Genealogical "Fact Sheets" About Coffee County

Coffee County

Coffee County was formed in 1836 from
Bedford, Franklin and Warren counties

(Private Acts of Tennessee 1835-36, Chapter 36)

The county seat is Manchester.

There was a fire at the Coffee County courthouse in 1876.

 

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Selected Published County Histories

Additional county and community histories can be found at the Bibliography of Tennessee Local History Sources: Coffee County.  The items in the bibliography may not all be available at the Tennessee State Library and Archives.  

 

Published Local Records

 

Local Records on Microfilm

An inventory of microfilmed Coffee County records is available on our website.  Individual reels of microfilm may also be purchased.

Earliest records include:

The following reels are available on interlibrary loan from the Library and Archives:

 

Newspapers on Microfilm 

Newspapers were published in Manchester and Tullahoma.  Scattered early issues are available from 1860, and a complete run begins in 1903.  Microfilms are loaned to Tennessee libraries.  Individual reels may also be purchased.  An Inventory of Newspapers on Microfilm at the Library and Archives is available on our website.

 

Search for Manuscripts Material in our Catalog 

 

Census Records

 

Additional Research Aids for Coffee County

• County Index to Tennessee Confederate Pension Applications
• Early Tennessee Tax Lists at the Tennessee State Library and Archives
• Funeral Home Records at the Tennessee State Library and Archives
• Index to Tennessee Death Records 1908-1912
• Index to Tennessee Death Records 1914-1933
• School Census Records
• Tennessee World War I Veterans

*   Indicates this title may be borrowed on interlibrary loan from the Library and Archives.

 

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Coffee County Formation Act

PRIVATE ACTS OF TENNESSEE 1835-36, CHAPTER 36:

"An Act to establish a new county by the name of Coffee, in honor of General John Coffee; to be composed of a part of Bedford, a part of Warren and a part of Franklin counties."

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, That a new county be and the same is hereby established, by the name of Coffee, in honor of the late General John Coffee, east of Bedford, west of Warren and north of Franklin, adjoining said counties, and composed of parts of the same: - beginning at the store house of William Norton, in Hoover's Gap, in the line between Rutherford and Bedford; thence south, eight degrees east, ten and a half miles, to a point twelve miles east of Shelbyville; thence south six and a half miles to a corner in Franklin County; thence east eight and a half miles, to a point twelve miles north of Winchester; thence south, eighty degrees east, four miles; thence north, forty-five degrees east, thirteen miles sixty-four poles; thence north three hundred and four poles; thence north, thirty degrees west, two miles and one hundred and fifty poles; thence north, sixty degrees west, one mile and one hundred and sixty poles; thence north, thirty degrees west, two miles; thence north, eighty-five degrees west, three miles and two hundred poles; thence north, twenty degrees west, six and a half miles; thence south, seventy-one degrees west, six miles and seventy poles, thence north, eleven degrees west, one thousand and thirty poles to the Bedford corner; thence south, forty-four degrees west, along the line between Rutherford and Bedford, one hundred and ninety-two poles; thence south, along said line, one hundred and twenty-eight poles; thence a continuation with said line and ridge, with its meanders, to the beginning.

SECTION 2. BE IT ENACTED, That for the due administration of justice, the different courts to be holden in said county of Coffee, shall be holden at the house of Thomas Powers, until the seat of justice for said county shall be located, but a suitable house erected for that purpose; the county court shall, in the intermediate time, have full power to adjourn the courts to such other place in the said county, as they may deem better suited for the holding of the same, and for the public convenience, and to adjourn to the seat of justice when in their judgment the necessary arrangements are made; and all writs and other process, returnable to either place, shall and may be returned to the place to which the said courts may have been removed, by the county court aforesaid; and the said courts to be holden in and for the said county of Coffee, shall be under the same regulations and restrictions, and shall have, hold, exercise and possess the same powers and jurisdiction as are possessed by said courts in other counties in this state.

