In April 1791 Edwin Hickman, a native of North Carolina, led a surveying party into what is now Hickman County. Hickman’s party included James Robertson, later known as the Father of Middle Tennessee, Robert Weakley, who also played a prominent role in early state history, and others. The party camped at the mouth of a small creek (Defeated Creek) on the north side of Duck River opposite the present site of Centerville.

The next morning, as Hickman and Robertson built a predawn fire, Indians fired on the party, killing Hickman and wounding Robertson in the hand. The party retreated to the Cumberland settlement but returned several days later to bury Hickman’s body in a shallow grave at the spot where he was killed.