The first court in Williamson County was held in 1799 in Thomas McKay's tavern. Within a year the first courthouse, a log structure, was built. It was replaced around 1809 by a brick building in the middle of the square. The present courthouse was built in 1859. The four columns of cast iron were mined in Williamson County and smelted at the Caney Fork Furnace near Fernvale. The Williamson County courthouse is one of the few remaining antebellum courthouses in the states.