SECTION 3. BE IT ENACTED, That all officers, civil and military in said county, shall continue to hold their offices, and exercise all the powers and functions thereof, until others be elected under the provisions of the amended constitution and the laws made in pursuance thereof.   And the said county of Coffee shall elect her officers, civil and military, under the amended constitution, at the same time and under the same rules and regulations, and in the same manner that may be provided by law for the elections of officers in other counties in this State. And the said county of Coffee shall be placed upon an equal footing, possess equal powers and privileges, in all respects, as other counties in this state; Provided, nothing in this act contained shall be so construed as to deprive the counties of Bedford, Warren and Franklin, from having, holding and exercising jurisdiction over the territory composing said county of Coffee and the citizens thereof, in as full and ample a manner as they now have, until the election of county officers under the amended constitution; Provided, also, nothing in this act contained shall be so construed as to prevent the counties of Bedford, Warren and Franklin from entering up judgments, or the sheriffs of said counties from selling, under such judgments, any lands within the bounds of said county of Coffee, for taxes, costs and charges, for the past or any proceeding year; nor to prevent the sheriffs of either of said counties of Bedford, Warren and Franklin from collecting from the citizens of said county of Coffee, any taxes due for the past or any preceding year.

SECTION 4. BE IT ENACTED, That the citizens of the county of Coffee, in all elections for governor, for members of congress and for members of the general assembly, shall vote with the counties from which they may have been stricken off, until the next apportionment of members of the general assembly, agreeable to the provisions of the fifth section of the tenth article of the amended constitution.

SECTION 5. BE IT ENACTED, That William S. Norton, Hugh Davidson, Sen. Lecil Bobo, John Hickerson, Alexander Blakely, William Bradshaw and Thomas Powers be and they are hereby appointed commissioners, a majority of whom can act, who shall, on or before the first Monday in January next, proceed to fix on a place, as near the center of said county as an eligible site can be procured at least within four miles of the center of said county; at which site the said commissioners shall procure, by purchase of otherwise, at least fifty acres of land, for which they shall procure a deed or deeds, to be made to themselves and their successors in office, by general warranty; and the said commissioners shall report and return all their proceedings relative to and concerning said county, to the county court of said county; and it shall be the duty of the clerk of said court to record the same.

SECTION 6. BE IT ENACTED, That it shall be the duty of the county court of said county, to appoint five commissioners, to whom the commissioners appointed by this act shall convey the land acquired for the use of said county; on which it shall be the duty of the commissioners appointed by the county court, to cause a town to be laid off, with as many streets and alleys, and of such width as they may deem necessary, reserving at least four acres for a public square, and a lot sufficient for building a jail; and the said town, when so laid off, shall be known by the name of Manchester.

SECTION 7. BE IT ENACTED, That the commissioners of said county shall sell the lots in said town on a credit at least of twelve months, first giving due notice thereof in one or more newspapers printed in this state; and shall take bond with sufficient security, from the purchasers of said lots, payable to themselves or their successors in office; and shall make titles, in fee simple, as commissioners, to the respective purchasers of said lots.

SECTION 8. BE IT ENACTED, That the proceeds of the sale of the lots aforesaid, shall be a fund in the hands of said commissioners, for defraying the expenses incurred in the purchase of the said tract of land on which the said county seat is located; and also for defraying the expenses of erecting public buildings.

SECTION 9. BE IT ENACTED, That the said commissioners shall superintend the building of the court house, jail and other necessary public buildings; and shall let out such buildings as the county court of said county shall order to be built, upon such terms and conditions as the said court shall direct; and shall take bond with sufficient securities, from the person or persons to whom the same is let, payable to themselves and their successors in office, in the sum of ten thousand dollars, conditioned for the faithful performance of his or their contracts.

