Davidson County, Tennessee

Davidson County
Consolidated city-county
Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County
Davidson County Courthouse
Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Tennessee
Tennessee's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 36°10′N86°47′W / 36.17°N 86.78°W / 36.17; -86.78
Country	United States
State	Tennessee
Founded	October 6, 1783
Named for	William Lee Davidson [1]
Seat	Nashville
Largest city	Nashville
Government
• Mayor	Freddie O'Connell (D)
Area
• Total	526 sq mi (1,360 km2)
• Land	504 sq mi (1,310 km2)
• Water	22 sq mi (60 km2)  4.2%
Population  (2020)
• Total	715,884
• Estimate  (2023)	712,334
• Density	1,400/sq mi (530/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional districts	5th, 6th, 7th
Website	www.nashville.gov

Davidson County is a county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is located in the heart of Middle Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 715,884, ^[2] making it the 2nd most populous county in Tennessee. Its county seat is Nashville, ^[3] the state capital and most populous city.

Since 1963, the city of Nashville and Davidson County have had a consolidated government called the "Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County", commonly referred to as "Metro Nashville" or "Metro". This is distinct from the larger metropolitan area.

Davidson County has the largest population in the 13-county Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin Metropolitan Statistical Area, the state's most populous metropolitan area. Nashville has always been one of the region's centers of commerce, industry, transportation, and culture, but it did not become the capital of Tennessee until 1827 and did not gain permanent capital status until 1843. ^[1]

History

Davidson County is the oldest county in the 41-county region of Middle Tennessee. It dates to 1783, shortly after the end of the American Revolution, when the North Carolina legislature created the county and named it in honor of William Lee Davidson, ^[4] a North Carolina general who was killed opposing the crossing of the Catawba River by General Cornwallis's British forces on February 1, 1781. The county seat, Nashville, is the oldest permanent European settlement in Middle Tennessee, founded by James Robertson and John Donelson during the winter of 1779–80 and the waning days of the Revolutionary War.

The first white settlers established the Cumberland Compact to establish a basic rule of law and to protect their land titles. Through much of the early 1780s, the settlers also faced a hostile response from Native American tribes such as the Cherokee, Muscogee (Creek), and Shawnee who used the area as a hunting ground; they resented the newcomers moving into the area in violation of treaties and competing for its resources. As the county's many known archaeological sites attest, Native American cultures had occupied areas of Davidson County for thousands of years. The first white Americans to enter the area were fur traders. Long hunters came next, having heard about a large salt lick, known as French Lick, where they hunted game and traded with the Native Americans. ^[1]

In 1765, Timothy Demonbreun, a hunter, trapper, and former Governor of Illinois under the French, and his wife lived in a small cave (now known as Demonbreun's Cave) on the south side of the Cumberland River near present-day downtown Nashville. They were the parents of the first white child to be born in Middle Tennessee. ^[5] A number of the settlers came from Kentucky and the Upper South. Since the land was fertile, they cultivated hemp and tobacco, using the labor of enslaved African Americans, and also raised blooded livestock of high quality, including horses. Generally holding less land than the plantations of Western Tennessee, many Middle Tennessee planters nevertheless became wealthy during this period.

Map of Tennessee Districts in 1817: Tennessee, Davidson, and Sumner

Davidson County was much larger when it was created in 1783. Its initial boundaries were defined as follows: -

"[A]ll that part of this State lying west of the Cumberland mountain and south of the Virginia line, beginning on the top of Cumberland mountain where the Virginia line crosses, extending westward along the said line to Tennessee River, thence up said river to the mouth of Duck River, then up Duck River to where the line of marked trees run by the commissioners for laying off land granted the Continental line of this State intersects said river (which said line is supposed to be in thirty-five degrees fifty minutes north latitude) thence east along said line to the top of Cumberland mountain, thence northwardly along said mountain to the beginning" ^[6]

However, four more counties were carved out of Davidson County's territory between 1786 and 1856. ^{[7] [8]}

• Sumner County created in 1786
• Williamson County, created in 1799
• Rutherford County, created in 1803 (also included parts of Wilson County)
• Cheatham County, created in 1856 (also included parts of Dickson, Montgomery and Robertson counties)

Following the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, the voters of Davidson County voted narrowly in favor of seceding from the United States: 5,635 in favor, 5,572 against. ^[9] However, the Union Army occupied the county in February 1862, which caused widespread social disruption as the state's governing institutions broke down.

