Houston County, Tennessee

Houston County, Tennessee
Houston County Courthouse in April 2014
Map of Tennessee highlighting Houston County
Location in the U.S. state of Tennessee
Map of the United States highlighting Tennessee
Tennessee's location in the U.S.
Founded 1871[1]
Named for Sam Houston[2]
Seat Erin
Largest city Erin
Area
 • Total 207 sq mi (536 km2)
 • Land 200 sq mi (518 km2)
 • Water 6.7 sq mi (17 km2), 3.2%
Population
 • (2010) 8,426
 • Density 42/sq mi (16/km2)
Congressional district 7th
Time zone Central: UTC−6/−5
Website www.houstoncochamber.com

Houston County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2010 census, the population was 8,426.[3] Its county seat is Erin.[4] The county was founded in 1871.[1] It was named for Sam Houston.[5]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 207 square miles (540 km2), of which 200 square miles (520 km2) is land and 6.7 square miles (17 km2) (3.2%) is water.[6]

Adjacent counties

Major highways

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.%±
18804,295—
18905,39025.5%
19006,47620.1%
19106,224−3.9%
19206,212−0.2%
19305,555−10.6%
19406,43215.8%
19505,318−17.3%
19604,794−9.9%
19705,84521.9%
19806,87117.6%
19907,0182.1%
20008,08815.2%
20108,4264.2%
Est. 20168,134[7]−3.5%
U.S. Decennial Census[8]
1790-1960[9] 1900-1990[10]
1990-2000[11] 2010-2014[3]
Age pyramid Houston County[12]

As of the census[13] of 2000, there were 8,088 people, 3,216 households, and 2,299 families residing in the county. The population density was 40.4 people per square mile (15.6/km²). There were 3,901 housing units at an average density of 19.5 per square mile (7.5/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 94.58% White, 3.31% Black or African American, 0.19% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.78% from other races, and 0.95% from two or more races. 1.25% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 3,216 households out of which 31.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.00% were married couples living together, 10.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.50% were non-families. 25.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the county, the population was spread out with 24.40% under the age of 18, 7.30% from 18 to 24, 26.10% from 25 to 44, 25.60% from 45 to 64, and 16.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 97.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $29,968, and the median income for a family was $35,395. Males had a median income of $29,528 versus $19,983 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,614. About 14.30% of families and 18.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.20% of those under age 18 and 20.80% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Presidential Elections Results[14]
Year Republican Democratic Third Parties
2016 68.9% 2,182 27.3% 866 3.8% 120
2012 52.2% 1,579 46.3% 1,400 1.6% 48
2008 47.9% 1,608 50.0% 1,678 2.0% 68
2004 40.0% 1,440 59.1% 2,126 0.9% 32
2000 31.8% 993 66.6% 2,081 1.7% 53
1996 26.3% 742 66.3% 1,868 7.4% 207
1992 22.0% 648 68.2% 2,012 9.9% 291
1988 37.3% 882 62.0% 1,467 0.8% 18
1984 33.7% 882 65.5% 1,716 0.8% 21
1980 29.0% 738 69.2% 1,757 1.8% 46
1976 16.8% 407 82.0% 1,990 1.2% 30
1972 46.4% 800 50.4% 870 3.2% 55
1968 12.8% 232 35.2% 636 52.0% 941
1964 15.4% 287 84.6% 1,572
1960 23.9% 366 75.0% 1,150 1.1% 17
1956 24.6% 340 74.6% 1,033 0.9% 12
1952 27.5% 465 72.6% 1,229
1948 13.9% 202 79.7% 1,159 6.5% 94
1944 20.3% 248 79.7% 976
1940 17.2% 229 82.1% 1,093 0.7% 9
1936 19.2% 193 80.8% 813
1932 12.9% 112 86.5% 750 0.6% 5
1928 59.2% 374 40.8% 258
1924 16.8% 97 77.1% 444 6.1% 35
1920 32.3% 385 66.2% 790 1.5% 18
1916 23.6% 207 71.5% 627 4.9% 43
1912 18.9% 172 64.5% 586 16.6% 151

The Board of Commissioners meets at the Houston County Courthouse the third Monday of odd months (January, March, May, July, September, November).