SECTION 10. BE IT ENACTED, That the said commissioners, before they enter upon the duties of their office assigned them by this act, shall take an oath or affirmation that they will truly and faithfully execute and perform the different duties by this act enjoined on them, according to the best of their judgment; and moreover, shall enter into bond with approved securities, payable to the chairman of the county court of Coffee County, and his successors in office, in the sum of five thousand dollars, conditioned for the due and faithful performance of the duties enjoined upon them by this act; which bond shall be deposited in the clerk's office in said county, and shall not be so construed as to make one of the commissioners security for the other.

SECTION 11. BE IT ENACTED, That the said commissioners shall keep a fair and regular statement of all moneys by them received and expended; which statement, when required, shall, from time to time, be laid before the county court; but said commissioners shall not be called on oftener than once a year; and when all the necessary public buildings are completed, the said commissioners shall, by order of the county court, pay over all surplus money to the county trustee, for county purposes; and they shall be allowed, by the county court, a reasonable compensation for their services.

SECTION 12. BE IT ENACTED, That the first seven commissioners mentioned in this act, shall each be entitled to receive, as compensation for their services, the sum of three dollars per day, for each day they may be absent from home, and necessarily employed in performing the duties required of them by this act, to be paid by the said county of Coffee, out of any monies in the treasury not otherwise appropriated.

SECTION 13. BE IT ENACTED, That the commissioners that may be appointed to lay off the town, shall also reserve as many lots as they may deem necessary, to be given to the different religious denominations, on which to erect houses of public worship; and also a lot for a public burying ground; and that the said commissioners shall also reserve a lot for each, a male and female academy, of such size as they may deem necessary; Provided, that that portion of the counties of Warren and Franklin included within the bounds of Coffee County, shall still be liable to pay to the respective counties from which they may be taken off, their rateable proportion of the county debt; and Provided, further, that the citizens of the county of Coffee shall be entitled to receive their rateable proportion from the several counties from which they are taken, of the school fund, internal improvement fund, or other public moneys, which are now due or may fall due prior to this act going into effect.

SECTION 14. BE IT ENACTED, That the portion of Rutherford County lying in Hoover's gay [sic], shall be attached to and become a part of the county of Coffee, upon the following conditions, to wit: that the county of Rutherford shall not thereby be reduced below her constitutional number of square miles; and that a majority of the qualified voters, residing within the boundaries, as hereinafter described, shall, on or before the 15th day of February next, notify the governor of the State, by written communication, signed by such majority, of their wish, to be attached to said county of Coffee. A direct line shall be run, crossing Hoover's gay at right angles, as near as may be, so as to intersect with the Bedford County line, on the ridge, on each side of said gap, leaving Christopher Hoover and Jacob Hoover on the north side of said line, and crossing the gap as near Jacob Hoover's mill as practicable, to leave those persons on the north side of said line; and the territory lying on the south of the line to be so run, shall, on the conditions aforesaid, be attached to and become a part of the county of Coffee.

Passed on January 8, 1836

 

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Coffee County Bibliography

PLEASE NOTE that the Tennessee State Library and Archives does not hold copies of all of the items listed in this bibliography. Please check the Tennessee State Library and Archives Online Catalog or visit the Ask Us a Question! webpage to contact the Library and Archives and verify we have an item in our collection. We will respond to e-mail requests promptly; response time may vary, depending on the amount of research required to answer your question and the unique nature of your request. If you need immediate assistance you may call the reference desk at (615) 741-2764 or visit us in person.

