In 1825, citizens from Bedford, Lincoln, Giles, and Maury Counties petitioned the General Assembly of Tennessee to form a new county from portions of the four mentioned. These citizens argued that their respective courthouses were too far away for convenience. It was not, however, until February 20, 1836, that the Tennessee Legislature actually acted upon the petition. The new county took the name Marshall after the noted American jurist, John Marshall.
Though communities were already established at Belfast, Chapel Hill, Farmington, and Cornersville, the town of Lewisburg was formed specifically to be the county seat. Census records show that the majority of these early settlers were engaged in farming.
County business was first transacted in the courthouse, which was located in the center of the town square. The current courthouse is the third one and was erected in 1929. Renovations to the courthouse in 1974 and in 1998 indicate its value to the taxpayers. Two courthouse annexes were established in 1998 - one on the southeast corner of the square and one in a building formerly used as Hardison School. Today the county business is conducted in the Marshall County Courthouse Annex while the main courthouse is the county judicial center.
The Marshall County Commission, composed of eighteen commissioners, representing nine districts, governs the county. A County Mayor, elected every four years by popular vote, serves as the chief executive officer of the county and functions as the director of daily operations. Fiscal duties are handled by a Director of Accounts and Budgets. The population of Marshall County is approximately 34,318 people. The annual county budget exceeds 104 million dollars