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.
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: Trousdale County Emergency Management Agency – Director Matt Batey | 95 River Valley Dr, Hartsville, TN 37074 | (615) 374-9503
911: Trousdale County Emergency Communications District – 210 Broadway, Hartsville, TN 37074 | (615) 374-3994 | Fax: (615) 374-4612; board members appointed by the county mayor and confirmed by the county commission.
EMS: Trousdale County Emergency Medical Service – two 24/7 advanced life support crews year-round, staffed by paramedics and EMTs with over 100 combined years of experience.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911. Trousdale County and Hartsville operate a consolidated (metro) government.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: SH-25 and SH-10 serve Hartsville, the county seat, on 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: Trousdale County, established in 1870 from parts of Macon, Smith, Sumner, and Wilson counties, was the first county created in Tennessee after the Civil War and is the state’s smallest county at just 110 square miles. It’s named for Governor William Trousdale. Hartsville, originally known as Damascus, traces its beginnings to 1795, making it one of the Upper Cumberland region’s oldest communities despite the county’s late formal creation.
Notes: Trousdale County is genuinely, notably the site of the abandoned Hartsville Nuclear Plant – a Tennessee Valley Authority project proposed in 1972 and begun in 1977, intended to house four General Electric boiling water reactors and, at the time, planned to be the world’s largest nuclear plant. TVA canceled the project in 1984 after spending an estimated $2.7 billion (roughly $14 billion in 2024 dollars); one of the massive, unused 560-foot cooling towers remains standing and visible from a distance today, a striking symbol of the era’s nuclear power debates. The former plant site is now genuinely home to the Trousdale Turner Correctional Center, 140 Macon Way, Hartsville, TN – a private, medium-security men’s prison operated by CoreCivic under contract with the Tennessee Department of Correction, opened in 2016 with a capacity of 2,672 inmates. IMPORTANT for InmateAid readers: this facility has faced documented, serious incidents, including a June 2023 lockdown following an inmate death and assaults on corrections officers, and in August 2024 the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division announced it was opening an investigation into conditions at the facility, jointly with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Trousdale County Veterans Service Office – Officer Amber Russell | 200 East Main Street, Hartsville, TN 37074 | (615) 808-1054 | Fax: (615) 374-1100
State: Tennessee Department of Veterans Services – tn.gov/veteran
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Fred A. Vaught Memorial Library (“FAV Library”) – confirm current address via trousdalecountytn.gov; Hours: Mon 9 AM-5 PM, Tue 9 AM-8 PM, Wed hours vary, Thu-Fri 9 AM-5 PM, Sat 9 AM-2 PM; curbside service available by phone.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Battle of Hartsville Memorial Park commemorates a real Civil War engagement (December 1862). The idle Hartsville Nuclear Plant cooling tower remains a distinctive, visible local landmark.
Notes: The genuine cancelled nuclear plant history and the operational Trousdale Turner Correctional Center on the same site are both significant, distinctive local facts.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Trousdale County Assessor of Property – confirm current phone via trousdalecountytn.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Trousdale County Animal Shelter – provides temporary housing, care, and protection for stray, abandoned, and surrendered animals countywide; confirm current address/phone via trousdalecountytn.gov.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Trousdale County Public Works – maintains county parks, sanitation services, and building maintenance; confirm current contact via trousdalecountytn.gov.
NOTES: Trousdale County is the first county in this batch (Trousdale, Unicoi, Union, Van Buren, Warren, Washington, Wayne) of the Tennessee v2 redo. The genuine, dramatic Hartsville Nuclear Plant history and its transformation into the site of the Trousdale Turner Correctional Center – including the facility’s documented recent incidents and ongoing DOJ civil rights investigation – are especially relevant, checkable facts for InmateAid readers. 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 Trousdale County County
Trousdale County is Tennessee’s smallest county by area – the compact Cumberland River county centered on Hartsville carries a quietly fascinating history including the abandoned hulk of one of America’s most ambitious failed nuclear projects and the steady Nashville exurban residential growth that is reshaping this small county’s character northeast of the capital.
Hartsville (the county seat, population ~2,800) is Trousdale County’s governmental hub on the Cumberland River, a small Middle Tennessee town whose nuclear plant history and Nashville commuter growth define its evolving community character.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Trousdale County Assessor of Property at 328 E. Main Street, Hartsville, TN 37074, phone 615-374-2906. TN assessed at a percentage of appraised value.
Courts & Legal
Trousdale County Circuit Court at 328 E. Main Street, Hartsville, TN 37074, phone 615-374-2906, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
328 Broadway, Hartsville, TN 37074
(615) 374-2461
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Trousdale County Probate Court, Hartsville (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Trousdale 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, Trousdale County 200 East Main Street, Hartsville, TN 37074 (615) 374-2996
Trousdale County is in Middle Tennessee, seated in Hartsville – Tennessee’s smallest county by land area, part of a consolidated Hartsville/Trousdale County metropolitan government.
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 Trousdale 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 Trousdale 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 Trousdale 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
200 Jail Ave, Hartsville, TN 37074
(615) 374-2461
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTION COMMISSION
328 Broadway, Hartsville, TN 37074
(615) 374-2461
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
213 East Main St, Hartsville, TN 37074
(615) 374-2114
DHS Office
213 East Main St, Hartsville, TN 37074
(615) 374-2141
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Trousdale Health Department – confirm current contact via trousdalecountytn.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: Hartsville
Population: 11,500
Public Records
TruthFinder
Search public records for Trousdale County County residents.