Notable people

See List of people from Nashville, Tennessee for notable people that were residents of both Nashville and Davidson County.

• Kizziah J. Bills, Black American suffragist, a correspondent and columnist for Black press in Chicago, and a civil rights activist. She was raised in Davidson County. ^[10]
• Newman Haynes Clanton, Democrat, western cattle rustler and outlaw
• Jermain Wesley Loguen, abolitionist leader
• Benjamin "Pap" Singleton, abolitionist leader

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 526 square miles (1,360 km²), of which 504 square miles (1,310 km²) is land and 22 square miles (57 km²) (4.2%) is water. ^[11]

The Cumberland River flows from east to west through the middle of the county. Two dams within the county are Old Hickory Lock and Dam and J. Percy Priest Dam, operated by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Important tributaries of the Cumberland in Davidson County include Whites Creek, Manskers Creek, Stones River, Mill Creek, and the Harpeth River. ^[12]

Adjacent counties

• Robertson County, Tennessee – north
• Sumner County, Tennessee – northeast
• Wilson County, Tennessee – east
• Rutherford County, Tennessee – southeast
• Williamson County, Tennessee – south
• Cheatham County, Tennessee – west

National protected area

• Natchez Trace Parkway (part)

State protected areas

• Bicentennial Mall State Park
• Couchville Cedar Glade State Natural Area (part)
• Harpeth River State Park (part)
• Hill Forest State Natural Area
• Long Hunter State Park (part)
• Mount View Glade State Natural Area
• Percy Priest Wildlife Management Area (part)
• Radnor Lake State Natural Area

Major highways

• I-24
• I-40
• I-65
• I-440
• US 31
• US 31A
• US 31E
• US 31W
• US 41
• US 41A
• US 70
• US 70S
• US 431
• SR 12
• SR 45
• SR 96
• SR 100
• SR 155
• SR 171
• SR 174
• SR 251
• SR 253
• SR 254
• SR 255
• SR 265
• SR 386

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1790	3,459		—
1800	9,965		188.1%
1810	15,608		56.6%
1820	20,154		29.1%
1830	28,122		39.5%
1840	30,509		8.5%
1850	38,882		27.4%
1860	47,055		21.0%
1870	62,897		33.7%
1880	79,026		25.6%
1890	108,174		36.9%
1900	122,815		13.5%
1910	149,478		21.7%
1920	167,815		12.3%
1930	222,854		32.8%
1940	257,267		15.4%
1950	321,758		25.1%
1960	399,743		24.2%
1970	448,003		12.1%
1980	477,811		6.7%
1990	510,784		6.9%
2000	569,891		11.6%
2010	626,681		10.0%
2020	715,884		14.2%
2023 (est.)	712,334	[13]	−0.5%
U.S. Decennial Census [14] 1790–1960 [15] 1900–1990 [16] 1990–2000 [17] 2010–2020 [2]

Age pyramid Davidson County

2020 census

Davidson County racial composition ^[19]

Race	Number	Percentage
White (non-Hispanic)	386,835	54.04%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	171,489	23.95%
Native American	1,309	0.18%
Asian	27,660	3.86%
Pacific Islander	303	0.04%
Other/Mixed	30,169	4.21%
Hispanic or Latino	98,119	13.71%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 715,884 people, 289,427 households, and 152,833 families residing in the county.

2000 census

As of the census ^[20] of 2000, there were 569,891 people, 237,405 households, and 138,169 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,135 people per square mile (438 people/km²). There were 252,977 housing units at an average density of 504 units per square mile (195/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 67.0% White, 26.0% Black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 2.3% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 2.4% from other races, and 2.0% from two or more races. 4.6% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

In 2005 the racial makeup of the county was 61.7% non-Hispanic white, 27.5% African-American, 6.6% Latino and 2.8% Asian.