Elected officials

  • County Mayor: James Bridges[15]
  • County Clerk: Robert Brown[16]
  • Administrator of Elections: Annette Pulley
  • Property Assessor: Joy Hooper
  • Register of Deeds: Sherrill Potts Moore
  • County Trustee: Jimmy Lowery
  • County Highway Department Superintendent: George Dew
  • County Circuit Court Clerk: Donna Potts Vincent
  • General Sessions & Juvenile Judge: W. Sidney Vinson
  • Sheriff: Kevin L. Sugg

Commissioners

  • District 1: William C. Agy and Ann Fielder[15]
  • District 2: Randall French and J. Steve Hall
  • District 3: Glenn Baggett and Danny Warren
  • District 4: Charles Darrell Kingsmill and Howard Spurgeon
  • District 5: Lance Uffelman and Vickie Reedy
  • District 6: Joey Brake and Chris Pitts
  • District 7: Brant Lamastus and Tony Hayes

Politics

Houston County had traditionally been one of the state's most Democratic counties. Although traditionally Democratic, the county is somewhat conservative on social issues and has been trending Republican. It was part of Tennessee's 8th congressional district, which had been represented by Blue Dog Democrat John S. Tanner. It is now part of Tennessee's 7th congressional district and is represented by Republican Marsha Blackburn.

The county had been among the most consistently Democratic in the state on presidential elections. Prior to 2012, only twice have Democratic candidates failed to carry Houston County at the presidential level. In 1928, Herbert Hoover became the first Republican presidential candidate to ever carry Houston County, due to anti-Catholic voting against Al Smith in this "Bible Belt" region.[17] The second non-Democrat who carried Houston County was George Wallace of the American Independent Party during the 1968 presidential election, following which Houston County became one of only six Wallace counties to vote for George McGovern against Richard Nixon's 3,000-plus-county landslide of 1972.[lower-alpha 1]

In the 2008 presidential election, when most other traditionally Democratic counties in the state voted for John McCain, Houston County supported Barack Obama. That said, the county's vote has been shifting Republican as reflected by Barack Obama's win by barely more than 2%, the lowest margin among all Democratic presidential candidates who have carried Houston County since its creation.[18] In the 2012 presidential election Mitt Romney became the first Republican in 80 years to win the county.[19] Republican Senator Bob Corker[20] and Republican Representative Marsha Blackburn also won the county.[21] Although in all cases it was by a narrower margin than statewide or district wide.

Education

Public high schools

Public primary/middle schools

Media

  • FM radio: WTPR-FM 101.7 (website) "The Greatest Hits of All Time"
  • Weekly newspaper: Stewart-Houston Times (website)
  • ""Tv Station""Wells Creek Basin Network

Communities

City

Town

Unincorporated communities

See also

Further reading

  • History of Houston County, Tennessee 1871 - 1996 - History and Families. Nashville: Turner Publishing Company (1995). ISBN 1-56311-194-2

Notes

  1. ↑ The others were the fellow secessionist white-majority Middle Tennessee counties of Perry and Stewart, plus the three Alabama Black Belt counties of Bullock, Lowndes and Wilcox where Negro voter registration was severely delayed after the Voting Rights Act.

References

  1. 1 2 Tennessee State Library and Archives, Genealogical "Fact sheets" about counties. "Houston County: Houston County was formed in 1871 from Dickson, Humphreys and Montgomery Counties. Acts of Tennessee 1870-71, Chapter 46." Retrieved December 7, 2010
  2. ↑ Charles Lovelady and Nina Finley, "Houston County," Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture. Retrieved: 17 October 2013.
  3. 1 2 "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on July 11, 2011. Retrieved December 2, 2013.
  4. ↑ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on 2011-05-31. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  5. ↑ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. p. 161.
  6. ↑ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved April 5, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  8. ↑ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on May 12, 2015. Retrieved April 5, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved April 5, 2015.
  10. ↑ Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 5, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. Retrieved April 5, 2015.
  12. ↑ Based on 2000 census data
  13. ↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
  14. ↑ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved 2018-03-10.
  15. 1 2 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-03-30.
  16. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-03-30.
  17. ↑ Phillips, Kevin P.; The Emerging Republican Majority, p. 212 ISBN 1400852293
  18. ↑ David Leip’s Presidential Election Atlas (Election maps for Tennessee)
  19. ↑ CNN results for Tennessee
  20. ↑ CNN Results for Senate
  21. ↑ CNN results for Tennessee's 7th district
  • Houston County Chamber of Commerce
  • Houston County, TNGenWeb - free genealogy resources for the county
  • Wikisource "Houston. III. A N. W. county of Tennessee". The American Cyclopædia. 1879.
  • Houston County at Curlie (based on DMOZ)

Coordinates: 36°17′N 87°43′W / 36.28°N 87.71°W / 36.28; -87.71

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