Dickson County, Tennessee

Dickson County is a county in Tennessee, United States, about 40 miles west of Nashville. It had
a population of 54,315 at the 2020 census and covers 490 square miles (1,300 km2) of land,
centred near 36°09′N 87°22′W.

Charlotte is the county seat; its postal code is 37036. The county holds 1 city, 5 incorporated
towns and 6 unincorporated communities, and it runs on Central Time. Its FIPS code is 47043.

Towns & Villages in Dickson County

Dickson County has 12 named places on record: 6 incorporated cities and towns and 6
unincorporated communities with no local government of their own. Unincorp. covers rural
settlements, historic sites and crossroads with no formal boundary.

Tennessee City is also known locally as Gillem or Gillems Station, a name tied to its old
railroad depot. Promise Land no longer exists as a built-up settlement — its schoolhouse and
one church building are the surviving landmarks — but the name still marks the area on maps
and in the county’s civic life.

ZIP Codes

• 37055 — Dickson
• 37036 — Charlotte
• 37187 — White Bluff
• 37029 — Burns
• 37181 — Vanleer
• 37165 — Slayden
• 37051 — Cumberland Furnace

Promise Land, Tennessee City, Bellsburg, Sylvia and Abiff have no ZIP code of their own; mail
there is delivered under the nearest incorporated town’s code.

Geography

Dickson County sits on Tennessee’s western Highland Rim, a plateau of rolling hills cut by
creeks draining north toward the Cumberland River. Of its 491 square miles, 490 are land and 1.4
are water, about 0.3 percent — the county has no large lake, and most of its surface water
runs through small creeks. The Cumberland River touches the county’s northeast corner, and the
Harpeth River runs along its eastern edge.

Montgomery County lies to the north, Cheatham County to the east, Williamson County to the
southeast, Hickman County to the south, Humphreys County to the southwest, and Houston County to
the northwest. Montgomery
County, Cheatham County, Williamson County, Hickman County, Humphreys County and Houston County all border
Dickson directly.

Demographics

Dickson County had a population of 54,315 at the 2020 census. Dickson and White Bluff are the
two largest communities in the county, together holding roughly a third of the total population.
Median household income runs $75,003, higher than Tennessee’s statewide 2023 ACS figure of
$67,631. About 27,549 county residents are employed, and 10.9 percent of the population lives
below the poverty line.

Economy & Local Life

Health care and social assistance is the county’s largest employment sector, with 4,819
workers, followed by manufacturing at 4,189 and retail trade at 3,349. Tennessee College of
Applied Technology–Dickson and a Nashville State Community College satellite campus give the
county its higher-education presence, both based in the city of Dickson. The Dickson County
School District runs 16 schools for about 8,500 students. The Promise Land Community Festival,
held the first weekend of June, brings back descendants of the formerly enslaved families who
founded the community after the Civil War — among them the family of basketball Hall of
Famer Oscar Robertson, born nearby.

History

The Tennessee General Assembly formed Dickson County on 25 October 1803, the 25th of the
state’s 95 counties, and organized it on 19 March 1804. It was named for William Dickson, a
Nashville physician who served in the U.S. Congress. Charlotte became the county seat and was
incorporated in 1837.

An 1830 tornado destroyed most of Charlotte, including the original courthouse and county
records; the replacement, completed in 1833, still stands and is Tennessee’s oldest
courthouse in continuous use. Iron production shaped the county’s early economy: General
James Robertson built the first furnace at Cumberland Furnace in 1793, and Montgomery Bell bought
the operation in 1804, casting cannonballs used by Andrew Jackson’s forces at the Battle of
New Orleans in 1812. The Cumberland Furnace Historic District was listed on the National Register
of Historic Places in 1988. In 1894, a group of socialist reformers founded the Ruskin Colony, a
utopian cooperative community near Cumberland Furnace; internal disputes dissolved it by 1899.

Getting There

U.S. Route 70 runs through the county, passing through the city of Dickson as Henslee Drive.
Interstate 40 crosses the southern part of the county about five miles south of downtown Dickson,
with an exit onto State Route 46. Tennessee State Route 47 links Burns and White Bluff.

• Nashville — about 40 miles east
• Clarksville — about 30 miles north
• Franklin — about 35 miles southeast
• Waverly — about 25 miles west

Nashville International Airport, roughly 40 miles east of Dickson, is the nearest major
commercial airport. Amtrak does not serve the Nashville region, so no county town has passenger
rail access.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Dickson County located?
It sits on Tennessee’s western Highland Rim, about 40 miles west of Nashville, bordered by
Montgomery, Cheatham, Williamson, Hickman, Humphreys and Houston counties.

What is the population of Dickson County?
54,315 at the 2020 census.

How big is Dickson County?
491 square miles (1,300 km2), of which 490 square miles are land.

What is the county seat of Dickson County?
Charlotte is the county seat; its 1833 courthouse is Tennessee’s oldest still in continuous
use.

How many towns and cities are in Dickson County?
Six incorporated places — Dickson, Charlotte, White Bluff, Burns, Vanleer and Slayden
— plus six unincorporated communities: Cumberland Furnace, Promise Land, Tennessee City,
Bellsburg, Sylvia and Abiff.

What ZIP codes does Dickson County use?
37055 for Dickson, 37036 for Charlotte, 37187 for White Bluff, 37029 for Burns, 37181 for
Vanleer, 37165 for Slayden, and 37051 for Cumberland Furnace.

What is Dickson County known for?
Cumberland Furnace’s iron industry and its role supplying the War of 1812, and Promise
Land, a community founded by formerly enslaved families after the Civil War.

More counties in this state: Towns
and villages in Tennessee.