A toll road of 1829 became Stage Road, Bartlett's main street. In 1856 the town was called Union Depot. It was incorporated in 1866 and named Bartlett for Major Gabriel Matson Bartlett. Shelby County courts were held here from 1870 to 1885. In 1885 Bartlett School was chartered. A school erected in 1917 was named for Dr. Nicholas Blackwell, a pioneer settler of Bartlett.