In 2000 there were 237,405 households, out of which 26.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.9% were married couples living together, 14.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.8% were non-families. 33.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 22.2% under the age of 18, 11.6% from 18 to 24, 34.0% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 11.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $39,797, and the median income for a family was $49,317. Males had a median income of $33,844 versus $27,770 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,069. About 10.0% of families and 13.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.1% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Davidson County is a Democratic stronghold, due to it comprising the liberal bastion of Nashville. ^{[21] [22]} It last went Republican when George H. W. Bush won the county in 1988, and Democratic presidential candidates have handily won the county by double-digit margins since. However, Davidson County has trended even more Democratic in recent years while most of the state has shifted Republican. In 2020, Joe Biden won Davidson county with 64.5% of the vote and a 32.1% margin of victory, the best Democratic performance in the county since Franklin D. Roosevelt's landslide victories. ^[23]

In local elections, the county is equally Democratic. Since the end of the Civil War, Nashville has mostly been in the 5th district, however, between 1875 and 1933, and 1943 and 1953, it was located in the 6th district. Before 2023 no Republican had represented Nashville in the US House of Representatives since Horace Harrison left office in 1875. ^[24]

In 2022, Tennessee's Legislature passed a new map for Tennessee's congressional districts to account for the new 2020 census data. The Republican Party had total control of the Tennessee government at the time, giving it full control of the redistricting process. The new map that was passed gerrymandered Davidson County into three congressional districts, resulting in Republicans winning them all in 2022. ^{[25] [26]}

United States presidential election results for Davidson County, Tennessee ^[23]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	101,899	35.24%	181,364	62.72%	5,900	2.04%
2020	100,218	32.36%	199,703	64.49%	9,737	3.14%
2016	84,550	33.95%	148,864	59.77%	15,654	6.29%
2012	97,622	39.76%	143,120	58.29%	4,792	1.95%
2008	102,915	38.80%	158,423	59.73%	3,885	1.46%
2004	107,839	44.51%	132,737	54.78%	1,726	0.71%
2000	84,117	40.33%	120,508	57.77%	3,963	1.90%
1996	78,453	39.15%	110,805	55.30%	11,124	5.55%
1992	76,567	37.57%	106,355	52.18%	20,885	10.25%
1988	98,599	52.18%	89,270	47.25%	1,077	0.57%
1984	98,155	51.99%	89,498	47.40%	1,161	0.61%
1980	65,772	37.45%	103,741	59.08%	6,093	3.47%
1976	60,662	37.54%	99,007	61.27%	1,929	1.19%
1972	82,636	61.30%	48,869	36.25%	3,292	2.44%
1968	44,175	32.34%	44,543	32.61%	47,889	35.06%
1964	45,335	36.35%	79,387	63.65%	0	0.00%
1960	52,077	46.25%	59,649	52.98%	871	0.77%
1956	37,077	39.08%	56,822	59.89%	975	1.03%
1952	35,916	40.99%	51,562	58.84%	152	0.17%
1948	8,410	22.34%	20,877	55.46%	8,356	22.20%
1944	10,174	27.68%	26,493	72.07%	93	0.25%
1940	8,763	24.11%	27,589	75.89%	0	0.00%
1936	4,467	14.81%	25,530	84.65%	161	0.53%
1932	7,004	24.43%	21,233	74.07%	429	1.50%
1928	15,322	53.21%	13,442	46.68%	34	0.12%
1924	4,516	26.18%	11,363	65.88%	1,370	7.94%
1920	6,811	33.48%	13,354	65.63%	181	0.89%
1916	3,168	25.71%	8,958	72.71%	194	1.57%
1912	1,428	11.44%	9,517	76.25%	1,536	12.31%
1908	2,721	24.23%	8,309	73.98%	202	1.80%
1904	1,900	19.08%	7,735	77.69%	321	3.22%
1900	2,501	25.78%	6,869	70.81%	330	3.40%
1896	5,720	41.88%	7,511	54.99%	428	3.13%
1892	2,993	24.40%	8,480	69.14%	792	6.46%
1888	9,321	47.16%	9,715	49.15%	730	3.69%
1884	8,111	49.55%	8,165	49.88%	94	0.57%
1880	6,449	44.66%	7,543	52.24%	448	3.10%

Federal officers

• U.S. Senators: Marsha Blackburn (R) and Bill Hagerty (R)
• U.S. Representatives: Andy Ogles (R – District 5), John Rose (R – District 6) and Mark Green (R – District 7)

State officers

• State Senators: Charlane Oliver (D), Heidi Campbell (D), Jeff Yarbro (D), and Ferrell Haile (R)
• State Representatives: Bo Mitchell (D), Aftyn Behn (D), Justin Jones (D), Jason Powell (D), Vincent Dixie (D), John Ray Clemmons (D), Bob Freeman (D), Harold Love (D), Caleb Hemmer (D), Darren Jernigan (D)

Local officers

• Mayor: Freddie O'Connell
• Vice Mayor and Metropolitan Council President: Angie Henderson
• City Council: see Metropolitan Council of Nashville and Davidson County

Communities

All of Davidson County is encompassed under the consolidated Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County. However, several municipalities that were incorporated before consolidation retain some autonomy as independent municipalities. These are:

• Belle Meade
• Berry Hill
• Forest Hills
• Goodlettsville (partly in Sumner County)
• Oak Hill
• Ridgetop (primarily in Robertson County)

For U.S. Census purposes, the portions of Davidson County that lie outside the boundaries of the six independently incorporated municipalities are collectively treated as the Nashville-Davidson balance.

