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Highways and Roads - Historical Notes

Tennessee Code Annotated
Tennessee Attorney General Opinions

The following is a listing of acts which once had some effect upon the county road system in Madison County, but which are no longer operative.

  1. Private Acts of 1824, Chapter 58, appropriated the funds remaining after the City of Jackson had been established to build a road through the low ground, or swamp, of the Forked Deer River, crossing the river at the bridge at Shannon's Landing.
  2. Private Acts of 1827, Chapter 10, named commissioners for the building of a bridge across the Forked Deer River at Jackson and set forth their duties, and set rates of toll and exemptions from toll rates.
  3. Private Acts of 1829, Chapter 282, declared the middle fork of the Forked Deer River to be navigable and regulated the height of bridges built across it.
  4. Private Acts of 1832, Chapter 73, made it lawful for Sugars McLemore to receive a specified toll for crossing his bridge over the Forked Deer River, but authorized the county court to take control of the bridge if it became impassable. The bridge could be kept as long as it in no way obstructed navigation. Private Acts of 1832, Chapter 4, contains provisions identical to those in Chapter 73.
  5. Private Acts of 1833, Chapter 255, authorized a turnpike and bridge to be built across the north fork of the Forked Deer River.
  6. Private Acts of 1833, Chapter 299, declared Alexander's Fork of the Forked Deer River to be navigable as far upstream as Hibbet's and Sharpe's mill, thus requiring bridges to be built a specified height.
  7. Public Acts of 1881, Chapter 118, gave the county court power to own and manage turnpike roads.
  8. Acts of 1901, Chapter 136, regulated the working and construction of public roads in Madison County, providing for Road Commissioners, ad valorem taxes, classification of roads, etc. This act was amended by Acts of 1905, Chapter 478.
  9. Acts of 1905, Chapter 403, provided that all male residents between the ages of 21-45 were subject to road duty in Madison County.
  10. Acts of 1907, Chapter 545, authorized the appointment of a County Engineer for Madison County.
  11. Acts of 1909, Chapter 351, was a general road law which established a system of county roads and created various officers, agencies, etc. for that purpose.
  12. Private Acts of 1917, Chapter 230, created a County Board of Highway Commissioners in Madison County and provided for the regulation of the roads in Madison County. This act was amended by Private Acts of 1917, Chapter 536, Private Acts of 1919, Chapter 433, Private Acts of 1937, Chapter 337, Private Acts of 1939, Chapter 203, and Private Acts of 1945, Chapter 58 (the 1945 act was expressly repealed by Private Acts of 1970, Chapter 225). This 1917 act has never been expressly repealed, although it probably was repealed by implication by Private Acts of 1970, Chapter 225.
  13. Private Acts of 1945, Chapter 58, amended Private Acts of 1917, Chapter 230, to abolish the County Board of Highway Commissioners and vest all of its rights, powers and duties in a County Engineer. This act was amended by Private Acts of 1951, Chapter 229, Private Acts of 1955, Chapter 67 (as amended by Private Acts of 1955, Chapter 180), and Private Acts of 1965, Chapter 198. The 1945 act, as amended, was repealed by Private Acts of 1970, Chapter 225.
  14. Private Acts of 1970, Chapter 225, indicated in its caption that it amended Private Acts of 1917, Chapter 230, but the body of the act made no reference to the 1917 act. The 1970 act effectively constituted a new road law for Madison County, presumably repealing the 1917 act by implication. The 1970 act expressly repealed Private Acts of 1945, Chapter 58, which had substituted a County Engineer for the Board of Highway Commissioners. The 1970 act was amended by Private Acts of 1987, Chapter 92, and the 1970 act, as amended, was repealed by Private Acts of 1991, Chapter 2