Wilson County Listings: Barry Wilmore, A.C. Wharton, Reba. 10 choices for a Mt. Rushmore

The Tennessean wants to regularly highlight the who, what and how that all make up Wilson County yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Some serious. Some not so serious. Sometimes in between. Past, present and future.

We call it Wilson County Listings.

We started with a list of restaurants making plans to open in Wilson County.

This time, we came up with our top 10 most prominent names connected to Wilson County.

Agree? Disagree? Whose on your list? Your order? Who was missed?

We'll have more Wilson County Listings. Let us know your ideas.

Wilson County's

Barry Wilmore: The 1981 Mt. Juliet High School graduate is an astronaut with multiple space flights. The Mt. Juliet Middle School field where the high school used to be located is named in honor of Wilmore. Wilmore is also a retired Navy captain with more than 7,800 flight hours and 663 carrier landings in tactical jet aircraft. He was selected as an astronaut in 2000.

Mike Jennings: Jennings has been mayor of Watertown for 40 years now, first elected in 1983 for a series of two-year terms, one three-year term and four-year terms since. Jennings is also well-known as the Wilson County attorney and Wilson County School Board attorney for 34 years. And Jennings is among the biggest University of Tennessee football supporters. Jennings has "lost track" of exactly how many consecutive home and road games, but its over 435 straight now. Jennings last missed a UT football game in 1987.

A.C. Wharton: Born and raised in Lebanon, Wharton was elected as the first Black mayor of Shelby County in 2002 and was re-elected in 2006.  Wharton was then elected mayor of Memphis in 2009 and was re-elected in 2011. His father A.C. Wharton Sr., was well-known in the community as the operator of a grocery store he began in the 1940s. The family dedicated the original store to the Fiddlers Grove Historical Village in 2003.

Jack Lowery: A prominent attorney and partner of Lowery, Lowery & Cherry in Lebanon, Lowery was a state representative (1966-68) and Lebanon mayor (1974-77) as well as a city judge and city attorney. Lowery, a Lumbee Indian, also is the founding member of LoJac Cos., a prominent highway contractor and asphalt manufacturer in Middle Tennessee. Lowery was also on the Cracker Barrel executive board for more than 40 years and was company’s general counsel for many years. Lowery and David Raybin were attorneys for Lawrence McKinney, who got a $1 million payout for a wrongful conviction after a vote by the Tennessee Board of Claims.

Reba McIntyre: The country music and acting star used to live on property just off State Route 109 near the Sumner County line. The property, formerly named Starstruck Estate, is now an event and lodging venue. McIntyre has had a number of hit songs, a long running television show and now is part of "The Voice" on NBC.

Randall Clemons was Wilson Bank & Trust's founding CEO and also has spearheaded the Wilson County Fair's ascension as president of Wilson County Promotions. The fair is now a partnership with the Tennessee State Fair.

Mary Harris: The president and co-founder of the Wilson County Black History Committee and Roy Bailey African American Museum and History Center. The Wilson County Black History Committee is involved in the ongoing restoration of Pickett Chapel, built by slaves and free Blacks in the early 1800s for a white congregation. Freed Blacks eventually purchased the church in 1866. The committee plans to put the Roy Bailey African American Museum in the restored Pickett Chapel. The Black History Committee assists in a number of other community efforts, organizes an annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day march and a Juneteenth event. The Chris Price Athletic Award that includes monetary assistance is given to an athlete connected to Wilson County and came from an annual celebration for the Lebanon Clowns Negro League baseball team.

Terry Ashe had a 30-year run as sheriff, retiring in 2012 to become the executive director of the Tennessee Sheriffs’ Association. Ashe also then served as a Wilson County commissioner and is now a planning commission member. Ashe was also a sergeant with the 101st Airborne Division during the Vietnam War.

Charlie Daniels: The Country Music Hall of Fame icon was from North Carolina, but music eventually brought him to Nashville and then to Wilson County around the 1960s or early 70s, according to the family’s longtime ranch manager Thurman Mullins. Daniels lived on Idlewild Drive in Mt. Juliet in the late '60s or early '70s and eventually moved to the Gladeville area along Central Pike, acquiring land incrementally to about 400 acres.

It wasn’t unusual to see Daniels around town when he wasn’t on the road, Mullins and Granstaff said. Charlie Daniels Park, Charlie Daniels Parkway and Charlie’s Place in Mt. Juliet are among places named for Daniels, who died in 2020.

The Hibbett family: We'll count as one because of the impact so many have had in Mt. Juliet.

N.C. Hibbett was Mt. Juliet’s first mayor in 1973 and later became a city commissioner. N.C., who died in 2013 at age 79, was also a teacher and coached football and boys basketball at Mt. Juliet High School.

His wife Jenny Bess Hibbett, who died Oct. 28, also became vice mayor and the fourth mayor of Mt. Juliet. Jenny Bess also taught at First Baptist Mt Juliet in the 1960s and was prominent in the launch of Mt. Juliet Christian Academy.

Son Bobby Hibbett became an assistant district attorney general and later a judge. Bobby prosecuted Fallon Tallent, who was convicted of first-degree murder in the 2003 deaths of Mt. Juliet police Sgt. Jerry Mundy and Wilson County sheriff’s Deputy John Musice.

Tommy Hibbett was a longtime Wilson County deputy and now teaches at Green Hill High School.

And Johnny Hibbett was a football player at Mt. Juliet High and University of Tennessee and later was an Southeastern Conference referee. Tommy also played college football at Cumberland.

Going way back, deeds show Andrew Jackson had property in Wilson County near the Lebanon town square. He could have also been involved in a business, but that's not certain. And Sam Houston had a law office in Lebanon.

Reach Andy Humbles at ahumbles@tennessean.com or 615-726-5939 and on X, formerly known as Twitter @ AndyHumbles.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Wilson County Listings. The county's 10 biggest names and influencers.