Cottontown Tennessee: A Photographic Preservation of Its People, Culture, and History

Stack of books next to pencils in a holder and a camera.

Cottontown Tennessee

Cottontown Historian Nathan Knight says;

Through a unique blending of the past and the present, Bill Herrin has created a remarkable compilation of the history and the people of Cottontown, looking toward the future while emphasizing the importance of photographic preservation. He has conducted dozens of interviews with local residents, merging their pioneer history with their current lives. Bill Herrin captures the wondrous beauty of Cottontown with his marvelous photography and has also uncovered old photographs and history never before published. As a direct descendant of some of the first families of Cottontown (Cotton and Strother), with my own children forming the ninth generation of these families continuously living in Sumner County for over 230 years, I am absolutely thrilled to see this beautiful work of art come to fruition.

Nathan Knight, Cottontown Historian

About the Book

In this book, there are representations of both current and historical Cottontown families, their homes, churches, farms, and the wildlife and woodlands of Cottontown in Sumner County. In my opinion, it would take several volumes of books to capture all the history, beauty, and wonder of Cottontown in print. Through photographic preservation, I have carefully selected a representation of the area and its people to preserve the past and the present in photographs and in their own words. I hope others will build on this effort to further preserve the history of Cottontown and its people.

The Goal

Historian David Collier wrote, “Cottontown had a country store, Post Office, a school house and two churches, and for us, this was all we needed.” The people of Cottontown today echo David’s sentiments, and in no uncertain terms, they want Cottontown to remain a rural farming community, as it has been for generations. This desire for preservation aligns with the principles of photographic preservation, capturing the essence of life in Sumner County.

However, home growth has increased on the fringes and in some areas of the interior, such as County House Road, Bursby Road, or Upper Station Camp. Fortunately, business or strip malls have not encroached on Cottontown proper; rather, it remains a small community of farms, ranches, and a small country restaurant. I wish for the collective success of the Cottontown folks in curbing urban growth, and through this effort, I hope to assist them. I am blessed to live in Cottontown, Tennessee.