The General Assembly of Tennessee in 1801 empowered and appointed commissioners to purchase land for the purpose of laying out the county seat of Wilson County. A site was to be chosen which would be centrally located and convenient; choice of location was also contingent upon reliable water resources. The chosen site was six miles north of the geographical center of the county, six miles south of the Cumberland River and at the fork of two creeks. The county seat thus was accessible to all parts of the county for trading. The City of Lebanon, named for the biblical land of cedars, was laid out as a town in 1802 and chartered as a body politic in 1819. Lebanon is the county's largest city and serves as the county seat. Today the reforestation work of the Federal Government has provided the 10,000 acre Cedars of Lebanon State Park, the largest forest of virgin red cedar in the United States.

Two other incorporated areas--Watertown and Mt. Juliet--are located in Wilson County. Watertown was so named in 1845 after Wilson L. Waters. The town was incorporated in 1905. Mt. Juliet was settled in 1835 and named in honor of "Aunt Julie" ....... (see added comments [1]) . It has the distinction of being the only town in the world to bear the name of Mt. Juliet. The town was incorporated in 1973.

WILSON COUNTY SCHOOLS

For information on Wilson County Schools, please visit our schools page.  Here you will find contact information as well as web site links where available.

WILSON COUNTY UTILITIES

Please use the links on our utility companies page for contact information concerning electricity, water, sewer, telephone and gas hook-ups.