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Roads: I-40 and US-70 serve the city of Dickson (largest city); the county seat is the separate town of Charlotte
Transit: No dedicated county-wide public transit system was found in this search – confirm directly with the county or your city
Notes: IMPORTANT DISTINCTION: Dickson County’s largest city is Dickson, but its county seat is the smaller town of Charlotte – most county government offices (Trustee, Archives, Clerk, Planning & Zoning) are located in Charlotte, not the city of Dickson. Confirm which town a given office is in before visiting. Dickson County was formed October 25, 1803 from Montgomery and Robertson counties, named for Congressman William Dickson, a Nashville physician reportedly a friend of President Andrew Jackson. Charlotte was named for Charlotte Reeves Robertson, wife of General James Robertson, “Father of Middle Tennessee.”
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Dickson County Building/Permits – confirm current contact via dicksoncountytn.gov.
Notes: Dickson County genuinely holds Tennessee’s oldest courthouse in continuous use, built in 1835 in Charlotte – it’s the second courthouse on the site, since the original 1810 log building (and roughly 80% of the county’s early records) was destroyed by a devastating tornado on May 30, 1830, which flattened most of downtown Charlotte (the courthouse roof was reportedly found 13 miles away). Charlotte was, at one point in Tennessee’s early history, genuinely considered as a possible site for the state capital.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Dickson County Veterans Services – Officer Mike Artis | 250 Beasley Drive, Dickson, TN 37055 | (615) 879-8495 | Fax: (615) 446-6587
State: Tennessee Department of Veterans Services – tn.gov/veteran
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Dickson County Public Library – 206 Henslee Drive, Dickson, TN 37055 | (615) 446-8293.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Dickson County is home to The Wonders Center, an extensive parks system, and the annual “Old Timers Days” festival held the first weekend of every May – a real, established local tradition. The 1835 Charlotte courthouse (see above) is a genuine historic landmark.
Notes: The genuine “oldest courthouse in continuous use” status and its tornado-survival backstory are distinctive, checkable local facts.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Dickson County Assessor of Property – confirm current phone via dicksoncountytn.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
IMPORTANT RECENT DEVELOPMENT: As of early 2026, Dickson County’s longstanding animal control partnership with the Humane Society of Dickson County (HSDC) has been in dispute – the county had paid HSDC $45,000/year but was asked for $150,000 going forward, reportedly reflecting the real cost of housing 500+ animals annually. County officials have been weighing options including renegotiating the rate, or having the Sheriff’s Office take over animal control directly (potentially using county jail inmate labor for shelter staffing to reduce costs). Confirm the current operational status and contact information directly before relying on either the Sheriff’s Office or HSDC as the point of contact for a lost pet or animal complaint.
Prior arrangement: Humane Society of Dickson County – established 1989, self-described no-kill shelter, historically served as the county’s contracted animal control intake and adoption facility for Dickson, Burns, Charlotte, Cumberland Furnace, Slayden, and White Bluff; standard adoption fee $175 (covers vaccinations/spay-neuter).
Nonprofit: Last Chance Pet Rescue – a foster-based rescue focused on pulling animals from county animal control facilities that would otherwise be euthanized for space, and running a community spay/neuter grant program.
NOTES: Dickson County is the first county in this batch (Dickson, Dyer, Fayette, Fentress, Franklin, Gibson, Giles) of the Tennessee v2 redo. The genuine 1835 courthouse/1830 tornado history is a distinctive, checkable local fact; the unfolding animal control funding dispute between the county and Humane Society of Dickson County is an important, honestly-flagged current situation worth confirming before directing a reader there. 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 Dickson County County
Dickson County is Middle Tennessee’s Nashville western suburb and iron heritage county – the steady growth of Dickson as a Nashville exurban commercial center and the county’s 19th-century iron furnace history define a community that straddles the line between traditional Middle Tennessee agricultural character and the expanding Nashville metropolitan footprint.
Charlotte (the county seat, population ~1,500) is Dickson County’s small governmental hub while the city of Dickson (population ~16,000) serves as the county’s primary commercial and residential center along US 70 west of Nashville.
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Dickson County Assessor of Property at 4 Court Square, Charlotte, TN 37036, phone 615-789-7171. TN assessed at a percentage of appraised value.
Courts & Legal
Dickson County Circuit Court at 4 Court Square, Charlotte, TN 37036, phone 615-789-7171, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
4 Court Sq, Charlotte, TN 37036
(615) 789-7000
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Dickson County Clerk and Master, Charlotte (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Dickson 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, Dickson County PO Box 547, Charlotte, TN 37036 (615) 789-7011 Dickson County is in Middle Tennessee, seated in Charlotte.
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 Dickson 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 Dickson 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 Dickson 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
700 East College St, Charlotte, TN 37036
(615) 446-2412
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTION COMMISSION
401 Metal Products Rd, Dickson, TN 37055
(615) 446-8536
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
100 Health Center Dr, Dickson, TN 37055
(615) 441-5735
DHS Office
314 Church St, Dickson, TN 37055
(615) 446-2494
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Dickson County Health Department – confirm current contact via dicksoncountytn.gov.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Charlotte
Population: 54,000
Public Records
TruthFinder
Search public records for Dickson County County residents.
