The town of Clarksville was laid out in 1849. The first schoolhouse in the area, known as Swamp College, stood about 3/4 of a mile west of the settlement and operated under the subscription model until 1854¹. The first school in Clarksville proper was built in 1867 as a graded school under the direction of a board consisting of Dr. P.P. Whitesell, D.D. Taylor, and J.R. Leonard².