Subjects :

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Coffee County in General

• Anderson, Victoria S. Social & economic conditions of small farmers in antebellum & postbellum Coffee County, TN. West GA College thesis, 1995. 147 pp.
• Bell, Donald B. "Social activities associated with two rural cemeteries in Coffee County, TN." TN Folklore Soc. Bull. 41 (1975), pp. 93-98.
• Biographical Directory, TN General Assembly, 1796-1969 (Coffee County, Preliminary #15). Nashville, TSLA, 1970. 42 pp.
• Bowen, William R. "The late Archaic in the Upper Duck Valley." TN Anthrop. 4 (1979), pp. 140-159.
• Coffee County, 1980-1987: an economic analysis. Nashville, TN Dept. Emp. Sec., 1988. 12 pp.
• Coffee County Hist. Soc. History of Beans Creek Christian Church of God, 1857-1917. Manchester, Coffee County Hist. Soc., 1974. 29 pp.
• Coffee County Hist. Soc. Newsletter. v.1, 1969- (irregular).
• Coffee County Hist. Soc. Quarterly. v.1, 1970- (quarterly).
• Davis, R.P. Stephen. The Wiser-Stephens I site (40CF81). U. Calgary thesis, 1976. 209 pp.
• Ewell, Leighton. History of Coffee County, TN. Manchester, Doak Print. Co., 1936. 85 pp.
• Faulkner, Charles H. 1974 excavations at the Ewell III site (40CF118), Jernigan II site (40CF37), & the Parks site (40CF5). Knoxville, TVA, 1982. 580 pp.
• Faulkner, Charles H. 1975 excavations at the Eoff I site (40CF32), Aaron Shelton site (40CF69), & the Duke I site (40CF97). Norris, TVA, 1982. 571 pp.
• Goodspeed's history of TN (Coffee County, 827-845, 921-951). Goodspeed, 1887.
• Helsley, Wilford V., Mrs. The country doctor & his people, 1910-1923. Knoxville, the author, 1983. 85 pp.
• Jacobs, David L. Beech Grove Confederate Park. Manchester, Browning Print. Service, 1962. 8 pp.
• Jacobs, Lucile F. Duck River Valley in TN & its pioneers. N.p., 1968. 102 pp.
• Jernigan, V.H. "Fort Nash-- outpost of the 1790s." THQ 29 (1970), pp. 130- 138.
• Jernigan, Verna T. Index to Leighton Ewell's History of Coffee County, TN. Manchester, Coffee County Hist. Soc., 1975. 20 pp.
• Keel, Bennie C. Summary field report of the excavations of the Nowlin II site (40CF35) Coffee County, TN, conducted by the Wright State University Field School, 1974. Dayton, OH, Wright State University, Laboratory of Anthropology, 1974. 40 pp.
• Keele, Robert L. "Folklore of the Branch Line Railroad." TN Folklore Soc. Bull. 13 (1947), pp. 8-12.
• Lollar, Earl H. Geologic structure of the "Barrens" of the Hollow Springs quadrangle in Cannon & Coffee counties, TN. Vanderbilt U. thesis, 1924. 69 pp.
• Lowe, Maggie J. "An old ballad composer of the nineties." TN Folklore Soc. Bull. 19 (1953), pp. 85-94.
• McMahan, Basil B. Coffee County, TN, then & now. Nashville, Williams, 1983. 581 pp.
• Martinez, Corinne. Coffee County from arrowheads to rockets: a history of Coffee County, TN. Tullahoma, Coffee County Conservation Board, 1969. 360 pp.
• Moore, Debra. "Jim Bobo's fatal ride: a study in progress of a TN ballad." TN Folklore Soc. Bull. 50 (1984), pp. 40-57.
• 1973 excavations on the Hicks I (40CF62), Eoff I (40CF32) & Eoff III (40CF107) sites. Knoxville, UT Dept. Anthrop., 1977. 309 pp.
• Patterson, William B. Vegetation & soils of the Sinking Pond area, Coffee County, TN. UT thesis, 1989. 102 pp.
• Soil survey, Coffee County, TN. Washington, D.C., US GPO, 1910, 1959.
• TN Dept. Transportation [county maps] issued periodically.
• TN Valley Authority. Ind. Div. Agricultural-industrial survey of Coffee County. Knoxville, TVA, 1934. var. pp.
• TN Valley Authority. Regional Soils Database. Important farmland in Coffee County, TN. Nashville, TVA, 1981. 1 map.
• US Geol. Survey [topographic maps] issued periodically. Quadrangles: Beech Grove, Hollow Springs, Centertown, Noah, Fredonia, Morrison, Viola, Normandy, Ovoca, Manchester, Hillsboro, Cane Hollow, Cumberland Springs, Tullahoma, Capitol Hill, Alto, Burrow Cove.
• Ward, Warren P. Ward's history of Coffee County. Atlanta, Foote & Davies Co., 1930. 354 pp.

