Sumner County, Tennessee

Sumner County, Tennessee
Sumner County Courthouse in Gallatin

Seal
Map of Tennessee highlighting Sumner County
Location in the U.S. state of Tennessee
Map of the United States highlighting Tennessee
Tennessee's location in the U.S.
Founded November 1786
Named for Jethro Sumner[1]
Seat Gallatin
Largest city Hendersonville
Area
 • Total 543 sq mi (1,406 km2)
 • Land 529 sq mi (1,370 km2)
 • Water 14 sq mi (36 km2), 2.5%
Population (est.)
 • (2018) 183,545
 • Density 340/sq mi (130/km2)
Congressional district 6th
Website www.sumnertn.org

Sumner County is a county located on the central northern border of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2010 census, the population was 160,645.[2] Its county seat is Gallatin,[3] and its largest city is Hendersonville. The county is named for American Revolutionary War hero General Jethro Sumner.

Sumner County is part of the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Prior to European colonization, the county had been inhabited by various cultures of Native Americans for several thousand years. Nomadic Paleo and Archaic hunter-gatherer campsites, as well as substantial Woodland and Mississippian-period occupation sites and burial grounds can be found scattered throughout the county.

The majority of these sites exist along natural waterways, with the highest concentration occurring along what is now known as the Cumberland River. Mississippian period earthwork mounds can still be seen in Hendersonville, and most notably, at Castalian Springs. British colonial longhunters traveled into the area as early as the 1760s, following existing Indian and buffalo trails.

By the early 1780s, several trading posts had been erected in the region. The most prominent was Mansker's Station, which was built by Kasper Mansker near a salt lick (modern Goodlettsville developed here); another was Bledsoe's Station, built by Isaac Bledsoe at Castilian Springs.[1] Sumner County was organized in 1786 after the American Revolutionary War, when Tennessee was still a part of the former colony of North Carolina.

Geography

Signs indicating the Tennessee State and Sumner County borders

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 543 square miles (1,410 km2), of which 529 square miles (1,370 km2) is land and 14 square miles (36 km2) (2.5%) is water.[4]

Sumner County is located in Middle Tennessee on the state's northern border with Kentucky. The Cumberland River was important in early trade and transportation for this area, as it flows into the Ohio River to the west. That leads to the Mississippi River, and downriver to the major port of New Orleans. Sumner County is in the Greater Nashville metropolitan area.

Adjacent counties

State protected areas

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.%±
18004,616—
181013,792198.8%
182019,21139.3%
183020,5697.1%
184022,4159.0%
185022,7171.3%
186022,030−3.0%
187023,7117.6%
188023,625−0.4%
189023,6680.2%
190026,07210.2%
191025,621−1.7%
192027,7088.1%
193028,6223.3%
194032,71914.3%
195033,5332.5%
196036,2178.0%
197056,10654.9%
198085,79052.9%
1990103,28120.4%
2000130,44926.3%
2010160,64523.1%
Est. 2016180,063[5]12.1%
U.S. Decennial Census[6]
1790-1960[7] 1900-1990[8]
1990-2000[9] 2010-2014[2]
Age pyramid Sumner County[10]

As of the census[11] of 2000, there were 130,449 people, 48,941 households, and 37,048 families residing in the county. The population density was 246 people per square mile (95/km²). There were 51,657 housing units at an average density of 98 per square mile (38/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 91.49% White, 5.78% Black or African American, 0.29% Native American, 0.66% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.80% from other races, and 0.96% from two or more races. 1.76% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

In 2000 there were 48,941 households out of which 36.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.10% were married couples living together, 10.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.30% were non-families. 20.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the county, the population was spread out with 26.30% under the age of 18, 8.00% from 18 to 24, 30.70% from 25 to 44, 24.30% from 45 to 64, and 10.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $46,030, and the median income for a family was $52,125. Males had a median income of $36,875 versus $25,720 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,164. About 6.20% of families and 8.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.50% of those under age 18 and 10.00% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Board of Education

Schools in the county are governed by the Sumner County Board of Education. The twelve-member group consists of eleven elected representatives from each of the eleven educational districts in the county, as well as the Director of Schools. The members serve staggered four-year terms; the Director serves under contract with the Board of Education. The board conducts monthly meetings that are open to the public.

