Houston County, Tennessee

Last updated

Houston County
County
Houston County Courthouse, Erin.jpg
Houston County Courthouse in April 2014
Flag of Houston County, Tennessee.svg
Flag
Logo of Houston County, Tennessee.gif
Logo
Map of Tennessee highlighting Houston County.svg
Location within the U.S. state of Tennessee
Tennessee in United States.svg
Tennessee's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 36°17′N87°43′W / 36.28°N 87.71°W / 36.28; -87.71
CountryFlag of the United States.svg United States
StateFlag of Tennessee.svg  Tennessee
Founded1871 [1]
Named for Sam Houston [2]
Seat Erin
Largest cityErin
Area
 • Total
207 sq mi (540 km2)
 • Land200 sq mi (500 km2)
 • Water6.7 sq mi (17 km2)  3.2%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
8,283 Decrease2.svg
 • Density42/sq mi (16/km2)
Time zone UTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district 7th
Website www.explorehoustoncountytn.com

Houston County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,283. Its county seat is Erin. [3] The county was founded in 1871. [1] It was named for Sam Houston. [4]

Contents

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. [5]

Adjacent counties

Major highways

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
1880 4,295—
1890 5,39025.5%
1900 6,47620.1%
1910 6,224−3.9%
1920 6,212−0.2%
1930 5,555−10.6%
1940 6,43215.8%
1950 5,318−17.3%
1960 4,794−9.9%
1970 5,84521.9%
1980 6,87117.6%
1990 7,0182.1%
2000 8,08815.2%
2010 8,4264.2%
2020 8,283−1.7%
U.S. Decennial Census [6]
1790-1960 [7] 1900-1990 [8]
1990-2000 [9] 2010-2020 [10] 2020 [11]
Age pyramid Houston County USA Houston County, Tennessee.csv age pyramid.svg
Age pyramid Houston County

2020 census

Houston County racial composition [13]
RaceNumberPercentage
White (non-Hispanic)7,49190.44%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)2002.41%
Native American 320.39%
Asian 160.19%
Pacific Islander 80.1%
Other/Mixed 3344.03%
Hispanic or Latino 2022.44%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 8,283 people, 2,878 households, and 1,750 families residing in the county.

2000 census

As of the census [14] 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 people/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

Like many other rural southern and/or Appalachian counties, Houston County was a Democratic stronghold at the presidential level, but due to a combination of factors (such as the party's national shift on social liberalism, a direct contrast to the social conservatism of the region; and a lack of support for workers in these counties, the county (and state as a whole) has sped rapidly toward the Republican Party. The county's last Democratic presidential preference, Obama, won here in 2008, but by a much closer margin than any winning Democrat in recent memory.

Today's Houston County is as solidly Republican as historically GOP-friendly East Tennessee.

United States presidential election results for Houston County, Tennessee [15]
Year Republican Democratic Third party(ies)
No. %No. %No. %
2024 2,98978.45%77320.29%481.26%
2020 2,71873.74%87123.63%972.63%
2016 2,18268.88%86627.34%1203.79%
2012 1,57952.16%1,40046.25%481.59%
2008 1,60847.94%1,67850.03%682.03%
2004 1,44040.02%2,12659.09%320.89%
2000 99331.76%2,08166.55%531.69%
1996 74226.34%1,86866.31%2077.35%
1992 64821.96%2,01268.18%2919.86%
1988 88237.26%1,46761.98%180.76%
1984 88233.68%1,71665.52%210.80%
1980 73829.04%1,75769.15%461.81%
1976 40716.77%1,99081.99%301.24%
1972 80046.38%87050.43%553.19%
1968 23212.82%63635.16%94152.02%
1964 28715.44%1,57284.56%00.00%
1960 36623.87%1,15075.02%171.11%
1956 34024.55%1,03374.58%120.87%
1952 46527.45%1,22972.55%00.00%
1948 20213.88%1,15979.66%946.46%
1944 24820.26%97679.74%00.00%
1940 22917.21%1,09382.12%90.68%
1936 19319.18%81380.82%00.00%
1932 11212.92%75086.51%50.58%
1928 37459.18%25840.82%00.00%
1924 9716.84%44477.08%356.08%
1920 38532.27%79066.22%181.51%
1916 20723.60%62771.49%434.90%
1912 17218.92%58664.47%15116.61%
1908 28829.45%66568.00%252.56%
1904 28732.00%55561.87%556.13%
1900 34130.89%73866.85%252.26%
1896 34326.86%89670.16%382.98%
1892 20620.48%70469.98%969.54%
1888 25925.69%74573.91%40.40%
1884 17421.64%63078.36%00.00%
1880 12719.57%52280.43%00.00%
1876 10016.61%50283.39%00.00%
1872 9417.00%45983.00%00.00%

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

Elected officials

Commissioners

Politics

Houston County was historically one of the state's most Democratic counties, however, like other socially conservative rural counties, it has trended hard right in recent years. Formerly a part of Tennessee's 8th congressional district, which was represented by Blue Dog Democrat John Tanner, Houston County is now part of Tennessee's 7th congressional district and is represented by Republican Mark Green.

The county was formerly among the most consistently Democratic in the state on presidential elections. Democratic candidates failed to carry Houston County at the presidential level only twice prior to 2012. 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. [18] The second non-Democrat to carry 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. [a]

In the 2008 presidential election, when most other traditionally Democratic counties in the state voted for John McCain, Houston County supported Barack Obama. However, the county's vote has been shifting Republican as reflected by Barack Obama's winning margin of barely more than 2%, the lowest margin among all Democratic presidential candidates who have carried Houston County since its creation. [19] In the 2012 presidential election, Mitt Romney became the first Republican in 80 years to win the county. [20] Republican Senator Bob Corker [21] and Republican Representative Marsha Blackburn also won the county. [22]

In 2016, the county swung hard to the right, with Republican Donald Trump winning it by more than 40 percentage points, a massive shift from Romney's margin of less than 6 points. As such, the county has become substantially more Republican than the state as a whole, voting similarly to the rock-ribbed Republican counties of East Tennessee.

Education

Public high schools

Public primary/middle schools

Media

Communities

City

Town

Unincorporated communities

See also

Further reading

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.

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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: October 17, 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. pp.  161.
  5. ↑ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved April 5, 2015.
  6. ↑ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 5, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved April 5, 2015.
  8. ↑ Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 5, 2015.
  9. ↑ "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 5, 2015.
  10. ↑ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved December 2, 2013.
  11. ↑ "2020 Census Data". data.census.gov.
  12. ↑ Based on 2000 census data
  13. ↑ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  14. ↑ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  15. ↑ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  16. 1 2 "County Mayor & Commissioners - Houston County Area Chamber of Commerce Website". Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
  17. ↑ "County Officials - Houston County Area Chamber of Commerce Website". Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
  18. ↑ Phillips, Kevin P.; The Emerging Republican Majority, p. 212 ISBN   1400852293
  19. ↑ David Leip’s Presidential Election Atlas (Election maps for Tennessee)
  20. ↑ CNN results for Tennessee
  21. ↑ CNN Results for Senate
  22. ↑ CNN results for Tennessee's 7th district

36°17′N87°43′W / 36.28°N 87.71°W / 36.28; -87.71

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