 

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Manchester

• Application for certification as a TN three star community, Manchester, TN. Prepared by the city of Manchester, with the assistance of the TN Dept. Ec. & Comm. Dev., TVA & South Central TN Dev. Dist. Manchester, the city, 1986. 180 pp.
• Flood insurance study: city of Manchester, TN, Coffee County. Washington, D.C., Fed. Ins. Admin., 1978. 19 pp.
• History of Manchester Rotary Club, 1935-1977, Manchester, TN. Manchester, the club, 1977. 112 pp.
• Manchester urban area transportation study: existing conditions. Prepared by the TN Dept. of Transportation in cooperation with the US FHA, the city of Manchester, Coffee County & the TN State Plann. Office. Nashville, TN Dept. of Transportation, 1986. 2 maps.
• TN Dept. Transportation. Manchester urban transportation study. Nashville, TN Dept. Transp., 1976. 1 vol.
• West, Judy F. Manchester, Coffee County, TN: a business & community pictorial heritage. Chattanooga, the author, 1986. 148 pp.

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Normandy Reservoir

• Bacon, Willard S. "Structural data recovered from the Banks III site (40CF108) & the Parks site (40CF5B), Normandy Reservoir, Coffee County, TN." TN Anthrop. 7 (1982), pp. 176-197.
• Ball, Donald B. A survey of traditional architecture & related material folk culture patterns in the Normandy Reservoir, Coffee County, TN. UT thesis, 1977. 281 pp.
• Brown, Tracy C. Prehistoric mortuary patterning & change in the Normandy Reservoir, Coffee County, TN. UT thesis, 1982. 253 pp.
• Chapman, Lloyd N. The Mississippian component at the Eoff I site, Normandy Reservoir, Coffee County, TN. UT thesis, 1978. 213 pp.
• Crites, Gary D. Paleoethnobotany of the Normandy Reservoir in the Upper Duck River Valley, TN. UT thesis, 1978. 259 pp.
• DuVall, Glyn D. The Ewell III site (40CF118): an early Middle Woodland McFarland phase site in the Normandy Reservoir, Coffee County, TN. UT thesis, 1977. 246 pp.
• Faulkner, Charles H. Excavations & testing: Normandy Reservoir salvage project: 1972 season. Knoxville, UT Dept. Anthrop., 1974. 601 pp.
• Faulkner, Charles H. Fifth report of the Normandy archaeological project: 1973 excavations at the Banks V site (40CF111). Knoxville, UT Dept. Anthrop., 1978. 725 pp.
• Faulkner, Charles H. Fourth report on the Normandy archaeological project: 1973 excavations on the Hicks I (40CF62), Eoff I (40CF32) & Eoff III (40CF107) sites. Knoxville, UT Dept. Anthrop., 1977. 309 pp.
• Faulkner, Charles H. Introductory report of the Normandy Reservoir salvage project: environmental setting, typology & survey. Knoxville, UT Dept. Anthrop., 1973. 534 pp.
• Faulkner, Charles H. & Major C.R. McCollough, eds. Sixth report of the Normandy archaeological project. Chattanooga, TVA, 1978. 547 pp.
• Faulkner, Charles H. & Major C.R. McCollough, eds. Third report of the Normandy Reservoir salvage project: 1973 testing program, lithic annealing project, & report on plant & faunal remains from the Banks III site. Knoxville, TVA, 1976. 245 pp.
• Futato, Eugene M. "An outside view of Middle Woodland chronology in the Normandy Reservoir area." TN Anthrop. 7 (1982), pp. 105-113.
• Riedl, Norbert F. A survey of traditional architecture & related material folk culture patterns in the Normandy Reservoir, Coffee County, TN. Knoxville, TVA, 1976. 261 pp.
• Robison, Neil D. A zooarchaeological analysis of the Mississippian faunal remains from the Normandy Reservoir. UT thesis, 1977. 152 pp.

