Wilson L. Waters

Wilson Lawrence Waters ( – ) was an American businessman, farmer and politician who served in the 34th Tennessee House of Representatives from 1865 to 1867. Born in Watertown, Tennessee, the town was called Three Forks until being renamed for him. Waters was a member of the Whig Party until later becoming a Republican.

Early life and ancestry Wilson Lawrence Waters was born on November 11, 1818, in Watertown, Tennessee. His paternal grandparents, Shelah and Nancy (née Turner) Waters, had moved from Charles County, Maryland — a state in which Turner's family had been among the earliest settlers — to Virginia before again travelling west to Round Lick Creek, where they settled circa 1790.

Career Waters owned and operated a general store. By 1845, the local post office had moved into the store, the reason for the town's renaming. He was a delegate to the 1848 Whig National Convention in Philadelphia. In 1857, exploiting the water of the local creek, he built a water-powered grist mill and saw mill, as well as a blacksmithery. In 1858, he was appointed the first postmaster.