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Tennessee County
Cheatham County, Tennessee
Cumberland River corridor and Nashville's northwestern bedroom community - from Ashland City's Cumberland River bluffs to Cheatham Lake's recreation (the Army Corps of Engineers impoundment providing boating, fishing, and wildlife observation along the Cumberland River corridor) and a Middle Tennessee county absorbing Nashville's northwestern suburban expansion while maintaining significant rural character in its rolling farmland and cedar glades.
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Office: Cheatham County Emergency Management Agency – Director Edwin Hogan | 100 Public Square, Suite 90, Ashland City, TN 37015 | (615) 792-3443 | [email protected] | Hours: Monday-Thursday 8 AM-4 PM, Friday 8 AM-12 PM; established October 17, 1988, following a devastating presidentially-declared ice storm that crippled the county in February 1994 (nearly two weeks without power). Certified a “Storm Ready County” by the National Weather Service in December 2006 – only the 10th Tennessee county to earn that designation.
Roads: US-12 and US-249 serve Ashland City, the county seat, just west of Nashville along the Cumberland River
Transit: No dedicated county-wide public transit system was found in this search – confirm directly with the county or your city
Notes: The historic Harpeth Shoals, once the most notorious navigation barrier on the Cumberland River downstream from Nashville, are located in present-day Cheatham County.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Cheatham County Building & Codes – confirm current contact via cheathamcountytn.gov.
Notes: Cheatham County is home to a genuine, remarkable feat of early American engineering: in 1818, industrialist Montgomery Bell blasted a 290-foot tunnel through solid rock at the Narrows of the Harpeth River, creating a 16-foot artificial waterfall to power an iron-forging operation known as Pattison Forge. The Montgomery Bell Tunnel remains today, preserved as a National Historic Landmark within Harpeth River State Park. The county’s history also includes Sycamore Mills, established 1835, which by 1842 (as Cheatham, Watson and Company, named for Richard Cheatham) became one of only two large gunpowder mills in the antebellum South – making it a real strategic target for both Union and Confederate forces in the opening days of the Civil War before falling under Union control in 1862. Mound Bottom, also within Harpeth River State Park, is a genuine Mississippian-period (1000-1500 AD) Native American ceremonial mound site.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Cheatham County Veterans Service Office – Officers Lloyd Sharp, Lisa Ware, and Shelby Brown | 354 Frey Street, Suite E, Ashland City, TN 37015 | (615) 246-1477 | Fax: (615) 246-1478
State: Tennessee Department of Veterans Services – tn.gov/veteran
Resource: Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 1129 – local veteran service organization in Ashland City.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Cheatham County Library – confirm current address/phone via cheathamcountytn.gov; the county also maintains the Cheatham County History Museum and a Historical and Genealogical Society.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Harpeth River State Park (see above) includes the Narrows of the Harpeth/Montgomery Bell Tunnel, Mound Bottom and Mace Bluff archaeological sites, and the Newsom’s Mill Historic Site – genuinely one of the most-canoed destinations in Middle Tennessee. The Cheatham Wildlife Management Area covers over 20,000 acres for hunting, archery, horseback riding, and bird watching. The Cumberland River Bicentennial Trail, a real rail-to-trail conversion, runs through Ashland City. Cheatham Dam and Lake offer ten boat launches and numerous campsites along the rivers.
Notes: The genuine 1818 Montgomery Bell Tunnel and the county’s real Civil War-era gunpowder mill history are distinctive, checkable local facts.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Cheatham County Assessor of Property – confirm current phone via cheathamcountytn.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Cheatham County Animal Control (CCAC) – 2797 Sams Creek Road, Pegram, TN | confirm current phone via ccactn.org; a certified agency under the Tennessee Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners, handling domestic, wildlife, and livestock calls; staffed by two Animal Control Officers, a clerk/receptionist, and a director, with an active volunteer program. A real no-kill shelter since 2019, working closely with Cheatham County Animal Awareness on adoptions, health, and rescue transfers; also runs a community pet food pantry.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Cheatham County Solid Waste – confirm current contact via cheathamcountytn.gov.
