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Office: Lewis County Emergency Management Agency – Director Daniel B. Atkinson | 116 Commerce Drive, Hohenwald, TN 38462 | (931) 796-3033 | [email protected] | Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 AM-4 PM; also directs the Lewis County 911 Board and oversees the Lewis County Rescue Squad, which houses the 911 Dispatch Call Center.
911/Dispatch: (931) 796-3616
Sheriff: Lewis County Sheriff’s Department – (931) 796-5096
EMS: Lewis County partners with Maury Regional to provide ambulance service.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: SH-20 and SH-99 serve Hohenwald, the county seat, in South Central Tennessee
Transit: Lewis County Public Transportation SCATS Bus – 347 East Main Street, Hohenwald, TN 38462 | (931) 796-5558
Notes: Lewis County was established December 23, 1843 from parts of Maury, Hickman, Lawrence, and Wayne counties, named for Meriwether Lewis of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The county seat moved from Newburg to Hohenwald (“High Forest” in German) in 1897 by local vote – Hohenwald began as a colony founded by Swiss settlers.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Lewis County Building/Permits – confirm current contact via lewiscountytn.com.
Notes: Lewis County holds real, direct significance to American exploration history: it is genuinely the site of Meriwether Lewis’s death and burial. Lewis, co-leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition and Governor of the Upper Louisiana Territory, died on October 11, 1809 at Grinder’s Stand, an inn on the old Natchez Trace, under circumstances still debated by historians (officially ruled suicide, though murder has long been speculated given his role and the funds he carried). In 1848, the Tennessee General Assembly appropriated $500 to erect a broken-obelisk monument – symbolizing a life cut short – over his grave, built by stonemason Lemuel Kirby. The Meriwether Lewis National Monument, designated in 1925 and now part of the Natchez Trace Parkway (milepost 385.9), preserves the original gravesite, a pioneer cemetery, and interpretive trails on roughly 300 acres. The Lewis County Museum of Local and Natural History, 108 East Main Street, Hohenwald, houses the original protective monument stones and, notably, the third-largest mounted animal collection in North America. Separately, Hohenwald is genuinely home to The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee – founded in 1995 by Carol Buckley, now spanning over 2,700 acres, it is the largest natural-habitat refuge for retired zoo and circus elephants in the United States (elephant habitats are not open to the public, but the Elephant Discovery Center in downtown Hohenwald is).
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Lewis County Veterans Service Office – confirm current officer name/phone via lewiscountytn.com; handles disability claims, pension questions, DIC claims, education benefits, VA home loans, homeless veteran referrals, and burial benefits.
State: Tennessee Department of Veterans Services – tn.gov/veteran
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Lewis County Public Library and Archives – confirm current address/phone via lewislibrary.com.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Meriwether Lewis National Monument and the Elephant Discovery Center (see above) are the county’s two most distinctive attractions. Lewis County also hosts a mix of unique communities: the historic Amish settlements along Highway 20, and roughly 50+ off-grid homesteader families in the county’s “Sonneshine Movement” community.
Notes: Both the genuine Meriwether Lewis gravesite and the real Elephant Sanctuary are among the most distinctive facts covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Lewis County Assessor of Property – confirm current phone via lewiscountytn.com.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Lewis County does not appear to operate a dedicated municipal animal shelter – for a hazardous stray dog outside city limits, residents are directed to call Dispatch at (931) 796-3616 to have the “Dog Catcher” directed to the location. Within Hohenwald city limits, animal control is handled through the police department.
Notes: This informal, dispatch-based arrangement is an honestly-flagged difference from a dedicated shelter facility – confirm current status directly.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Lewis County Solid Waste – payable at the Solid Waste Office, first floor of the Courthouse, Hohenwald, TN.
NOTES: Lewis County is the second county in this batch (Lawrence, Lewis, Lincoln, Loudon, Macon, Madison, Marion) of the Tennessee v2 redo. The genuine Meriwether Lewis gravesite and the real Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee are both among the most distinctive local facts covered anywhere in this project. 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 Lewis County County
Lewis County is south-central Tennessee’s Meriwether Lewis mystery and elephant sanctuary county – the unexplained death of America’s greatest explorer on the Natchez Trace and the nation’s largest elephant refuge give this small, quiet county two of Tennessee’s most remarkable and unexpected claims to national distinction.
Hohenwald (the county seat, population ~3,700) is Lewis County’s governmental hub, a small south-central Tennessee town whose German immigrant heritage (Hohenwald means “high forest”), Elephant Sanctuary proximity, and Natchez Trace location define a community of quiet distinction.
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Lewis County Assessor of Property at 110 N. Park Street, Hohenwald, TN 38462, phone 931-796-3734. TN assessed at a percentage of appraised value.
Courts & Legal
Lewis County Circuit Court at 110 N. Park Street, Hohenwald, TN 38462, phone 931-796-3734, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
110 North Park St, Hohenwald, TN 38462
(931) 796-2732
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Lewis County Clerk and Master, Hohenwald (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
The 1939 Lewis County Courthouse, NRHP-listed, is a significant local landmark.
Local societies
No dedicated Lewis 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, Lewis County Lewis County Justice Center, 29 West Main Street, Hohenwald, TN 38462 (931) 796-3734
Lewis County is in Middle Tennessee, seated in Hohenwald. The 1939 Lewis County Courthouse, Art Deco/PWA Moderne in style, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, funded by the Public Works Administration.
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 Lewis 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 Lewis 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 Lewis 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
110 North Park St, Hohenwald, TN 38462
(931) 796-3711
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTION COMMISSION
110 North Park St, Hohenwald, TN 38462
(931) 796-4179
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
110 East Depot St, Hohenwald, TN 38462
(931) 796-3711
DHS Office
110 East Depot St, Hohenwald, TN 38462
(931) 796-4222
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Lewis County Health Department – 51 Smith Avenue, Hohenwald, TN 38462 | (931) 796-2204
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Hohenwald
Population: 12,700
Public Records
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