Dickson

History

Dickson was named for Congressman William Dickson, as was Dickson County. The City started as a stop on the railroad line between Nashville and the Tennessee River. When Union Troops had finished the supply line during the Civil War, the area was known as Mile 42 post. It is disputed on what the community was known as prior to being named Dickson. Various other sources also state that the city was at one point named Sneedsville. Other sources claim that the community was named Smeedsville rather than Sneedsville. One claim comes from a series of writings for the Dickson Free Press by former mayor Robert S. Clement From Mile Post 42… To City of Dickson 1980. In article 7 "Was it called Sneedsville or Smeedsville?" Clement writes about a 1867 Chancery Court decree that was brought to his attention by historian Henry Ragan that refers to the land as "Smeedsville, Dickson County, Tennessee.", and that Ragan interviewed various locals who remembered the town being named Smeedsville. Corlew claimed that he had found Chancery Court documents from the same year that incorporated the area as Sneedsville or Smeedsville, and that it's hard to interpret it being an "n" or an "m" due to the handwriting.

Geography

Dickson is located in south-central Dickson County at (36.071485, -87.374539). It is bordered to the east by the town of Burns. U.S. Route 70 passes through the north side of the city as Henslee Drive; it leads east to Nashville and west to Huntingdon. Interstate 40 passes through the Dickson city limits south of the center of town, with access from Exit 172 (Tennessee State Route 46). I-40 leads east to Nashville from Exit 172 and west to Jackson. According to the United States Census Bureau, Dickson has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.41%, is water. The city center sits on the Tennessee Valley Divide, with the southwest side of the city draining via the East Piney River to the Piney River, then to the Duck River, and then to the Tennessee River, while the northeast side drains via Turnbull Creek or Jones Creek to the Harpeth River and thence to the Cumberland River.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Dickson County High School
  High · Dickson · 1,472 students · 16.5:1 ratio
• Creek Wood High School
  High · Charlotte · 933 students · 16.7:1 ratio
• Stuart Burns Elementary
  Elementary · Burns · 740 students · 15.7:1 ratio
• Centennial Elementary
  Elementary · Dickson · 682 students · 13.6:1 ratio
• Charlotte Elementary
  Elementary · Charlotte · 616 students · 13.7:1 ratio
• Dickson Middle School
  Middle · Dickson · 594 students · 13.2:1 ratio
• Burns Middle School
  Middle · Burns · 475 students · 14.8:1 ratio
• Oakmont Elementary
  Elementary · Dickson · 474 students · 11.3:1 ratio