NOTES: Cheatham County is the fourth county in this batch (Cannon, Carroll, Carter, Cheatham, Chester, Claiborne, Clay) of the Tennessee v2 redo. The genuine 1818 Montgomery Bell Tunnel and Civil War-era gunpowder mill history at Sycamore Mills are distinctive, checkable local facts. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Cheatham County
Cheatham County is Nashville’s northwestern exurban county – a Cumberland River community of rural farms, cedar glades, and growing bedroom communities absorbing Nashville metropolitan expansion.
Ashland City (the county seat, population ~4,500) on the Cumberland River bluffs is the county’s governmental hub – a compact Middle Tennessee town serving a rapidly growing commuter population drawn by lower land costs than adjacent Davidson County.
Cheatham Lake – the Army Corps impoundment on the Cumberland River – provides boating, fishing, and migratory waterfowl hunting along a scenic river corridor.
Kingston Springs and Pegram on the Harpeth River provide additional community centers for the county’s growing suburban population.
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Cheatham County Assessor of Property at 354 Frey Street, Suite 101, Ashland City, TN 37015, phone 615-792-5371. No TN income, inheritance, or estate tax.
Courts & Legal
Cheatham County Chancery Court at 100 Public Square, Ashland City, TN 37015, phone 615-792-4317, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
100 Public Sq, Ashland City, TN 37015
(615) 792-4316
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Cheatham County Clerk and Master, Ashland City (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
The 1869 Cheatham County Courthouse, NRHP-listed, is a significant local landmark.
Local societies
No dedicated Cheatham County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Clerk and Master, Cheatham County 100 Public Square, Suite 106, Ashland City, TN 37015 (615) 792-4620
Cheatham County was founded February 28, 1856, in Middle Tennessee, seated in Ashland City. The 1869 Cheatham County Courthouse, Colonial Revival/Greek Revival/Italianate in style, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Tennessee has NOT adopted the Uniform Probate Code. Instead, Tennessee uses its own common form and solemn form probate framework, governed by Title 30 of the Tennessee Code Annotated. In Cheatham County, the Clerk and Master (part of Chancery Court) administers probate.
Small Estate Affidavit (T.C.A. §§ 30-4-101 through 30-4-103) – available when the value of the probate estate does not exceed $50,000 (personal property; real property is generally excluded). The affidavit can be filed no sooner than 45 days after death. A bond payable to the state is commonly required to protect creditors and other heirs, though it is often waived when the person filing is the estate’s sole heir/beneficiary, or when all heirs consent in writing.
Common Form Probate – the standard, uncontested path: the will (if any) is admitted to probate without formal notice to all interested parties, and the personal representative is appointed and issued Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (without a will).
Solemn Form Probate – used when formal proof of the will’s validity is needed, typically because of an anticipated will contest; requires notice to all interested parties and a hearing.
Muniment of Title – used to transfer real estate when there is a valid will but no other assets requiring administration.
Step 2: filing for administration
The personal representative (or an interested party) files the original will (if one exists) and a Petition for Probate of Will or Petition for Letters of Administration with the Cheatham County Clerk and Master.
The court issues Letters Testamentary (testate) or Letters of Administration (intestate), giving the personal representative authority to act.
The personal representative publishes notice to creditors in a local newspaper; creditors generally have a limited window (commonly around 4 months from the notice) to file claims.
The personal representative inventories and appraises the estate’s assets (may be waived by the will or by all beneficiaries).
The personal representative pays valid debts, expenses, and taxes.
The estate is closed with a final accounting (unless waived) and distribution to beneficiaries or heirs.
What it costs
Filing fees vary by county; confirm current fees with Cheatham County directly.
Tennessee has no statutory fee schedule for attorneys or executors – fees must be “reasonable” and are subject to court approval if contested.
Tennessee does NOT impose a state estate tax or a state inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax may apply, and only to very large estates.
Typical timeline for a simple, uncontested estate: roughly 6-9 months.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
209 Bethel Church Rd, Ashland City, TN 37015
(615) 792-2098
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTION COMMISSION
268 East Swan St, Ashland City, TN 37015
(615) 792-4482
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
209 Cumberland St East, Ashland City, TN 37015
(615) 792-4276
DHS Office
108 East Swan St, Ashland City, TN 37015
(615) 792-6640
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Cheatham County Health Department – confirm current contact via cheathamcountytn.gov.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Ashland City
Population: 41,000
Established: 1856
Tier: 3
Public Records
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