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Boundaries - Historical Notes

Tennessee Code Annotated
Tennessee Attorney General Opinions

The following is a summary of acts which authorized boundary changes for DeKalb County.

  1. Acts of 1837-38, Chapter 61, appointed Guilford Jones, the county surveyor of Smith County, to ascertain the center of DeKalb County.  This act also set his compensation, oath, responsibilities, and provisions for another surveyor should he fail to perform his duties.
  2. Acts of 1843-44, Chapter 57, altered the boundary line between Cannon and DeKalb Counties as to include the dwelling house of Alfred Hancock in Cannon County.
  3. Acts of 1847-48, Chapter 99, placed the farms of John Reynolds and Jesse D. Allen in DeKalb, taking them out of Smith County.
  4. Acts of  1849-50, Chapter 139, changed the boundaries between Smith and DeKalb Counties to include the farms of Nicholas Smith, Andrew Vantreece, John Robinson, and John F. Goodner in DeKalb.
  5. Acts of 1851-52, Chapter 262, made two changes in DeKalb County lines.  The boundary with Smith County was changed to include in DeKalb the dwelling houses of H. H. Sullivan, John Corley and William H. Christian.  The south boundary of J. N. Murphey's farm was made the dividing line between DeKalb and Warren County, thus placing the entire farm in DeKalb County.
  6. Acts of 1851-52, Chapter 304, placed the farm of John Martin, Jr. in DeKalb County out of Cannon County.  This Act was repealed by Acts of 1853-54, Chapter 152, and the repealing clause was later repealed by Acts of 1855-56, Chapter 27, Page 29.
  7. Acts of 1853-54, Chapter 118, changed the boundary line between Cannon and DeKalb counties so as to include the lands of Thomas Martin and the widow Kersey in DeKalb County. 
  8. Acts of 1853-54, Chapter 181, placed the lands of Charles Denney in the County of White, out of DeKalb County.  This was repealed by Acts of 1859-60, Chapter 211, Page 596.
  9. Acts of 1855-56, Chapter 122, Section 23, placed the residence of John Martin, Jr., in DeKalb County, rather than in Warren County.
  10. Acts of 1855-56, Chapter 165, changed the county lines between DeKalb and Putnam to place the lands of Bird Sexton, Willis Coggins and Loyd P. Coggins in DeKalb County.
  11. Acts of 1859-60, Chapter 196, Section 10, changed the County line between DeKalb and Cannon Counties, but it was repealed by Acts of 1870, Chapter 118, Page 181.
  12. Acts of 1879, Chapter 61, detached the land of J. W. Wood from Smith and DeKalb Counties, placing it in Wilson County.
  13. Acts of 1881, Chapter 164, changed the boundaries between Smith and DeKalb to include all the lands of John Rollins and Thomas Oakley in DeKalb County.
  14. Acts of 1881, Chapter 165, placed the land of Herd Cope in the County of DeKalb out of White County.
  15. Acts of 1883, Chapter 66, detached the land of S. G. Hawkins from DeKalb County and placed all of it in Warren County.
  16. Acts of 1887, Chapter 53, changed the line between DeKalb and Smith counties so as to include the lands of John Rollin in the First Civil District of DeKalb.
  17. Acts of 1887, Chapter 192, changed the county lines of DeKalb and Putnam Counties to place the portion of the lands of F. H. Smith lying in Putnam County in the 16th Civil District of DeKalb.
  18. Acts of 1887, Chapter 193, took the land of John Eldridge out of DeKalb County and placed them in White County.
  19. Acts of 1887, Chapter 228, removed seventeen acres of J. C. Jones' land from DeKalb County and placed them in Cannon.
  20. Acts of 1889, Chapter 141, changed the county line between Putnam and DeKalb to include the lands of Capt. Purtaman Jones and that of John H. Gamer in Putnam County, removing them from DeKalb County.
  21. Acts of 1889, Chapter 264, took the lands of F. Rigsby and William Stratten out of White County and placed them in DeKalb County.
  22. Acts of 1893, Chapter 20, detached the lands of H. S. Gill from Smith County and placed it in DeKalb County. 
  23. Acts of 1893, Chapter 73, changed the boundary between DeKalb and Smith Counties as described in the Act, and included the farm of H. S. Gill in DeKalb County.
  24. Acts of 1897, Chapter 136, changed the boundary lines between Warren and DeKalb Counties so as to include the land of Mrs. Laura Northcut in DeKalb County.
  25. Acts of 1897, Chapter 263, detached the balance of the lands of C. A. Malone from DeKalb and placed it in Smith County.
  26. Acts of 1899, Chapter 143, changed the line between Smith and DeKalb Counties so as to include all the lands of J. M. Bates in Smith County.
  27. Acts of 1899, Chapter 179, detached the lands of William Oakley from the County of Smith and placed them in DeKalb County.
  28. Acts of 1899, Chapter 342, placed the land of James Roller in DeKalb County, out of Warren County.
  29. Acts of 1899, Chapter 344, changed the boundary line between Warren and DeKalb to include all the lands of H. G. Stevens in Warren County.
  30. Acts of 1903, Chapter 213, provided that the line between Cannon and DeKalb be changed to include all of the lands of E. T. Haley, Mrs. M. J. Turner, W. J. Vandergroft, George Hancock, James Kirby, J. D. Vandergroft and W. R. Watson in Cannon County.  Acts of 1903, Chapter 387, was substantially identical to this Act, changing the name Vandergroft to Vandergraft.
