George Gibbs Dibrell was born in a house that stood here. A leading citizen, he was elected a Union delegate to the proposed secession convention of 1861, but enlisted for the Confederacy at Tennessee's withdrawal. He recruited and commanded brigades under Forrest and Wheeler, and on the flight from Richmond was guardian of Confederate archives. He was a member of Congress from 1874 to 1884, was prominent in railroad and coal mining activities in this area, and is buried in Sparta.