In 1803, area residents petitioned the Tennessee General Assembly to establish a new county.  On October 25th of that year an act by the Tennessee Legislature formed the new county of Dickson.  In November this legislation was passed.  On August 4, 1804, the General Assembly designated the small frontier community of Charlotte as the county seat which became a thriving market town and the center of local government.  Until the outbreak of the Civil War, all roads led through Charlotte.

Between 1796 and the Civil War agriculture and iron were the economic mainstays in Dickson County.  The development of the 19th century iron industry and the coming of the Nashville & Northwest Railroad at the end Civil War were two of the most significant factors in the growth and development of the region.  This transportation corridor changed the dynamics for the growth of Dickson County.  With economic stability came the social, educational, moral and religious institutions necessary for communities to thrive and expand.

The Civil War era also impacted the local residents particularly in the small community of Charlotte, a strategic location to Fort Donelson and the Tennessee River.  Although the county as a whole was never the site of any major battles, the Union forces occupied Charlotte for approximately two years.  Homes, businesses and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church were used as headquarters for Union officers, local stores as commissaries for the Union supplies and the church as a field hospital.  Area farms were also raided for the Southern cause.  Guerilla attacks were planned at night then carried out against Union boats, troops and supply lines. 

The incorporation of the communities of Dickson (1899), Burns (1953), White Bluff (1870) and Tennessee City (unincorporated) occurred along the rail line and U.S. Highway 70.  The completion of Interstate 40 in the 1973 solidified the pattern for growth and development on the south end of Dickson County.  A rail line spur was constructed from the Pond Community north to Hematite to haul iron ore and pig iron from Hortense and Cumberland Furnace to the Cumberland River and Gracie, Kentucky.  As the iron resources disappeared, this rail line eventually became a state highway. Three remaining incorporated communities on the north side of the county were Charlotte (1838), Slayden (1913) and Vanleer (1915).  Viable unincorporated communities in the area are Cumberland Furnace and Promise Land.
           
Throughout most of the late 19th and 20th centuries Dickson County remained a rural agricultural area.  In the 1930’s, the brown iron deposits were exhausted and the iron furnaces and forges were history.  Agriculture was the economic mainstay.  In the 1980’s the Dickson County Chamber of Commerce initiated a program to attract industry to the south side of the county.  

As other counties in middle Tennessee began to see extensive development, middle Tennesseans and industry alike looked west for room to settle and grow.  By the beginning of the 21st century, Dickson County’s rapid development brought jobs and prosperity to the area.  The industrial park rapidly expanded, developers established new sub-divisions, large businesses and corporations were drawn to the  south side of the county, restaurants and motels sprang up along I-40, and tourism have all contributed to the county’s growth and development.           

Today, the north end of the county remains relatively agricultural.  Farming is still the economic mainstay although the tobacco industry is rapidly disappearing.  The communities of Vanleer, Slayden and Charlotte, still retain much of their 19th and early 20th century character. Architectural styles around the Courthouse Square in Charlotte span approximately 170 years.  County government offices, businesses and residences surround the courthouse square.  In 1973, Charlotte Courthouse Square was designated a National Register of Historic Places District and remains the seat of Dickson County Government.