fork river and line as above described, shall be the boundary line between the counties of Smith and Putnam counties; and all the citizens east of said river and line shall be subject to the authority, and under the jurisdiction of the county of Putnam, any former law or usage to the contrary notwithstanding; and it shall be the duty of the surveyor that surveys the county of Putnam, to include said territory in the county of Putnam as described by the second section of this act.

SECTION 11. Be it enacted, That as soon as the survey of Putnam county is completed, and the center of the county found and shown to the commissioners by the said surveyor, and a plat of the same furnished them by the said surveyor, they shall deposite (sic) the same in the Clerk's office of the County Court, and it shall be the duty of said County Court to appoint at least nine commissioners to lay off said county, into not less than nine nor more than twelve civil districts of as near an average number of voters as practicable, and to suit the convenience of the citizens, and designate the place of holding the elections in each district describing the boundary, and the number of each civil district; the center district being (No. 1) And it shall be the duty of said County Court to appoint three of said commissioners from the fractional part of Jackson county, and two from the fraction of Overton, and two from the fraction of White, and one from the fraction of DeKalb, and one from the fraction of Smith, and one from the fraction of Fentress county, and if any of said commis-sioners fail or refuse to act, the vacancy may be filled by the appointment of another commissioner in said fraction by any three of the board, and any five shall constitute a quorum, and do the business and report to the next County Court.

SECTION 12. Be it enacted, That Joshua R. Stone, and Doctor Green H. Baker, of White county; Austin Morgan, and Maj. John Brown, of Jackson; and William Davis, and Isaiah Warthon, of Overton county; and William B. Stokes, and Bird S. Rhea, of DeKalb county; and Benjamin A. Vaden, and Nathan Ward, of the county of Smith, be and the same are hereby appointed commissioners to locate the seat of Justice for the county of Putnam, any five of whom shall have the power to act as a body. [The remainder of this section was not applicable to Smith County and therefore is not repeated herein.]

COMPILER'S NOTE: The remaining sections do not apply to Smith County and are not reprinted. This act was cited in a case involving a boundary dispute between Putnam and White
Counties: Putnam County v. White County, 140 Tenn. 19, 203 SW 334 (1918).