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Please add profiles of those who were born, lived or died in Putnam County, Tennessee.
Official Website
Putnam County is named in honor of Israel Putnam, who was a hero in the French and Indian War and a general in the American Revolutionary War. The county was initially established on February 2, 1842, when the Twenty-fourth Tennessee General Assembly enacted a measure creating the county.
Putnam County was the site of several saltpeter mines. Saltpeter is the main ingredient of gunpowder and was obtained by leaching the earth from several local caves. Calfkiller Saltpeter Cave, located in the Calfkiller Valley, was a major mining operation, as was Johnson Cave, also located in the Calfkiller Valley. Both caves still contain significant remnants of the mining activity. Several other caves in the county were the site of smaller operations. Most saltpeter mining in Middle Tennessee occurred during the War of 1812 and the Civil War.
Adjacent Counties
- Fentress County
- Cumberland County
- White County
- Overton County
- Jackson County
- Smith County
- DeKalb County
Cities, Towns & Communities
- Algood
- Bangham
- Baxter
- Bloomington Springs
- Buffalo Valley
- Cookeville (County Seat)
- Grandview
- Monterey
- Post Oak Estates
- Post Oak
- Shady Grove
- Silver Point
- Winona
Links