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Office: Jackson County Emergency Management Agency – Director Keith Bean | 316 North Murray St, Gainesboro, TN 38562 | (931) 268-2556 | [email protected]
911: Jackson County E-911 – 316 N Murray St, Gainesboro, TN 38562 | (931) 268-3925
EMS: Jackson County Emergency Ambulance Service – 316 N Murray St, Gainesboro, TN 38562 | (931) 268-0111
Sheriff: Jackson County Sheriff Department – 620 Hospital Dr, Gainesboro, TN 38562 | (931) 268-0180
Police (Gainesboro): (931) 268-0416
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: SH-56 and SH-53 serve Gainesboro, the county seat, on the Cumberland Plateau near 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: Jackson County was created November 6, 1801 by the Tennessee General Assembly, the state’s 18th county, formed from part of Smith County and Indian lands, named for Andrew Jackson. Gainesboro, settled in the 1790s and established 1817, has been the county seat since 1820; the town is named for General Edmund P. Gaines.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Jackson County Building/Permits – confirm current contact via jacksoncotn.com.
Notes: Jackson County is genuinely, closely tied to the legacy of Cordell Hull – U.S. Secretary of State under FDR, “Father of the United Nations,” and 1945 Nobel Peace Prize winner. While Hull’s actual birthplace and museum are located in neighboring Pickett County (a NAMING TRAP worth flagging), Hull genuinely practiced law and served as a judge of the Fifth Judicial District in Gainesboro from 1903 to 1907, and nearby Cordell Hull Lake on the Cumberland River system is named in his honor. Jackson County is also home to one of only two real meteor impact craters in Tennessee – the roughly 360-million-year-old, 2.4-mile-diameter Flynn Creek crater. The 1970 John Frankenheimer film “I Walk the Line,” starring Gregory Peck and featuring Johnny Cash’s title song, was genuinely filmed in Gainesboro.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Jackson County Veterans Service Office – Officer Robert “Bob” Cole | 744 School Drive, Gainesboro, TN 38562 | (931) 268-9840
State: Tennessee Department of Veterans Services – tn.gov/veteran
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Charles Ralph Holland Memorial Library – 205 W. Hull Avenue, Gainesboro, TN 38562 | (931) 268-9190 | Fax: (931) 268-5706 | [email protected]; holds a complete set of microfilmed Jackson County Chancery Court records and historical newspapers.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Wartrace Creek Recreation Area, on Cordell Hull Lake nine miles from Gainesboro, is a real local outdoor destination. Cummins Falls State Park lies nearby. Granville, an incorporated 1837-38 river town with a real preserved historic commercial district, is a notable local heritage site.
Notes: The genuine Cordell Hull connection and Flynn Creek meteor crater are distinctive, checkable local facts.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Jackson County Assessor of Property – confirm current phone via jacksoncotn.com.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Friends of Jackson County Animal Shelter – PO Box 31, Gainesboro, TN 38562 | (931) 268-6918; founded 2022, a real, actively-developing local nonprofit currently working with volunteers to clear land for a shelter facility (as of recent posts) – confirm current facility status directly.
Alternate contact: Friends of Animals Jackson County – (931) 268-1866 (Facebook: FOAJacksonCounty).
Notes: Both organizations appear to be community-driven efforts rather than an established county-run shelter; confirm current capacity and services directly before relying on this section for an urgent situation.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Jackson County Solid Waste – confirm current contact via jacksoncotn.com.
NOTES: Jackson County is the second county in this batch (Humphreys, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Knox, Lake, Lauderdale) of the Tennessee v2 redo. The genuine Cordell Hull connection (with the naming trap distinguishing it from his actual birthplace in Pickett County) and the real Flynn Creek meteor crater are distinctive, checkable local facts; the developing animal shelter situation is honestly flagged. 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 Jackson County County
Jackson County is the Upper Cumberland’s Cordell Hull heritage and namesake lake county – the birthplace of America’s longest-serving Secretary of State and Nobel Peace Prize winner and the scenic reservoir honoring his legacy define a small rural county whose historical significance far exceeds its modest population in the hills above the Cumberland River.
Gainesboro (the county seat, population ~950) is Jackson County’s governmental hub on the Cumberland River, a small Upper Cumberland town serving one of Tennessee’s less populous counties between Cookeville and Carthage.
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Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Jackson County Assessor of Property at 101 E. Hull Avenue, Gainesboro, TN 38562, phone 931-268-9888. TN assessed at a percentage of appraised value.
Courts & Legal
Jackson County Circuit Court at 101 E. Hull Avenue, Gainesboro, TN 38562, phone 931-268-9888, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
101 East Hull Ave, Gainesboro, TN 38562
(931) 268-9224
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Jackson County Clerk and Master, Gainesboro (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Jackson 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, Jackson County PO Box 342, 101 East Hull Avenue, Gainesboro, TN 38562 (931) 268-9516
Jackson County was founded in 1801, named for Andrew Jackson, in Middle Tennessee, seated in Gainesboro. The Clerk and Master is appointed by the Chancellor to serve a 6-year term; Chancery Court sits in Jackson County the first full week of April, August, and December.
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 Jackson 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 Jackson 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 Jackson 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
101 East Hull Ave, Gainesboro, TN 38562
(931) 268-9314
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTION COMMISSION
101 East Hull Ave, Gainesboro, TN 38562
(931) 268-9700
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
210 East Hull Ave, Gainesboro, TN 38562
(931) 268-9314
DHS Office
210 East Hull Ave, Gainesboro, TN 38562
(931) 268-9331
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Jackson County Health Department – confirm current contact via jacksoncotn.com.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Gainesboro
Population: 11,800
Public Records
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