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Old Stone Fort

• Barge, Waggoner & Sumner, Inc. Report on the master plan, Old Stone Fort TN State Park. Nashville, Barge, Waggoner & Sumner, 1968. 47 pp.
• Faulkner, Charles H. The excavation & interpretation of the Old Stone Fort, Coffee County, TN. N.p., 65 pp.
• Faulkner, Charles H. The Old Stone Fort: exploring an archaeological mystery. Knoxville, UT Press, 1968. 70 pp.
• Faulkner, Charles H. Preliminary report of the excavations in the Old Stone Fort, Coffee County, TN, 1966 field season. Nashville, TN Dept. Conservation, 1966. 30 pp.
• Kocsis, Alexander. Old Stone Fort. Manchester, Browning Print. Service, 1973. 55 pp.
• McMahan, Basil B. The mystery of the Old Stone Fort. Nashville, TN Book Co., 1965. 95 pp.
• Pearsall, James E. & Clyde D. Malone. "A Middle Woodland solstice at Old Stone Fort?" TN Anthrop. 16 (1991), pp. 20-28.
• Thruston, Gates P. "The Old Stone Fort near Manchester, TN." AHM 1 (1896), pp. 253-256.

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Tullahoma

• Bridgewater, Betty A. St. Barnabas' Parish; the first one hundred years: its people, its churches, its clergy. Manchester, Coffee County Hist. Soc., 1974. 57 pp.
• Bridgewater, Betty A. Tullahoma & Hurricane Springs Hotel Co.: with notes. Manchester, Coffee County Hist. Soc., 1976. (its Special publication #3). Burt, Jesse C., Jr. "Efforts for an Army camp at Tullahoma, 1916-1917." THQ 10 (1951), pp. 55-73.
• The code of Tullahoma including the charter of the town as re-enacted by the General Assembly of 1903, the ordinances, by-laws & rules of order of the mayor & aldermen; the original charter of Tullahoma & its amendments (abolished) by the General Assembly of 1903. Compiled & edited by R.H. Richardson, et al., Committee on Laws, Ordinances & Rules. Tullahoma, Southern Print. Co., 1905. 120 pp.
• Flood insurance study: city of Tullahoma, TN, Coffee & Franklin counties. Washington, D.C., FEMA, 1989. 26 pp.
• Historic Preservation Society of Tullahoma, Inc. [newsletter]. vol. 1, 1980-v.4, 1983. 4 vols.
• Historic Preservation Society of Tullahoma, Inc. Tullahoma time-table. v.5, 1984-. (semi-annual).
• Historic Tullahoma. Tullahoma, Trader's National Bank, 1986. 80 pp.
• Hoyer, Raymond A. "The soldier town." J. of Ed. Soc. 15 (1942), pp. 487-497.
• Murrell, Frances C. The Methodists came this way. Tullahoma, First United Methodist Church of Tullahoma, 1984. 139 pp.
• Tullahoma urban area transportation study: existing conditions. Prepared by the TN Dept. Transp., in cooperation with the US FHA, the city of Tullahoma, Coffee County, & the TN State Plann. Office. Nashville, TN Dept. Transp., 1986. 2 maps.
• Tullahoma 1851. Tullahoma, Historic Preservation Society of Tullahoma, 1986. 192 pp.

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