  31. Acts of 1903, Chapter 221, placed the land of Lycurgus Kelley in DeKalb County, out of Smith County.
  32. Acts of 1905, Chapter 36, detached the lands of V. M. Weaver from DeKalb County and attach them to Putnam County.
  33. Acts of 1905, Chapter 88, removed the land of J. B. Williams from the Seventeenth Civil District of DeKalb County and attached it to the Seventh Civil District of Smith County.
  34. Acts of 1905, Chapter 95, changed the boundaries between Smith and DeKalb Counties to place the land of Daniel Driver in DeKalb County.
  35. Acts of 1905, Chapter 156, altered the line between Putnam and DeKalb so as to include all of the land of Richard Herron in DeKalb County.
  36. Acts of 1907, Chapter 291, placed all the land of Jessie Pullum in Putnam County, thereby changing the boundary with DeKalb.
  37. Acts of 1907, Chapter 503, detached the land of W. L. Foster from Putnam County and placed them in DeKalb County.
  38. Acts of 1911, Chapter 415, changed the line between Wilson and DeKalb to place all the land of J. S. Barry in Wilson County.
  39. Private Acts of 1915, Chapter 260, moved the farms of Shelia Jennings, T. R. Jennings and T. D. Fite from the Thirteenth Civil District of DeKalb to the Thirteenth Civil District of Wilson County.
  40. Private Acts of 1915, Chapter 528, placed the lands of W. A. Huggins in Wilson County, out of Dekalb County.
  41. Private Acts of 1915, Chapter 541, changed the county line between Putnam and DeKalb to remove the portion of Joseph Bozarth's land in the Thirteenth Civil District of Putnam County and placed it in the Eighth Civil District of DeKalb County.
  42. Private Acts of 1915, Chapter 556, changed the line between the Counties of DeKalb and Cannon so that all the land John Sadler purchased from Will Hancock in the Tenth Civil District of Cannon was placed in the Third Civil District of DeKalb County.
  43. Private Acts of 1915, Chapter 558, detached the lands of Mrs. J. T. Qualls from Wilson County and placed them in DeKalb County.
  44. Private Acts of 1915, Chapter 662, changed the line between the Counties of DeKalb and Cannon to remove A. J. Smithson's land from the Third Civil District of DeKalb County and place it in Cannon County.
  45. Private Acts of 1925, Chapter 530, detached the lands of R. P. Kirby from the Twenty-first Civil District of DeKalb and placed them in the Sixteenth Civil District of Warren County.
  46. Private Acts of 1927, Chapter 82, changed the boundary line between DeKalb and White Counties to place the lands of F. C. Henderson in White County.  Private Acts of 1927, Chapter 147, is identical to this Act.
  47. Private Acts of 1927, Chapter 785, changed the boundary lines between DeKalb and Wilson Counties to place the farm of Mrs. M. C. Saddler in the Thirteenth District of Wilson.
  48. Private Acts of 1929, Chapter 412, detached the land of Albert Ashburn from the Eighth Civil District of DeKalb County and placed it in Putnam County.
  49. Private Acts of 1933, Chapter 227, placed the lands of Grover Foutch and Andrew M. Foutch in Wilson County, out of DeKalb County.
  50. Private Acts of 1933, Chapter 270, detached from DeKalb the land of A. J. Smithson which he purchased from Claude Lefevers and placed such land in Cannon County.
  51. Private Acts of 1935, Chapter 93, detached the 40 acre farm of W. A. Fite from DeKalb County and placed it in Wilson County.
  52. Private Acts of 1939, Chapter 524, detached the farm of James Underhill from the Fifth Civil District of DeKalb County and placed it in the Ninth Civil District of Cannon County.
  53. Private Acts of 1941, Chapter 426, changed the county line between DeKalb and Putnam so as to include in DeKalb the land of John Agee.
  54. Private Acts of 1941, Chapter 434, placed the entire tract of Rhoda McGuffey's land in Putnam County, thereby changing the boundary with DeKalb County.
  55. Private Acts of 1971, Chapter 65, detached the land of Vennie Snyder from the Ninth Civil District of Cannon County and placed it in the Fifth Civil District of DeKalb.  Public Acts of 1972, Chapter 548, placed the Snyder land back in Cannon County.
  56. Public Acts of 1975, Chapter 161, moved the land described in the Act which was owned by Vennie H. Snyder and was located in the Ninth Civil District of Cannon County out of Cannon County and into the Fifth Civil District of DeKalb County.  The land transferred consisted of 15 acres more or less.  This act was repealed by Public Acts of 1976, Chapter 422, Page 91.
  57. Public Acts of 1976, Chapter 487, transferred ten acres, more or less, as the same was described in the act, which belonged to Mr. and Mrs. Willie Curtis, out of the Fifth Civil District of DeKalb County and into the Ninth Civil District of Cannon County, so that all the Curtis property would be within the boundaries of Cannon County.
  58. Public Acts of 1978, Chapter 774, detached the lands of Mr. and Mrs. Willie Curtis from the Ninth Civil District of Cannon County and placed them in the Fifth Civil District of DeKalb County.
  59. Public Acts of 1981, Chapter 81, altered the boundary lines between DeKalb County and Cannon County to move about one acre of land, as the same was described, out of the Second Civil District of DeKalb County and attaching the same to the Fourth Civil District of Cannon County.