The first county seat was Troy, first incorporated town in Obion County on March 1, 1843. Aldermen: James W. PORTER, Lysander ADAMS, Horace HEAD, Charles McALISTER, Alfred ROSS, J.A. McBEAN and Jerome MILLER who was elected mayor. (see Goodspeed History for more details) To the left is a photo of the Court House, 1850-1890, in Troy. More information on the city is available at
Troy Home Page.As the years went on, Union City citizens desperately wanted the county seat moved there. To overcome the problem of Union City not being in the center of the county --- the pan handle was taken from Weakley and added in 1870 at the same time Lake County was created from Obion County. And there were a few other little pieces moved back and forth between Weakley and Obion County because Obion River separated the people from the county seat. And one man on the Weakley line had his store put in one county or the other.
So the push was on. And Union City built itself a court house. Suits and injunctions and the final verdict was that the county seat should stay where it was. Now this was before instant communication, and what the judge didn't know is that Union City stole the court house records. He thought they were still in Troy when he handed down his decision.
And this is the way it seemed to be.
Although under an injunction, at 3 A.M. July 9, 1890 shotgun blast alerted one hundred prominent Union City citizens who gathered at First and Church Streets with wagons and guns to go to Troy. Joe TEMPLE climbed a telephone pole and called officials in Troy to notify them they were coming. They then moved quickly into Troy. The courthouse door was unlocked but the county records were in a locked room. Mr. JOHNSON volunteered to break down the door if someone would lend him a horse to get away. Bud ADAMS donated his, the act was done, and JOHNSON sped to Union City, changed horses and went to Kentucky to avoid prosecution.
The upright citizens of Union City brought the big county record books, put them in the wagons and returned to Union City. There is no record of confrontations. When Chancery Court met, the injunction was annulled, since it is said to have read that the records should remain "where they are now." WHERE THEY ARE NOW meant Troy and show the duplicity of those who found it imperative to steal the records before the injunction was read.
Those involved that night and year and time with the moving of the courthouse have long been dead, but the issue lingers as bitter wisp of smoke in the hearts of many.
Lyn Maloney <lynfarms@cddn.com> January 24, 2000, Earl Kersey told me this story: When the court house was stolen the road to union city took a different route than even the old 51. Some of it can still be identified. But back to the story ... the wagon and team got stuck crossing the creek on the Phebus farm that daddy once owned. Paul Thorns daddy lived there at the time. The men woke him up and not knowing what was on the wagon, he harnessed his team and pulled them out. Had he not, the records might have been recovered. Did you know that some of the old pilings from the rail road to Troy can still be found on the Wheatly farm of Thunder Road?