Hardeman County, Tennessee: History
Hardeman County was created by the Tennessee General Assembly in 1823 from parts of Hardin County and "Indian lands." It is named for Thomas J. Hardeman (1788–1854), a veteran of the Creek War and the War of 1812 and a prominent figure in the fight for Texas independence. He served as a congressman in the Republic of Texas, and was also the father of Confederate brigadier general William Polk Hardeman.
Settlers began arriving in the area that is now Hardeman County in 1819, following a treaty with the Chickasaw allowing settlement in West Tennessee signed on October 19, 1818. Among these earliest settlers were the county's namesame Thomas Hardeman and Ezekiel Polk, the paternal grandfather of president James K. Polk. Thereafter, further settlers arrived from Middle Tennessee, Alabama, North and South Carolina, and Virginia.
The first permanent settlement was established in 1823 along the Hatchie River, dubbed Hatchie Town. The town's location along the river led to recurrent flooding, and ultimately the decision was made to relocate the settlement approximately one mile south to what is now Bolivar.
Hardeman County was the site of several battles and skirmishes in the Civil War. The largest of these was the Battle of Hatchie Bridge which took place on October 5, 1862, and resulted in 900 total casualties. Much of downtown Bolivar was also burned down during the war. The town of Grand Junction was the site of the first contraband camp, organized by John Eaton to shelter and employ enslaved individuals captured by the Union.
The county is the location of two of Tennessee's four private prisons, the Whiteville Correctional Facility and the Hardeman County Correctional Center. Both are medium-security facilities for men, operated by the Corrections Corporation of America.