Schools

Communities

Cities

Town

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Notable people

Submarine innovator Horace Lawson Hunley was born in Sumner County on June 20, 1823. On October 15, 1863, Hunley, along with seven other crewmen, drowned while making a test dive in Charleston Harbor near Fort Pinckney. Following his death, the submarine, unofficially known as the "Fish Boat," was renamed the H.L. Hunley in his honor. On the night of February 17, 1864, the Hunley sank the USS Housatonic, making it the first submarine to sink an enemy vessel.

Watergate prosecutor and criminal defense trial lawyer James F. Neal was born and raised in Oak Grove and graduated from Sumner High School in Portland.

R&B National Recording Artist Nacole Rice was born in Sumner County.[12]

Politics

Presidential Elections Results[13]
Year Republican Democratic Third Parties
2016 70.1% 50,129 25.4% 18,161 4.5% 3,215
2012 70.3% 46,003 28.4% 18,579 1.3% 875
2008 66.7% 44,949 31.9% 21,487 1.4% 926
2004 64.8% 40,181 34.6% 21,458 0.5% 329
2000 54.7% 27,601 43.8% 22,118 1.5% 758
1996 48.4% 20,863 44.5% 19,205 7.2% 3,086
1992 41.3% 17,401 46.0% 19,387 12.7% 5,344
1988 62.2% 19,523 37.3% 11,702 0.5% 164
1984 61.1% 18,442 38.2% 11,535 0.7% 209
1980 44.4% 11,876 52.9% 14,150 2.7% 709
1976 36.1% 7,946 62.9% 13,848 1.0% 213
1972 66.1% 10,020 30.3% 4,596 3.6% 541
1968 27.4% 4,519 26.5% 4,376 46.1% 7,592
1964 27.4% 3,437 72.6% 9,102
1960 34.0% 3,491 65.2% 6,687 0.8% 83
1956 22.3% 2,123 77.3% 7,368 0.4% 36
1952 28.1% 2,233 71.4% 5,674 0.5% 40
1948 15.8% 793 73.7% 3,688 10.5% 525
1944 19.5% 990 80.3% 4,076 0.2% 10
1940 18.8% 834 80.8% 3,591 0.5% 22
1936 14.1% 517 85.8% 3,146 0.1% 3
1932 8.9% 382 90.5% 3,893 0.7% 28
1928 29.1% 1,045 70.8% 2,541 0.1% 2
1924 13.9% 435 84.3% 2,631 1.8% 57
1920 25.6% 1,268 74.0% 3,674 0.4% 21
1916 19.3% 612 78.3% 2,487 2.4% 76
1912 22.6% 769 72.9% 2,477 4.4% 150

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Dee Gee Lester, "Sumner County," Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture. Retrieved: 7 April 2013.
  2. 1 2 "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved December 7, 2013.
  3. ↑ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  4. ↑ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  6. ↑ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  8. ↑ Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  10. ↑ Based on 2000 census data
  11. ↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
  12. ↑ Biography, Nacole Rice official site; retrieved April 7, 2013.
  13. ↑ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved 2018-03-12.

Further reading

  • Cisco, Jay Guy (1909). Historic Sumner County, Tennessee, with Genealogies of the Bledsoe, Cage and Douglass Families and Genealogical Notes of Other Sumner Families. Nashville, Tennessee: Folk-Keelin Printing Company. OCLC 5692694972.

Coordinates: 36°28′N 86°28′W / 36.47°N 86.46°W / 36.47; -86.46

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