Editing Sumner County, Tennessee (section)

==History==
Prior to the European colonization of North America, the county had been inhabited by various cultures of Native Americans for several thousand years. Nomadic Paleo and Archaic hunter-gatherer campsites, as well as substantial Woodland and Mississippian-period occupation sites and burial grounds, can be found scattered throughout the county. The majority of these sites exist along natural waterways, with the highest concentration occurring along what is now known as the [[Cumberland River]]. [[Mississippian culture|Mississippian period]] earthwork [[mound]]s can still be seen in Hendersonville, and most notably, at [[Castalian Springs, Tennessee|Castalian Springs]]. Long before Europeans entered the area, Native Americans made use of the natural springs for their medicinal and healing properties.

[[longhunter|Longhunters]] traveled into the area as early as the 1760s, following existing Indian and buffalo trails. By the early 1780s, they had erected several trading posts in the region. The most prominent was Mansker's Station, which was built by [[Kasper Mansker]] near a salt lick (where modern Goodlettsville would later develop). Another was [[Bledsoe's Station]], built by Isaac Bledsoe at Castilian Springs.<ref name=tehc/> Sumner County was organized in 1786, just 3 years after the end of the [[American Revolutionary War]], when Tennessee was still the western part of [[North Carolina]].{{citation needed|date=January 2019}}

During the 19th century, the county was developed for agriculture: tobacco and hemp, and blooded livestock. Numerous settlers came from central Kentucky's [[Bluegrass Region]], where these were the most important products. Middle Tennessee had fertile lands that could be used for similar crops and supported high-quality livestock as well. The larger planters depended on the labor of enslaved African Americans. Infrastructure built to support the housing of slaves during this time still exists in Gallatin.

During the [[American Civil War]], most of Tennessee was occupied by Union troops from 1862. This led to a breakdown in civil order in many areas.<ref name="Durham, Walter T. 1999">Durham, Walter T. ''Rebellion Revisited: A History of Sumner County, Tennessee from 1861 to 1870 ''(Franklin, Tennessee: Hillsboro Press, 1999, 2nd edition)</ref> The Union commander, [[Eleazer A. Paine]], was based at Gallatin, the county seat. He was notoriously cruel and had suspected spies publicly executed without trial in the town square.<ref>[http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/williamson/ ''Alice Williamson Diary'', Duke University Special Collections Library], accessed October 11, 2007</ref> He was eventually replaced because of his mistreatment of the people.

In 1873, the county was hit hard by the [[fourth cholera pandemic]] of the century, which had begun about 1863 in Asia. It eventually reached North America and was spread by steamboat passengers who traveled throughout the waterways, especially in the South on the Mississippi River and its tributaries. An estimated 120 persons died of cholera in Sumner County in 1873, mostly during the summer. The disease was spread mainly through contaminated water, due to the lack of sanitation. About four-fifths of the county's victims were African Americans. Many families, both black and white, lost multiple members.<ref name="cholera">{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tphHxMxRJmMC&q=Cholera+deaths+in+1873+Sumner+Co%2C+TN&pg=PA704|title=The Cholera Epidemic of 1873 in the United States. (The Introduction of Epidemic Cholera Through the Agency of the Mercantile Marine ... By John M. Woodworth. Reports Prepared Under the Direction of the Surgeon-General of the Army:-A. History of the Cholera Epidemic of 1873 by Ely McClellan. B. History of the Travels of Asiatic Cholera. By John C. Peters and Ely McClellan. C. Bibliography of Cholera. By John S. Billings.)|pages= 159–163|date=April 28, 1875|via=Google Books}}</ref> In the United States overall, about 50,000 persons died of cholera in the 1870s.<ref name="cholera"/>

On April 17 and 27, 2019, [[2019 Sumner County murders|eight bodies were discovered at multiple locations]] in Sumner County.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Waldrop |first1=Theresa |last2=McLaughlin |first2=Eliott C. |date=May 11, 2019 |title=Suspect charged in 8 Tennessee slayings |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/11/us/tennessee-slayings-suspect-charged/index.html |access-date=February 9, 2020 |website=CNN}}</ref> The sole survivor, left in critical condition, died in 2022 due to major health problems after the injuries. A suspect, identified as Michael Cummins, was arrested for all nine attacks.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Matthews |first=David |date=May 11, 2019 |title=Tennessee man suspected in eight slayings, including mother and father, formally charged after hospital release |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-news-tennessee-slayings-michael-cummins-murder-charges-20190511-d7c7cw77drbplexcztbva74t7m-story.html |access-date=February 9, 2020 |website=New York Daily News}}</ref><ref name="Kelman">{{Cite web |last=Kelman |first=Brett |date=May 10, 2019 |title=Burned cabin and a headless body: Michael Cummins charged with eighth homicide |url=https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2019/05/10/michael-cummins-sumner-county-murder-suspect-charged-eighth-homicide/1169644001/ |access-date=February 9, 2020 |website=The Tennessean |language=en}}</ref> The case was the worst mass murder in Tennessee in 20 years.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.newschannel5.com/news/westmoreland-murder-suspect-armed-and-on-the-run|title=Seven killed in 'deadliest homicide event in Tennessee in at least 20 yrs.'|date=April 27, 2019|website=WTVF|language=en|access-date=February 9, 2020}}</ref>