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Please add profiles of those who were born, lived or died in Lewis County, Tennessee.
Official Website
History
Lewis County was formed in 1843 and was named for explorer Meriwether Lewis of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Lewis's grave is located at the geographic center of the county.
Lewis County was the site of the Cane Creek Massacre. The massacre, also known as Tennessee’s Mormon Massacre, happened on August 10, 1884 in Lewis County, Tennessee, at the home of Jim and Malinda Conder about 5 miles north of Hohenwald. Five people were killed and at least one wounded in this culmination of a conflict between Latter-day saints (Mormon) and the non LDS community. The events were reported nationally and internationally and precipitated statewide legislation meant to restrict LDS missionary activity.
The attack was precipitated by rumors of salacious behavior on the part of unspecified missionaries. The rumors were accepted as credible because of the highly publicized LDS practice of polygamy and the recent emigration of two teenage girls from Lewis County Tennessee to Utah.
On Sunday morning of August 10, 1884, a group of 14 to 18 men wearing disguises attacked the home where LDS church services were being held. Several shots were fired by the attackers. Two missionaries, John H. Gibbs and William S. Berry, and twenty year old Church member, W. Martin Conder, were killed. As the attackers left, the dead young man’s half-brother, J. Riley Hutson, shot and killed the apparent leader of the gunmen, David Hinson. The attackers returned fire and killed their assailant and severely wounded the two young men’s mother.
Adjacent Counties
Cities & Communities
- Buffalo Valley
- Gordonsburg
- Hohenwald (County Seat)
- Kimmins
- Summertown (part)
Links
Natchez Trace (part)