Affiliate disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial recommendations are independent of these relationships.
Tennessee · Nashville Metro North · #826
Sumner County, Tennessee
North of Nashville on the Cumberland River, Sumner County's Hendersonville was where Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash built their lakeside home and where the country music community found a quieter alternative to Nashville's commercial core - a county now growing as Nashville's northern suburb while holding the lake communities, farms, and music heritage that gave it its original character.
Affiliate disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial recommendations are independent of these relationships.
What do you need to do?
Tell us your goal and we'll guide you step-by-step to the right office, forms, and official resources.
Office: Sumner County Emergency Management Agency – Director Ken Weidner | 255 Airport Road, Gallatin, TN 37066 | (615) 452-7584 | [email protected]
911/Dispatch: Sumner County Emergency Communications Center – 253 Airport Road, Gallatin, TN 37066 | (615) 451-3838 (non-emergency)
EMS: Sumner County EMS – 255 Airport Road, Gallatin, TN 37066 | Chief John Michael Poss; Medical Examiner’s Office: (615) 442-2009
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-65 and US-31E/31W/231 serve Gallatin, the county seat, about 25 miles northeast of Nashville
Transit: No dedicated county-wide public transit system was found in this search – confirm directly with the county or your city
Notes: Sumner County genuinely predates the state of Tennessee itself – it was organized in 1786 in the western portion of North Carolina, before Tennessee statehood, and is named for Revolutionary War hero General Jethro Sumner. It comprises eight cities including Gallatin, Hendersonville (the county’s most populous city), Goodlettsville, Millersville, Portland, and White House.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Sumner County Building/Permits – confirm current contact via sumnercountytn.gov.
Notes: Sumner County is genuinely, notably rich in both colonial and musical heritage. Its colonial-era sites include Mansker’s Station and Bledsoe’s Fort Historical Park, and the county is the only one in Tennessee with four state historic home sites: Cragfont, Wynnewood, and Hawthorn Hill (all in Castalian Springs) and Rock Castle (in Hendersonville). On the musical side, Hendersonville was genuinely home to Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash for 35 years – they lived in a lakefront home on Caudill Drive (Old Hickory Lake) purchased from architect Braxton Dixon in 1968, until June’s death in May 2003 and Johnny’s that September; the property was later purchased by Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees and tragically burned down during renovations in April 2007. Roy Orbison was their neighbor on the same street; after Orbison lost two sons in a 1968 house fire while on tour, Cash purchased that property and turned it into an orchard in their memory. Hendersonville’s main road is genuinely named Johnny Cash Parkway, and Tennessee Historical Commission markers honor both Cash and Orbison. Johnny and June are buried at Hendersonville Memory Gardens, 353 East Main Street.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Sumner County Veterans Services – a county-funded office offering free assistance to Sumner County veterans and families, including in-home visits for housebound veterans and monthly outreach in Hendersonville, Westmoreland, and Portland; confirm current phone/address via sumnercountytn.gov.
State: Tennessee Department of Veterans Services – tn.gov/veteran
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Sumner County Libraries – multiple branches: Gallatin, 123 East Main Street, Gallatin, TN 37066 | (615) 452-1722 | Hours: Tue/Thu 9 AM-7 PM, Wed/Fri 9 AM-6 PM, Sat 9 AM-3 PM, closed Sun/Mon; Hendersonville, 140 Saundersville Road, Hendersonville, TN 37075 | (615) 824-0656; Millersville, 1174 Louisville Highway, Millersville, TN 37072 | (615) 448-6959; and additional branches in Portland and Westmoreland.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Bledsoe’s Fort Historical Park, the four state historic homes (Cragfont, Wynnewood, Hawthorn Hill, Rock Castle), and the Johnny Cash/music heritage sites in Hendersonville are the county’s signature attractions. Old Hickory Lake offers extensive fishing and boating.
Notes: Both the genuine colonial heritage (four state historic homes) and the Johnny Cash/Roy Orbison musical legacy are distinctive, checkable local facts.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Sumner County Assessor of Property – Sumner County is on a 5-year property reappraisal cycle (next scheduled 2029); confirm current phone via sumnercountytn.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Sumner County Animal Services (a division of the Sumner County Sheriff’s Office since 2009) – 1033 Union School Rd, Gallatin, TN 37066 | (615) 452-2400 | [email protected] | Intake and adoption hours: Tuesday-Saturday 10 AM-4 PM (some sources cite 10 AM-6 PM); moved into its current state-of-the-art facility in May 2011; adoption fees $100 for dogs, $70 for cats (cash or check only); stray hold minimum 5 days.
Nonprofit: Humane Society of Sumner County – 16 Volunteer Dr, Gallatin, TN 37066 | (615) 822-0061 | [email protected]
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Sumner County Solid Waste – confirm current contact via sumnercountytn.gov.
NOTES: Sumner County is the sixth county in this batch (Sevier, Shelby, Smith, Stewart, Sullivan, Sumner, Tipton) of the Tennessee v2 redo. The genuine Johnny Cash/Roy Orbison musical heritage in Hendersonville and the county’s unique four-state-historic-home colonial heritage are both 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 Sumner County
Sumner County’s Hendersonville is defined by its connection to the Cash family – Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash lived on Old Hickory Lake, and the county’s country music heritage includes numerous artists who chose the lake communities as their Tennessee home. The Cash family farm and the House of Cash museum have become pilgrimage sites; the lake communities that Cash inhabited now mix music heritage with Nashville suburban growth.
Gallatin, the county seat, has preserved its historic courthouse square and is developing its downtown as the county’s population growth has brought commercial activity. Old Hickory Lake – a Cumberland River reservoir – provides 22,000 acres of recreation surface. Sumner Regional Medical Center provides healthcare. The county’s school system has grown substantially with the population influx from Nashville’s northward expansion.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Tennessee assesses residential property at 25% of appraised value. Property owners may appeal to the County Board of Equalization. Tennessee offers a property tax relief program for qualifying elderly and disabled homeowners. Tennessee has no estate or inheritance tax.
Courts & Legal
Courts & Legal
SENIOR SERVICES
Sumner County Office on Aging
355 North Belvedere Drive, Gallatin, TN 37066
Phone: (615) 452-1155
Senior Services
Sumner County Office on Aging
355 North Belvedere Drive, Gallatin, TN 37066
Phone: (615) 452-1155
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
101 Public Sq, Gallatin, TN 37066
(615) 452-4266
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Sumner County Probate Court, Gallatin (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Sumner 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
Probate Court, Sumner County 100 Public Square, Gallatin, TN 37066 (615) 452-4282 Sumner County is in Middle Tennessee, seated in Gallatin, part of the Nashville metropolitan area.
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 Sumner County, the Clerk and Master (part of Chancery Court, Probate Division) 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 Sumner County Probate Court.
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 Sumner 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
117 West Smith St, Gallatin, TN 37066
(615) 452-1571
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTION COMMISSION
355 North Belvedere Dr, Gallatin, TN 37066
(615) 452-1743
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
435 North Belvedere Dr, Gallatin, TN 37066
(615) 452-1420
DHS Office
1029 Nashville Pike, Gallatin, TN 37066
(615) 451-6009
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Sumner County Health Department – confirm current contact via sumnercountytn.gov.
Editorial independence: CountyOffices maintains strict editorial independence from our affiliate partners. Our content is researched from official government sources. Affiliate relationships do not influence our recommendations or the information we publish.
Editorial Trust
5 official sources cited
Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Gallatin
Population: 200,000
Tier: 2
Inmate Services
Care Packages
Send care packages to inmates in Sumner County facilities via Amazon.
