Rutherford County was formed in 1803 from parts of Davidson, Williamson, and Wilson counties, and named in honor of Griffith Rutherford who lived from 1721 to 1805. Rutherford was a North Carolina colonial legislator and an American Revolutionary War general, who settled in Middle Tennessee after the Revolution. He was appointed President of the Council of the Southwest Territory in 1794. The county has a total area of 624 square miles with a population count of 332,285 residents.