Calhoun County was created by act of the legislature on Feb. 20, 1854, and was named for John C. Calhoun, the South Carolina statesman who resigned as Vice President of the United States in 1832 to return to the U.S. Senate and defend States Rights in debates with Daniel Webster. He also served as Secretary of War from 1817 to 1825 and as Secretary of State from 1844 to 1845. The county’s first officers were Sheriff Wm. H. Pierce, Clerk Joseph W. Roberts, Ordinary Wm. S. Harris, Tax Receiver H.W. Wilkins, Tax Collector Kinion Strickland, Surveyor Charles Stewart, and Coroner Amos Forehand.