Neighborhoods

Before consolidation occurred, there were several other communities that were previously unincorporated, while others relinquished their municipal charters. Now neighborhoods of Nashville, they maintain historical identities to varying degrees. These include:

• Antioch
• Bellevue
• Cane Ridge
• Crieve Hall
• Donelson
• Green Hills
• Hermitage
• Inglewood
• Joelton (Zip code partially in Cheatham County)
• Lakewood
• Madison (includes historical Haysboro)
• Old Hickory
• Pasquo
• West Meade
• Whites Creek
• Una

Education

Metropolitan Nashville Public School District is the school district of the entire county. ^[27]

Tennessee School for the Blind is a state-operated school in Nashville.

Ecology

According to a history published in 1884, when the area was first colonized in the 1770s, "Bears, deer, buffaloes and other wild animals, now extinct in this part of the country, were plentiful, and furnished food for the settlers. Wild cats, wolves and snakes were also numerous, and had their haunts where now stand stately mansions." ^[28]

In popular culture

Davidson County is referred to in the Billboard Country Airplay number one hit of 2021, ^[29] Famous Friends, as it was written by native Chris Young along with Cary Barlowe and Corey Crowder. ^[30]

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Davidson County, Tennessee
• Piomingo
• Buchanan's Station
• Chickasaw

References

1. Carroll Van West, "Davidson County", Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture. Retrieved: June 26, 2013.
2. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved November 29, 2013.
3. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
4. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. p.  101.
5. Thomas C. Barr, Jr., "Caves of Tennessee", Tennessee Division of Geology, Bulletin 64, 1961, p 148.
6. Laws of North Carolina,1783, Chapter LII. An Act to erect a County adjoining the line of Virginia, including a part of Cumberland River.
7. see List of counties in Tennessee for sourcing
8. Lewis, Samuel (1817). "State of Tennessee". Library of Congress . Retrieved July 11, 2019.
9. Lovett, B.L. (1999). The African-American History of Nashville, Tn: 1780–1930 (p). University of Arkansas Press. p. 45. ISBN   978-1-61075-412-5 . Retrieved October 16, 2014.
10. "Kizziah J. Bills". McKay Library Special Collections, Brigham Young University Idaho (BYUI). Retrieved December 3, 2020.
11. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
12. Morris, Eastin (1834). Tennessee Gazetteer. Nashville: W. Hasell Hunt & Co.
13. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
14. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
15. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Archived from the original on August 11, 2012. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
16. Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
17. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
18. Based on 2000 census data
19. "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
20. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved May 14, 2011.
21. Ross, Janell (October 31, 2020). "A big blue dot in a deep red state, ready for Biden". NBC News. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
22. Allison, Natalie (October 14, 2020). "How Belmont, Nashville and Tennessee have changed since hosting 2008 presidential debate". The Tennessean. Nashville. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
23. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
24. "District View". Archived from the original on July 16, 2021.
25. Witherspoon, Andrew; Levine, Sam (January 26, 2022). "A masterclass in election-rigging: how Republicans 'dismembered' a Democratic stronghold". The Guardian . Retrieved February 18, 2023.
26. "GOP redraws Nashville from 1 Democratic district into 3 Republican-leaning districts". WJCT News . July 26, 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
27. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Davidson County, TN" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved July 23, 2022. - Text list
28. "Nashville Memories".
29. "Country Airplay – Year-End 2021". Billboard. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
30. "CHRIS YOUNG SHARES THE STORY BEHIND HIS "FAMOUS FRIENDS"". Country Music Television CMT. Retrieved January 12, 2023.

Further reading

• Nashville, Chattanooga; St. Louis Railway (1898), "Davidson County", Information for immigrants concerning middle Tennessee, Nashville, Tenn: Marshall & Bruce Co., printers, OCLC   7110225

External links

• Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County official site