Lewis County, Tennessee

Lewis County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2010 census, the population was 12,161.[2] Its county seat is Hohenwald.[3] The county is named for explorer Meriwether Lewis, who died and was buried at Grinder's Stand near Hohenwald in 1809.

Lewis County
U.S. county
Lewis County Courthouse, April 2014
Location within the U.S. state of Tennessee
Tennessee's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 35°31′N 87°29′W
Country United States
State Tennessee
FoundedDecember 23, 1843
Named forMeriwether Lewis[1]
SeatHohenwald
Largest cityHohenwald
Area
 • Total282 sq mi (730 km2)
 • Land282 sq mi (730 km2)
 • Water0.4 sq mi (1 km2)  0.1%%
Population
 • Estimate 
(2018)
12,086
 • Density43/sq mi (17/km2)
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district7th
Websitewww.lewiscountytn.com

History
Meriwether Lewis National Monument and Gravesite, April 2014.

Lewis County was formed in 1843 from parts of Perry, Hickman, Lawrence, Maury and Wayne counties.[1] It was named for explorer Meriwether Lewis of the Lewis and Clark expedition.[4] Lewis's grave is located at the geographic center of the county. The bill for its creation was proposed by Powhatan Gordon in the Tennessee State Senate.[5]

On October 7, 2009, a ceremony was held at the cemetery to commemorate the bicentennial of Lewis's death. A bust of Lewis was presented to the National Park Service, which manages the site.[6]

Lewis County was the site of the Cane Creek Massacre.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 282 square miles (730 km2), of which 282 square miles (730 km2) is land and 0.4 square miles (1.0 km2) (0.1%) is water.[7]

Adjacent counties

National protected area

State protected areas
  • Auntney Hollow State Natural Area
  • Devil's Backbone State Natural Area
  • Dry Branch State Natural Area
  • Hick Hill Wildlife Management Area
  • Langford Branch State Natural Area
  • Laurel Hill Wildlife Management Area
  • Lewis State Forest

Major highways

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.%±
18504,438—
18602,241−49.5%
18701,986−11.4%
18802,1819.8%
18902,55517.1%
19004,45574.4%
19106,03335.4%
19205,707−5.4%
19305,258−7.9%
19405,84911.2%
19506,0783.9%
19606,2693.1%
19706,7617.8%
19809,70043.5%
19909,247−4.7%
200011,36722.9%
201012,1617.0%
2018 (est.)12,086[8]−0.6%
U.S. Decennial Census[9]
1790-1960[10] 1900-1990[11]
1990-2000[12] 2010-2014[2]
Age pyramid Lewis County[13]

As of the census[14] of 2000, there were 11,367 people, 4,381 households, and 3,215 families residing in the county. The population density was 40 people per square mile (16/km2). There were 4,821 housing units at an average density of 17 per square mile (7/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 97.07% White, 1.45% Black or African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 0.29% from other races, and 0.80% from two or more races. 1.20% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 4,381 households, out of which 33.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.90% were married couples living together, 10.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.60% were non-families. 23.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.80% under the age of 18, 8.30% from 18 to 24, 27.40% from 25 to 44, 24.80% from 45 to 64, and 13.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 96.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $30,444, and the median income for a family was $35,972. Males had a median income of $27,060 versus $19,847 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,664. About 10.30% of families and 13.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.60% of those under age 18 and 12.20% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

City

Census-designated place

Unincorporated communities
  • Aethra
  • Bachelder
  • Blondy
  • Buffalo Valley
  • Gordonsburg
  • Kimmins
  • Kitchens
  • Lomax Crossroads
  • Metal Ford
  • Napier
  • Oak Grove
  • Providence
  • Riverside
  • Ruppertown
  • Salem
  • Shubert
  • Sweetwater
  • Theodore
  • Voorhies
  • West Hohenwald

Politics
Presidential election results
Presidential Elections Results[15]
Year Republican Democratic Third Parties
2020 79.8% 4,474 19.1% 1,072 1.1% 63
2016 77.6% 3,585 19.3% 890 3.2% 147
2012 66.4% 3,117 30.8% 1,447 2.8% 130
2008 61.1% 2,951 37.3% 1,804 1.6% 79
2004 55.8% 2,819 43.4% 2,192 0.9% 43
2000 46.1% 2,037 51.6% 2,281 2.3% 102
1996 36.1% 1,298 54.8% 1,971 9.1% 329
1992 29.3% 1,218 60.0% 2,491 10.7% 443
1988 48.0% 1,324 51.4% 1,419 0.7% 18
1984 52.4% 1,733 47.1% 1,556 0.5% 17
1980 32.5% 1,076 66.2% 2,190 1.3% 43
1976 20.3% 617 78.8% 2,391 0.9% 28
1972 47.0% 1,056 50.6% 1,138 2.4% 54
1968 17.9% 455 42.8% 1,088 39.3% 997
1964 15.8% 388 84.2% 2,061
1960 25.1% 580 74.5% 1,723 0.4% 9
1956 28.2% 522 71.3% 1,321 0.6% 11
1952 29.1% 540 70.4% 1,308 0.6% 11
1948 23.3% 381 70.2% 1,148 6.5% 107
1944 20.9% 252 79.1% 955
1940 21.5% 368 78.3% 1,343 0.3% 5
1936 23.7% 331 76.3% 1,068
1932 14.6% 137 85.4% 799
1928 39.4% 269 60.6% 414
1924 36.3% 191 58.9% 310 4.8% 25
1920 52.3% 446 47.3% 403 0.5% 4
1916 51.3% 414 48.0% 387 0.7% 6
1912 19.5% 126 57.3% 370 23.2% 150

Historically, like all of secessionist Middle Tennessee, Lewis County was overwhelmingly Democratic. Although it did vote for Charles Evans Hughes in 1916 and Warren G. Harding in 1920, Lewis County would be firmly Democratic for the next six decades, being one of only two Tennessee counties to remain loyal to both Hubert Humphrey in 1968 and George McGovern in 1972. Ronald Reagan broke this Democratic sequence with a 177-vote majority over Walter Mondale in his 1984 landslide, but Lewis County would subsequently remain Democratic up to 2000. Since then, however, like all of the rural white South, it has become overwhelmingly Republican due to opposition to the Democratic Party's liberal views on social issues.[16]

Education

The county is served by Lewis County High School.

See also

References
  1. Marjorie Graves, "Lewis County," Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture. Retrieved: 21 October 2013.
  2. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved December 3, 2013.
  3. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  4. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 185.
  5. White, John A. (June 26, 1910). "Lewis. Awful Tragedy Connected With Name of the County". The Tennessean. p. 30. Retrieved September 28, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. The bill creating the County of Lewis was introduced by the Hon. Powhatan Gordon, of Maury County, the main purpose of the bill being to perpetuate the name of Lewis.
  6. "First National Memorial Service for Meriwether Lewis Archived 2011-07-12 at the Wayback Machine, 21 August 2009. Retrieved: 21 October 2013.
  7. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
  8. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  9. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
  10. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
  11. Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
  12. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
  13. Based on 2000 census data
  14. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
  15. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved 2018-03-11.
  16. Cohn, Nate; ‘Demographic Shift: Southern Whites’ Loyalty to G.O.P. Nearing That of Blacks to Democrats’, New York Times, April 24, 2014

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.