Lake County, TN
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Lake County is a county located in the northwest corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,005, making it the fifth-least populous county in Tennessee. Its county seat is Tiptonville. It shares a border with Kentucky to the north and is separated from Missouri to the west by the Mississippi River. Reelfoot Lake, formed after the New Madrid earthquakes in the early 19th century, occupies much of the northern part of the county. Issues of control of the lake and the development of cotton plantations in this part of the county resulted in violence by local farmers against corporate owners in 1908; the state called in the militia to suppress
night riding The Black Patch Tobacco Wars were a period of civil unrest and violence in the western counties of the U.S. states of Kentucky and Tennessee at the turn of the 20th century, circa 1904-1909. The so-called "Black Patch" consists of about 30 cou ...
. Reelfoot Lake and surrounding property were finally acquired by the state beginning in 1914. It is now within the Reelfoot Lake State Park and preserved for public use. The
Northwest Correctional Complex The Northwest Correctional Complex is a state prison located in Tiptonville, Lake County, Tennessee. It is owned and operated by the Tennessee Department of Correction. The facility can hold 2,391 inmates at a range of security levels. It has the ...
in Tiptonville, a state prison first opened in 1981, can house up to 2,391 male prisoners, a significant share of the county's population.


History

The history of Lake County has been largely defined by Reelfoot Lake, a natural lake created by the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811 and 1812. It is surrounded by wetlands. This territory was originally included in
Obion County Obion County is a county located in the northwest corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2010 census, the population was 31,807. The county seat is Union City. The county was formed in 1823 and organized in 1824. It was named af ...
. In 1862, during the Civil War, the Battle of Island Number Ten took place in the Mississippi River, just off the shores of Obion County, in territory now part of Lake County. The county was organized in 1870, during the Reconstruction era. Its residents had long complained about the difficulty of having to traverse swampy areas during seasonal high waters around Reelfoot Lake to reach the county seat, then Troy, Tennessee, located to the east of the lake. After the new Lake County was established, Tiptonville was designated as its county seat. In 1907 and 1908, a violent conflict took place in Lake and Obion counties, and neighboring Fulton County, Kentucky, which also had frontage on the lake. Private investors bought title to most of the land around the lake, gaining control, and formed the West Tennessee Land Company, to develop the property. In this era, western Tennessee and Kentucky were being developed for cotton culture and the lowlands around the lake were fertile floodplain. They announced plans to drain the lake. A band of local farmers and others who made their living from the lake, organized resistance, becoming known as the "Night Riders of Reelfoot Lake." Beginning with the burning of John Carlos Burdick's fish docks on April 12, 1908, they committed crimes over a period of months, harassing the land company's employees. In October 1908 they kidnapped two attorneys and lynched one, Quentin Rankin, who was also a shareholder in the land company. The other escaped. Given this attack and murder, Governor Malcolm Patterson personally led the Tennessee National Guard into the area, and arrested hundreds of suspected Night Riders.Bill Threlkeld,
Night Riders of Reelfoot Lake
" ''Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture''. Retrieved: 21 October 2013.
The Night Riders also rode against African Americans, as they were resisting the increase of blacks in the counties, some of whom had come to work as sharecroppers on newly developed cotton plantations. Since the late 19th century, the white-dominated legislature had passed
Jim Crow The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sout ...
laws and increasing restrictions on voters. The state gained title to Reelfoot Lake in 1914 to preserve it for public use, but actions were tied up for some years in court challenges. To prevent private development from restricting its use, in 1925 Governor
Austin Peay Austin Peay (June 1, 1876 – October 2, 1927) was an American politician who served as the 35th governor of Tennessee from 1923 to 1927. He was the state's first governor since the Civil War to win three consecutive terms and the first to die ...
designated the lake as a hunting and fishing reserve. This was the precedent for the larger area to be preserved as the modern Reelfoot Lake State Park. From 1877 to 1950, there were 13 lynchings of blacks in Lake County, the third-highest number in the state. Neighboring Obion County had 18 lynchings. These were high rates for counties with relatively small populations; Shelby County had the highest total, 20 lynchings in that period. Most of these murders were committed in the decades around the turn of the century,''Lynching in America/ Supplement: Lynchings by County''
, Equal Justice Initiative, 2015, p. 6
during the period of heightened violence related to opposition to corporate control of Reelfoot Lake and the introduction of cotton plantations and African-American workers to this area.Jama McMurtery Grove, "Uneasy Waters: The Night Riders at Reelfoot Lake, Tennessee, 1908"], East Tennessee University, 2012; Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 1496. http://dc.etsu.edu etd/1496


Geography

According to the
U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (14%) is water. It is the fifth-smallest county in Tennessee by area.


