User:William Jeck/sandbox

History

The Area now known as Hamilton County, was Founded on October 25, 1819, in a treaty known as the Hiwassee Purchase. The area was originally occupied by Cherokee Nation under the leadership of John Ross. What is now known as Chattanooga was formerly Ross's Landing, a busy trade post recognized as the center of the Cherokee Nation. Over a series of Treaties between 1919 and 1835, The Cherokee had been mostly moved out of the area. If any Cherokee wished to stay in the area, the head of the family would have to become a citizen of the United States. Once a citizen, they would be entitled to 640 Acres of land. At the time of death, heirs would be entitled to the land. of the 107 reservations reported to Congress in 1819, only 39 were listed as Fee Simple. The other 68 reservations were allowed to stay as long as the family stayed on the land. Once the family moved, the land could be sold. This made it easier to remove the Cherokee from the area. The treaty of Echota in 1835 providing the US government legal basis for the forced removal of the Cherokee, opening the land for settlement.

At time of the 1820 census, the County counted 821 residents, including 16 blacks, 39 slaves, and about 100 Cherokee living on 6 reservations. the original legislature says that John Gamble, William Lauderdale, and John Patterson, the 3 men who were responsible for founding the County,  would conduct all county business  The original County seat location was in the home of Hasten Poe, a popular tavern located near the 3 men. in 1822 the County Court was moved to the farm of Ashael Rawlings, the newly appointed County Clerk, in Dallas, TN. The town of Dallas died after the County seat had been moved later. the seat was moved to Harrison, TN and then later moved to Chattanooga in 1835.

Governance

Hamilton County Mayor:

Hamilton County has a County Mayor and nine districts, each of which elect a Commissioner to serve on the county's legislative County Commission.

The Hamilton County mayor is Jim Coppinger. As the chief, it is his responsibility to control the budget and financial reports. Working with various division heads, the mayor works to manage the general county government by ensuring that all policies are enforced.

Mayor Coppinger entered the fire department in 1977 and served for 28 years, serving as the Fire Chief for the last 8 years. after retiring from the Fire Department, Coppinger was elected to the Hamilton County Board of Commissioners. He served on the Board of Commissioners from 2006 through 2011, and chairman of the Board of Commissioners for the 2008-2009 year. He was appointed to Hamilton County Mayor in 2011 and elected as mayor in 2012. He serves on several community service organizations such as The Joint Economic and Community Development Board, The River City Company Board of Directors, The Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission, The Workforce Investment Board, and more.

Mayor Coppinger has developed several initiatives to improve health and wellness in the county including the Hamilton Shines Mission to reduce littering; The Help 20 program to ensure that all children are able to read by 3rd grade; and The Step 1 program to reduce obesity in the county.

The Chief of Staff assists the mayor in carrying out initiatives and helps to manage all areas of general county governance. The current Chief of Staff is Michael Compton.

Hamilton County Board of Commissioners:

Hamilton County has nine elected county commissioners to make up the legislative body of the county. The members are elected from, and represent, the nine districts within the county and serve four year terms. The members of the commission elect a Chairman and a Chairman Pro Tempore of the Board of Commissioners and serve for one year.

The Current County Commissioners are:


 * District 1: Randy Fairbanks


 * District 2: D.C. (Chip) Baker
 * District 3: Greg Martin
 * District 4: Warren Mackey
 * District 5: Katherlyn Geter
 * District 6: David Sharpe
 * District 7: Sabrena Smedley
 * District 8: Tim Boyd
 * District 9: Chester Bankston

Hamilton County's Court System:

District Attorney: The Current District Attorney for the 11th Judicial District of Tennessee is Neal Pinkston. The district attorney's goal is to prosecute those who chose violate the law.

Chancery Court: Hears cases involving matters of a civil nature including: domestic relations, worker's compensation, review of administrative action of governmental agencies, guardianship, breach of contract, fraud, etc... The county Clerk and Master serves the role of handling fees and paperwork associated with the court, but sometimes serves as a chancellor.

Circuit Court: The circuit court hears both criminal and civil cases, such as adoption and divorce matters, contract disputes, name changes, as well as hearing appeals from lower courts. The Circuit Court Clerk handles the paperwork and fees associated with this court.

Criminal Court: Handle both Felony and Misdemeanor cases. cases are brought to the criminal court after and indictment by the Grand Jury, or after an appeal is granted from a lower court. Trials in this court are usually juried, however, a judge may hear a case without a jury.

General Sessions Court: issues non-juried judgments for misdemeanor criminal cases. Here, Felony cases are decided whether or not to bound over to a Grand Jury.

Juvenile Court: Handles all Cases where a minor is involved.

https://tennesseeencyclopedia.net /entries/treaties/

https://tennesseeencyclopedia.net /entries/hamilton-county/

http://www.hamiltontn.gov /community/