Community Information
Sections of Interest History of Maury County Maury County was founded in 1807 and named for Abram Maury, a pioneer surveyor. Columbia, the county seat, was settled a year later and Mt. Pleasant was chartered by the State of Tennessee in 1824.
By the time of the Civil War, Maury was a thriving and prosperous county. During their many advances and retreats, both Union and Confederate armies occupied much of the county and a number of skirmishes were fought here. At Oaklawn, a stately antebellum home which still stands just south of Spring Hill, Confederate General Hood, weak and weary from wounds, slept while Schofield's Union army eluded him and marched on to Franklin, where a large scale battle ensued.
From its earliest years, the name of Maury County has been identified with that of Polk. James K. Polk, whose ancestral home in Columbia is now a National Historic Landmark, was the eleventh president of the United States. Another National Historic Landmark, Rattle & Snap, was built by a cousin of the president, George Washington Polk. Rattle & Snap is one of the finest examples of Greek Revival architecture in the South. St. John's Episcopal Church, circa 1842, was built by George and his brother, Leonidas Polk, who later became a Confederate general and bishop of Louisiana.
Originally an agrarian county, Maury made the transition to an industrial one earlier than most other areas of the South. In the 1880s, phosphate was discovered near Mt. Pleasant and the first phosphate mining operations in the United States began here. In the 1930s, manufacturing plants were located here to process the phosphate ore into elemental phosphorus. Other industries followed, including one to manufacture carbon electrodes and another that made sponges. Changing times have altered the mix of local industry and today the phosphate plants are mostly a memory, but they have been replaced by such major manufacturers as Saturn, American Bank Note and others.
Many of the antebellum homes built during Maury's early years are still in use today. Some of them have undergone extensive restoration and the county is gaining recognition as the 'Antebellum Homes Capital of Tennessee'. Liesure Time Leisure time is quality time in Maury County. There are so many things to do and so much to see that it is inconceivable that anyone could be bored. If tennis is your game, you'll find courts at Columbia State Community College, Woodland Park, Graymere Country Club and other locations. Prefer golf? There are three golf courses in Maury County and numerous others close by. Two bowling alleys attract large numbers of bowlers and racquetball courts are open to the public. Softball leagues abound. Little league baseball, peewee basketball, soccer and Pop Warner football are popular with the younger set. The Maury County YMCA has excellent facilities for swimming, exercising, youth activities, basketball and other recreation. The hunting and fishing are good any time. Camping, backpacking, jogging, hiking, horseback riding, bicycling, square dancing and clogging‹you name it and there is a place for it in Maury County or nearby.
Some people may prefer less strenuous activities. For them, there are three public libraries in the county, as well as the CSCC library and the Bluegrass Regional Bookmobile. The Maury County Arts Guild provides an outlet for the creative urge, with divisions for crafts and the literary, visual and performing arts. A community band performs several concerts each year and is always looking for musicians to join the band. The Mid-South Live Steamers meet twice a year at Maury County Park, offering the kids exciting rides on miniature trains. And there are clubs and organizations representing many different special interests.
If you prefer being a spectator, many NASCAR race fans follow the career of Maury County's own Sterling Marlin, two-time winner of the Daytona 500. Public and private schools and Columbia State Community College compete in various sports and special olympics are held for handicapped children. If you want to make the most of your leisure time, you'll like what Maury County has to offer. Education Maury County operates seventeen public schools, all of them accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. There are four private schools. The King's Daughters School, a boarding school for mentally retarded children, serves students from throughout the nation. www.maury-lea.maury.k12.tn.us
In 1965, Columbia became the site of Tennessee's first community college. Today Columbia State Community College www.coscc.cc.tn.us has an enrollment of approximately 3,800 students, with facilities in Franklin, Lawrenceburg and Lewisburg as well as in Columbia. Courses are also offered in Giles, Hickman, Humphreys, Lewis and Wayne counties. A two-year college, CSCC has nine programs for associate degrees in applied sciences and ten certificate programs. It offers courses in 34 areas of study. In addition, Middle Tennessee State University offers courses for a bachelor's degree in elementary education on the CSCC campus. Health Care www.mauryregional.com The second largest employer in Maury County is Maury Regional Hospital, with over 2,000 employees and approximately 200 physicians on the medical staff. The medical staff provides a broad range of specialty services from cancer therapy and cardiology to obstetrics and orthopedics.
A community owned, not-for-profit hospital, Maury Regional also operates Marshall Medical Center in Lewisburg, Wayne Medical Center in Waynesboro and the Lewis Ambulatory Care Center in Hohenwald as well as the Maury Regional Emergency Medical Services, with offices, ambulances and staff in Columbia and Hohenwald. Maury Regional also has a joint venture agreement with Baptist and St. Thomas hospitals in Nashville to provide enhanced healthcare services to the South Central Tennessee area. Here are some other facts about Maury Regional Hospital that may be of interest:
Business Maury County is one of the fastest growing counties in the state. The Maury Alliance provides demographic and economic facts which provide a basic economic barometer of Maury County growth and business activity. For additional information, you may want to check out mauryalliance.com Transportation Interstate 65 and the Saturn Parkway (TN 396) are limited access superhighways that serve Maury County. Four U. S. highways and six additional state highways also serve the county. Maury Regional Airport, in Mt. Pleasant, has a 6,003 foot runway and the latest in instrumentation. It was named the Tennessee "Airport of the Year" in 1994. Ten truck lines and all major package delivery firms serve the county, with five truck terminals located here. The county is served by two railroads, CSX Transportation and Tennessee Southern. Utilities TVA electric power is distributed in the county by the Columbia Power System, the Mt. Pleasant Power System and Duck River Electric Membership Corporation. Water and waste water treatment are provided by the cities of Columbia, Mt. Pleasant and Spring Hill. Natural gas is supplied by Atmos. Telephone service is provided by BellSouth. Fall Tour of Homes The Majestic Middle Tennessee Fall Tour of Homes, sponsored by the local chapter of the Association for the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities. For more information or advance tickets and a map, contact Majestic Middle Tennessee Fall Tour, P. O. Box 942, Columbia, TN 38402-0942, Phone (931) 381-4822.
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