[5] According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.5 square miles (1.3 km2), all land.

The couple began selling lots in town and saw many of the remaining businesses and homes of Wesley move to Stanton.

Mrs. Adams was a staunch prohibitionist and ensured the establishment of a clause barring the sale of whiskey in the town.

A now defunct hotel was housed in the downtown area soon after, along with the establishment of the Baptist church being built on land granted by Chaney.

The town also suffered during the Lower Mississippi Valley yellow fever epidemic of 1878.

While facing minimal fatalities due to the epidemic, mass hysteria ensued and many families fled the area.

One notable fatality was John J. Ashe, a former Stanton resident who had since moved to Memphis, who had come back to the town to nurse the sick.

Ashe had previously been arrested, and later cleared, on charges relating to complicity in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

[6] Following these hardships, the town recovered and continued to grow, seeing many new homes and businesses built.

In September 2009, Tennessee's State Building Commission authorized spending of $40 million for purchase of the land.

[12][needs update] On September 27, 2021, it was announced that Ford and SK Innovation would construct a complex at the megasite called "Blue Oval City" to manufacture electric vehicles and batteries.