Hamilton County’s oldest deed books date back 200 years to the late 1790s or early 1800s and are kept in a humidity-controlled archival facility in Red Bank, where the temperature stays at about 70 degrees Fahrenheit to help prevent mold or mildew.
The handwritten pages are delicate and describe, often in a meandering way, the earliest property transactions in Hamilton County’s history.
They denote landmarks like trees, creeks and Native American settlements and can be a resource to historians or genealogists hoping to learn more about the region or their ancestors.
The documents are preserved on microfilm in the Register of Deeds office, but to properly enshrine them for a digital era, Hamilton County is hiring an outside company, U.S. Imaging Inc., to scan 1,400 of the county’s oldest deed books so they are accessible online at register.hamiltontn.gov. Once complete, all 13,000 books will be available online.
The project will cost $705,000 and is covered through federal funding the county has received through the American Rescue Plan Act, passed last year by Democrats in Congress. County commissioners approved the contract Wednesday.