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Official Website
The county was established in 1796 and was named for John Montgomery, a soldier in the American Revolutionary War and an early settler who founded the city of Clarksville.
Montgomery County was the site of several early saltpeter mines. Saltpeter is the main ingredient of gunpowder and was obtained by leaching the earth from local caves. Bellamy Cave near Stringtown still contains the remains of two dozen saltpeter leaching vats. It appears to have been a large operation. Cooper Creek Cave shows evidence of extensive mining and contains the remains of "many saltpeter hoppers". Both were probably mined during the War of 1812. Dunbar Cave is reported to have been mined for saltpeter during the Mexican War of 1848, but commercial development has destroyed any evidence of this. Little mining is likely to have happened here during the Civil War, since the Union Army captured and occupied this part of Tennessee in early 1862.
Adjacent Counties
- Christian County, Ken.
- Todd County, Ken.
- Stewart County
- Dickson County
- Cheatham County
- Robertson County
- Houston County
Cities & Communities
- Clarksville (County Seat)
- Cunningham
- Needmore
- New Providence
- Oakridge
- Palmyra
- Port Royal
- St. Bethlehem
- Salem
- Sango
- Shady Grove
- South Guthrie
- Southaven
- Southside
- Woodlawn
Links