This friendly town is the historic county seat with an 1820s courthouse. View historic homes, a Civil War site and quaint shops. Take the self-guided driving tour. Trenton is home of the world’s largest antique nightlight teapot collection.
Start your day at a local favorite, Cotton’s Cafe, where you’ll find a menu full of homestyle selections served by friendly folks.
The Trenton Teapot Museum holds a collection of over 526 exquisite porcelain nightlight teapots dating from 1750 to 1860. The teapots were donated by avid collector Dr. Fredrick C. Freed and recognized as the world’s largest collection of porcelain Veilleuses-Theieres. During the 18th century, bedside porcelain teapots became a favorite wedding gift and served two purposes. First, oiled wicks or tiny candles beneath the pots kept the tea hot. The flames flickered, bathing rooms in a diffused glow that lasted into the night; thus the “nightlight” was born. The teapot artwork ranges from historic to elegant to comical. Several teapots belonged to Napoleon. In late April or early May, the annual Trenton Teapot Festival is a must-do with luncheons, a block party, carnival, tractor pull, fireworks and parade.
Trenton’s works of art may be viewed at the Court Square Arts, Inc., a nonprofit art and antique cooperative.
The Civil War impacted Trenton in unique ways with one being the formation of the Female Collegiate Institute. The Friendship Lodge No. 22, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, founded the institute in 1852. During the Civil War, Federal troops used it as a hospital. Julius Freed served the Confederate Army as a member of the Fifteenth Tennessee Infantry during the Civil War. His life can be observed by a trip to Freed House.
During the Civil War, Nathan Bedford Forrest’s men captured the Gibson County Courthouse on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad Dec. 20, 1862. He and his men occupied the town briefly before riding on toward Union City the next day. The earliest courthouse was a temporary hewn-log building. The present-day courthouse, built in 1899, is considered among the most handsome in the state.
