Dresden serves as the county seat of Weakley County, and is located in the northwest corner of the State. Dresden is 121 miles northeast of Memphis, 65 miles east of the Mississippi River and 130 miles west of Nashville. The community is located about midway between Chicago and New Orleans. Dresden is the home of Tennessee's 46th Governor, Ned Ray McWherter, who held the office of the State's top leader from January 17, 1987 to January 1995. Born in the nearby community of Palmersville, also located in Weakley County, Governor McWherter encouraged industrial growth in the State.