Editing DeKalb County, Tennessee (section)

==History==
DeKalb County was formed in 1837 from land in [[Cannon County, Tennessee|Cannon]], [[Warren County, Tennessee|Warren]] and [[White County, Tennessee|White]] counties. Historian Will T. Hale believes that the first settlers in the county were at [[Liberty, Tennessee|Liberty]] and came from [[Maryland]] in 1797.<ref name=hale>Hale, Will T. ''History of Dekalb County, Tennessee''. Nashville, P. Hunter, 1915. 254 pp. (reprinted McMinnville, B. Lomond Press, 1969).</ref> If so, Adam Dale was the first settler. He may have come over the Cumberland Mountains, although some sources claim she came down the [[Ohio River|Ohio]], up the [[Cumberland River|Cumberland]] to [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]], and then overland about {{convert|69|mi|km|}} to Liberty.<ref name=hale />

DeKalb County was the site of several [[potassium nitrate|saltpeter]] mines, the main ingredient of gunpowder, and was obtained by leaching the earth from several local caves. Overall Cave was named for Abraham Overall who moved from [[Luray, Virginia]], and settled near the present site of Liberty in 1805. He reportedly had many slaves and owned a large plantation on which Overall Cave is located. Two saltpeter leaching vats in the cave may date from the [[War of 1812]], although this area was mined again during [[American Civil War|the Civil War]]. Other caves in DeKalb County that were mined for saltpeter include Avant Cave, located near [[Dowelltown, Tennessee|Dowelltown]], Indian Grave Point Cave, located in the Dry Creek Valley, and Temperance Saltpeter Cave, located near [[Temperance Hall, Tennessee|Temperance Hall]].<ref>Thomas C. Barr, Jr.,  "Caves of Tennessee", Bulletin 64 of the Tennessee Division of Geology, 1961, 568 pages.</ref>

Unlike most of generally pro-[[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] [[Middle Tennessee]], DeKalb County was seriously divided during [[American Civil War|the Civil War]].<ref name="Reluctant">{{cite book|last=Crofts|first=Daniel W.|title=Reluctant Confederates Upper South Unionists in the Secession Crisis|date=July 2, 2014 |page=347|publisher=UNC Press Books |isbn=978-1469617015}}</ref> In Tennessee's Ordinance of Secession referendum on June 8, 1861, DeKalb County voted to secede only by a margin of 833 to 642, which constituted the smallest margin by any county voting to secede.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://votearchive.com/tn-sec-ref-1861/|publisher=Vote Archive|title=Tennessee Secession Referendum, 1861}}</ref> Earlier on February 9, 1861, DeKalb County voters had voted against holding a secession convention by a margin of 1,009 to 336.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://votearchive.com/tn-sec-conv-vote-1861/|title=Tennessee Vote on Secession Convention, 1861|publisher=[[The Fayetteville Observer|Fayetteville Observer]]|date=March 21, 1861}}</ref>