Courthouse, Jails, Turnpikes and Bridges

The first courthouse was erected in 1810 or 1811. The building was of frame, very small, and stood on the northwest corner of the Public Square. A second building, this time of brick, was erected in a few years, and stood in the center of the Square. This building was destroyed by a tornado in 1830. In its stead "was soon afterward erected a large brick court house on the site of the one destroyed, which stood until 1863, when it was destroyed by fire, together with a large portion of the county records. A party of Confederate soldiers had taken quarters in the court house, and through their carelessness the building was set fire to and entirely destroyed. Upon the reopening of the courts after the war they were held in various buildings, principally in a hotel which stood on the south side of the Square, and in 1869 the erection of the present court house was begun, but was not completed until 1873. The building is one of the largest and handsomest court houses in the State, and was erected at a cost of about $130,000. It is of brick, with rock foundation. The principal court room is 40x90 feet in size; county court room, 20x40 feet, and chancery court room, 20x40 feet. The circuit and chancery court rooms are on the second floor, while the county court room and county officials' quarters, six in number are on the first floor. Besides these there are four jury rooms, and in the basement are eight good rooms. Including the porches the building is 120 feet long and 91 feet wide. The pillars for the lower porches are of blue limestone, square, and in Ashler masonry, while those above are of cast iron, Corinthian in style. The building is surmounted by an elegant cupola, containing a clock and bell that cost $1,500. The building stands in the center of the Square, and is surrounded with a grassy plat, enclosed with a neat and substantial iron fence, erected on a stone base. Altogether it is a handsome edifice, and presents a striking appearance, and of which the citizens may well be proud.

Jails

Several jails were erected by the county at different times, all of which were of small consequence, until the building of the present jail in 1866 at a cost of $35,000. The jail is a solid stone building, two stories in height, and is one of the most secure jails in the State. It is conveniently arranged into cells and corridors, and light and air are admitted through several long, narrow windows, through which the smallest person could not escape. It is one of the handsomest and most conspicuous buildings in Shelbyville.

Poor Asylum

In 1832 the first poor asylum was established by the county. At that time 160 acres of land were purchased, lying in the Third District, three miles northeast from Shelbyville, adjoining Horse Mountain, on which were standing several log houses, which were fitted up for the accommodation of the county's poor. In 1883 two substantial frame houses of two rooms each, 16x18 feet, were erected at the asylum at a cost of $2,500. These buildings were burned in May, 1886, and new ones in their place are in course of construction, the county court having appropriated $2,500 for that purpose at its July meeting.

Turnpikes

Bedford County is traversed by numerous turnpikes or macadamized roads, a majority of which lead to and from the county seat. The average cost of these turnpikes was $1,500 per mile, and toll-gates are established every five miles, by means of which the expense of construction and maintenance of the pikes is derived. The turnpikes of this county, their establishment and the number of miles of each are as follows:

Shelbyville. Murfreesboro & Nashville Pike, built in 1832, 12 miles
Shelbyville & Fayetteville Pike, built in 1852, 9 miles
Shelbyville & Lewisburg Pike, built in 1856, 11 miles
Shelbyville & Unionville and Shelbyville, Richmond & Petersburg Pikes, built in 1858, 18 miles of the former and 9 of the latter
Shelbyville & Fairfield Pike, built, part in 1859 and completed in 1865, 8 miles
Shelbyville. Flat Creek & Lynchburg Pike, built in 1875, 9 miles
Shelbyville & Fishing Ford Pike, built in 1875, 5 miles
Shelbyville & Tullahoma Pike, built in 1874, 10 miles
Shelbyville & Wetumpka Pike, built in 1881, 5 miles
Shelbyville & Versailles Pike, built in 1885, 8 miles
Wartrace & Beach Grove Pike, built in 1874, 6 miles
Bellbuckle & Flatwood Pike, built in 1882, 5 miles
Bellbuckle & Beach Grove Pike, built in 1882, 6 miles
Bellbuckle & Liberty Gap Pike, built in 1882, 5 miles.

Bridges

The bridges of importance of Bedford County, together with their cost and earliest time at which bridges were built, are as follows: Shelbyville bridge, across Duck River built in 1832, present cost $2,000; Fairfield bridge, in the First District, across Garrison s Fork, built in 1856, present cost $1,000: Scull Camp Ford bridge, in the Seventh District, across Duck River, built in 1856. Present cost $3,000; Warner's bridge, in the Seventh District, across Duck River, on the Shelbyville & Fishing Ford Pike, built in 1856, present cost $2,000; Hall's bridge, across Duck River, in the Eleventh District, built in 1875; present cost $2,000. Columbia Ford bridge, in lire Eleventh District, across North Fork, built in 1881, present cost $400; Unionville Turnpike bridge, across North Fork, built in 1860, present cost $500; Sugar bridge, in the Twenty-first District, across Sugar Creek, built m 1850, present cost $400; Fall Creek bridge, across Fall Creek, in the Eighth District, built in 1860, present cost $500; Flat Creek bridge, in the Seventh District, across Flat Creek, built in 1855, present cost $1,000; Flat Creek bridge, in the Seventh District, on Lewisburg Pike, built in 1850, present cost $800; Lynchburg Pike bridge, across Duck River, in the Seventh District, built in 1876, present cost $3,000; Fall Creek bridge, on the Columbia Pike, in the Eighth District, built in 1885, cost $400. There are numerous small bridges across small streams throughout the county, but are not of sufficient importance to be given special notice.

Railroads

The Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad has a branch leading from Wartrace to Shelbyville, eight miles in length, while the main line passes through the eastern portion of the county. This railroad, together with the various turnpikes, furnishes means for ample transportation for Bedford County, while, in addition. Duck River can be used for transporting lumber to a great extent. In point of agriculture, manufactures, stock and wealth Bedford County ranks with the best counties in the State, while in health, climate and educational facilities the county has few equals in any portion of the South. 

 AHGP Tennessee

Source: History of Tennessee, Goodspeed Publishing Company, 1886.