Adjacent counties

* Fulton County, Kentucky (north) *
Obion County Obion County is a county located in the northwest corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2010 census, the population was 31,807. The county seat is Union City. The county was formed in 1823 and organized in 1824. It was named af ...
(east) * Dyer County (south) *
Pemiscot County, Missouri Pemiscot County is a county located in the southeastern corner in the Bootheel in the U.S. state of Missouri, with the Mississippi River forming its eastern border. As of the 2020 census, the population was 15,661. The largest city and county ...
(west) * New Madrid County, Missouri (northwest)


National protected areas

*
Lake Isom National Wildlife Refuge Lake Isom is a small natural lake located in Lake County, Tennessee immediately south of Reelfoot Lake. It is fed by Running Reelfoot Bayou, the outlet stream of Reelfoot Lake. Like Reelfoot, it was formed in the 1811–12 New Madrid earthquake ...
* Reelfoot National Wildlife Refuge (part)


State protected areas

*Reelfoot Lake State Natural Area (part) * Reelfoot Lake State Park (part) *Tumbleweed Wildlife Management Area (part)


Demographics

From 1950 to 1990 the population declined noticeably, as many African Americans moved to cities or to the West Coast in the Great Migration of the second half of the 20th century.


2020 census

As of the
2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...
, there were 7,005 people, 2,243 households, and 1,498 families residing in the county.


2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 7,954 people, 2,410 households, and 1,614 families residing in the county. The population density was 49 people per square mile (19/km2). There were 2,716 housing units at an average density of 17 per square mile (6/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 66.63% White, 31.19% Black or African American, 0.39% Native American, 0.14%
Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.62% from other races, and 1.03% from two or more races. 1.37% of the population were Hispanic or
Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...
of any race. There were 2,410 households, out of which 28.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.20% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 16.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.00% were non-families. 30.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.92. In the county, the population was spread out, with 17.70% under the age of 18, 13.70% from 18 to 24, 33.80% from 25 to 44, 21.50% from 45 to 64, and 13.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 151.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 163.40 males. The median income for a household in the county was $21,995, and the median income for a family was $30,339. Males had a median income of $25,082 versus $18,700 for females. The per capita income for the county was $10,794. About 19.90% of families and 23.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 35.10% of those under age 18 and 25.10% of those age 65 or over.


Media


Radio stations

*
WTNV WTNV (97.3 FM, "Eagle 97.3") is a radio station broadcasting a country music format. Licensed to Tiptonville, Tennessee, United States, and based in Dyersburg, Tennessee, the station is currently owned by Burks Broadcasting, through licensee Dr ...
FM 97.3 * KMIS-AM 1050


Newspaper

* ''The Lake County Banner'' Lake County Banner website
Retrieved: 21 October 2013.


Education

* Lake County High School (9–12) *Lara Kendall Elementary School (K–8) *Margaret Newton Elementary School (K–6)


Communities


Towns

* Ridgely * Tiptonville (county seat)


Unincorporated communities

* Blue Bank * Madie * Wynnburg


Politics

Prior to 2008, Lake County was a Democratic Party stronghold in presidential elections, only failing to back the party's presidential candidates in 1968 & 1972 during the period of 1880–2004. Since then, the county has become increasingly Republican, with Hillary Clinton failing to even crack thirty percent of the county's vote despite her husband Bill Clinton winning over sixty percent in 1992 & 1996.


See also

*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Lake County, Tennessee This is a list of properties and historic districts in Tennessee that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. There are over 2,000 in total. Of these, 29 are National Historic Landmarks. Each of Tennessee's 95 counties has at lea ...


References


External links


Reelfoot Chamber of Commerce

Lake County, TNGenWeb
– free genealogy resources for the county * {{authority control 1870 establishments in Tennessee Populated places established in 1870 Tennessee counties on the Mississippi River West Tennessee