Barretville is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

Shelby County, Tennessee Shelby County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 929,744. It is the largest of the state's List of counties in Tennessee, 95 counties, both in terms of ...

, United States, close to the border of Tipton County, and near the community of Rosemark. It has an elevation of 354 feet. The community is locally known for its once large number of domesticated peacocks, originally cared for by Sarah Louisa Barret.

Name

Barretville is named after the Barret family, one of the earliest families to reside in the area. A

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

veterans that was conducted in 1890 showed a man by the name of Joseph Barret living in the area, while the 1870 United States census showed multiple individuals of the family living in the community. Unlike the later 1890 census, the individuals listed in the 1870 census were noted with the spelling as Barrett, with an additional "t".

History

The town was founded by Anthony Barret (1827–1910) in 1852. Anthony's grandson Paul Weisinger Barret Sr. (1899–1976) founded the Barretville Bank and Trust, which continues to be a focal point of the community today. Paul W. Barret Sr. founded the bank in 1920, at the age of only 21. Despite his young age, Barret successfully led the bank through the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, and later molded it into one of the largest and most successful rural banks in Tennessee. The bank had 10 branches in Shelby County alone, with affiliate banks in Somerville, Rossville, and Henderson, Tennessee. Paul Barret's home in Barretville is known as Squire's Rest, and is on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

.Tennessee State Historical Marker: Paul W. Barret

1930 Bank Robbery

In 1930, there was an attempted robbery at the Barretville Bank and Trust. At the time, the bank and the J. H. Barret and Sons General Store were connected. When burglars attempted to crack the bank's safe using blowtorches, the General Store was accidentally ignited; the robbery was unsuccessful, and the store was rebuilt later that year.

Today

Today, the community consists of an antiques shop, a Trustmark Bank, several barns, an attorney's office (located in the old Barretville Bank and Trust Building), and multiple residences. The community is adjacent to Tennessee State Route 14. Tipton-Rosemark Academy's Paul Barret Jr. Sportsplex (constructed with money donated by the estate of Paul W. Barret Jr.) is just outside the community across Gragg Road.

Notable people

* Bobby Blue Bland, blues singer, helped create the soul-blues soundThe Big Book of Blues (Penguin Books), Robert Santelli (1993)

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Shelby County, Tennessee Unincorporated communities in Tennessee