Cordell Hull, father of the United Nations and Secretary of State
under President Franklin Roosevelt, was born in Overton County in 1871. The area later became a part of Pickett County.
Legendary bluegrass guitar player and singer Lester Flatt was born
near Duncan Chapel in Overton County.
Overton County was formed in 1806. The first established settlement
was near Hilham in 1800. Monroe was the first county seat as of 1810. In 1835, the county seat moved to Livingston.
After 1823, growth in other parts of the county, notably in
Livingston (known as Overton until 1834) and Hilham led local residents to complain about the lengthy travel time to Monroe. A contingent of residents wanted to move the county seat to the new town of Livingston. In an 1833 vote on the matter, Livingston won by a single vote. The vote was a heated topic and it was said that a man favoring Livingston as the county seat let some horses out that were being stabled at Oakley where some people were lodging on their way to vote. The people whose horses were loosed favored Monroe as the county seat and the election was thrown to those who favored Livingston.
Rickman was once known as Bilbrey's Crossing. It was renamed after
Carney H. Rickman, who owned a large lumber yard in the area.
Crawford had electricity as early as 1903 and was the first
electrified community in the county. The majority of Overton County did not have electricity until after 1946 when the first main TVA lines entered the area.
Dale Hollow Dam was impounded in 1943. Prior to that time, many
residents on the northern end of the county traveled to Albany, KY instead of Livingston because it was an easier drive.
The Overton County Railroad operated from 1906 until 1934. The
Tennessee Central Railroad entered the county from Monterey in 1901 and operated until 1968.
The Livingston Airport is capable of landing small jets and sells
Jet Fuel.
Overton County in 2000 was 51% Female and 49% Male. The county is
98.6% Caucasion and 15% of the county residents are 65 years old or
older.
