Stewart County, TN Property Records: Search Deeds, Owners, Tax Records, and Maps

A street in Stewart County holds the property records of the county. It is located at 225 Donelson Parkway in Dover, built after the U.S. Union captured its first great victory in February 1862 by demanding unconditional surrender from the Confederacy at the fort on the river. The books are kept on the first floor of the courthouse by Register of Deeds Derek W. Earhart, Assessor of Property Martha Wallace, and County Trustee Laura Crain, which were established in 1803. It's the water now, framing it: Lake Barkley on the Cumberland, Kentucky Lake beyond, and Land Between the Lakes filling the peninsula.

Fort Donelson National Battlefield is the identity of Dover, and the lakes are the anchor of its market. Typical time for homes, cabins, and hunting tracts to move in Dover, Cumberland City, and the shoreline communities in Tennessee is 30-60 days. The county's border is defined by federal land and the power works of the TVA.

Recent records reveal the underlying factors influencing the local real estate market, with a median home value of $141,200 and median rent of $728, alongside a median household income of $58,114 and a median real estate tax rate of 0.64 as a percentage of the property’s assessed value.

How to Look Up Stewart County Property Records

Almost all of this is covered by the three stops. The state assessment site lists the owner of each parcel as well as the value and the Map-Group-Parcel number. The Trustee’s balances run through the state Trustee system at (931) 232-7026. The Register of Deeds handles the records at the counter of the courthouse, and the county has published a records request process for all other records.

Who Keeps Stewart County Property Records

The Public Records Act makes property records public to Tennessee citizens, and records are kept at the county level. The complete list of officers is posted on the Stewart officials page, and there are four offices that affect property work:

• Deeds, Deeds of Trust, liens, and plats are recorded on the main level of the courthouse, weekdays 8 - 4:30, with the Register of Deeds, Derek W. Earhart, who also collects the State recordation tax at recording. The mail is sent to P.O. Box 57.

• The Assessor of Property, Martha Wallace, reviews each parcel from the first floor to determine the market value of the property and participates with the Board of Equalization on appeals. Mail runs to P.O. Box 371.

• The Clerk & Master, Laura Crain, collects the county’s property taxes from the first floor, with mail to P.O. Box 618. The Trustee is the tax collector in Tennessee. That’s the entire title. Delinquent-tax suits are handled from the same courthouse by the Clerk & Master, April J. Turner, who also runs the Chancery Court proceedings.

How to Search Stewart County Property Records Online

The deed books are at the counter; the parcel side is on-line.

• Locate the parcel on the State assessment site. Type the address/owner name in the box for Stewart County and copy the Map-Group-Parcel number, value, and class.

• The boundary on TNMap, where private parcels abut Land Between the Lakes and battlefield ground, needs to be mapped.

• Go to the main level of the courthouse with the owner's name or call (931) 232-5990. Tennessee is an indexing state and works both sides of all sales. Fees are paid up front to run remote copies through the county's records request form.

• Check the deeds of trust, liens, and releases; then trace back to the previous grantor for each grantor. The price is shown on the sworn value of each deed.

• Please contact the Trustee at (931) 232-7026 to verify taxes are up to date.

Register of Deeds: Deeds, Deeds of Trust, and Plats

Between Dover and Cumberland City, and extending to the lake and ridge, the elected Official, the Register of Deeds, records. Home loans in Tennessee are financed by deeds of trust instead of mortgages, making deeds the instrument used on most home loans. The Register also collects recording taxes.

Document types recorded include:

• Warranty deeds, quitclaim deeds, and other conveyances

• Deeds of trust, releases, assignments, and modifications

• Liens, easements, and judgments

• Powers of attorney, leases, and plats

• Military discharges and UCC fixture filings

There is no online document access, so the index lives at the counter, organized by party name, recording date, legal description, and type. Mailed requests move on the county’s form with fees enclosed.

Assessor of Property: Ownership, Values, and Parcel Data

The Assessor appraises every parcel at market value from the first floor, and Tennessee taxes a class-based fraction of it. The office assigns the Map-Group-Parcel number, keeps the record cards, and works with the county Board of Equalization on disputes, with values true to market at each state-scheduled reappraisal.

Use the state assessment site or call to find:

• The current owner of record for any parcel

• The Map-Group-Parcel number and legal description

• The appraised value and the assessed value after the class ratio

• The property class, such as residential, farm, or commercial

• Characteristics like square footage, year built, and acreage

County Trustee: Tax Bills and Payments

The Trustee bills and collects county taxes from the first floor. Taxes come due the first Monday in October, and the last day of February closes the window before monthly interest begins.

The Trustee administers the state Tax Relief program for qualifying seniors, disabled homeowners, and disabled veterans. Homes inside Dover and Cumberland City receive separate city bills.

Property Tax in Stewart County: Classification, Exemptions, and Appeals

There is no state property tax in Tennessee. A Stewart County bill is a part of county money and a part of city money in town, and it starts with a fraction.

How the bill is figured

The valuation rates vary from 25 percent for residential and farm property to 40 percent for commercial and industrial property. A home appraised at $140,000 carries a $35,000 assessed value; at a combined $2.30 rate, the bill is $805. The rate never reaches the full appraisal.

Exemptions and relief

Appealing your value

Start with the Assessor at (931) 232-5252, the office that works directly with the Board of Equalization. The formal appeal goes to that board in June, then to the State Board of Equalization, with comparable sales as evidence.

GIS Maps and Parcel Viewer

The state is responsible for keeping the county's parcel maps. The TNMap assessment viewer is overlaid on aerial imagery, linked to the Comptroller’s assessment data, with all of the Stewart County boundary lines plotted, including the two lakes and the Federal peninsula.

Details available include:

• Parcel boundaries with ownership and acreage

• Appraised and assessed values by parcel

• Lake Barkley, the battlefield, and Land Between the Lakes’ edge in aerial view

• Property classes and record-card data

• Statewide layers through TNMap

Tax maps are assessment maps, not survey maps, and lines against federal ground require special attention. Recorded plat and licensed survey to prove any boundary that is important.

Foreclosure and Tax Sales

Two sales, two trustees, and only one works on Donelson Parkway.

Deed-of-trust foreclosure

When a loan defaults, the substitute trustee named under the deed of trust advertises and sells at public auction under Title 35 of the Tennessee Code. No court order is required. That private trustee is not the county’s tax collector.

Chancery Court tax sale

Taxes go through the courthouse that are delinquent. The county sues in Chancery Court, and April J. Turner, Clerk & Master, presides at the court-ordered sale, with a one-year right of redemption thereafter, following most sales. In Tennessee, the property is sold via the court, not tax-lien certificates.

Costs to Access Property Records

The state portals do not charge any fee. Some fees are charged on copies, and an additional fee is charged for recording. The Register requires payment for copies before they are sent by mail.

The Register collects both recordation taxes at recording, and the sworn value on the deed becomes the public record of the price.

How to Record a Document

The following is an outline of the Tennessee Code (T.C.) governing recording (Title 66, Chapter 24). Four steps:

• Complete the document to Tennessee standards: notarized signatures, a full description of the property, and addresses of preparer and return.

• Complete the deed requirements: tax parcel, signed Oath of Consideration.

• The recording fee and the recordation taxes: $0.37 for every $100 of the transfer, $0.115 for each $100 of secured debt over $2,000.

• Submit on the main floor of the courthouse or by mail to P.O. Box 57. Original returns refer to the returns prior to adjustment for inflation.

FAQs

Quick Reference: Your Stewart County Property Records Checklist

Find your task on the left and take the path on the right.

Key Contacts and Official Portals