Fayette County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 41,990. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Somerville. The county was named after the

Marquis de la Fayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette, Marquis de La Fayette (; 6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (), was a French military officer and politician who volunteered to join the Conti ...

, French hero of the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

. A part of the Memphis, TN-MS-AR Metropolitan Statistical Area, Fayette County is culturally alike to the

Mississippi Delta The Mississippi Delta, also known as the Yazoo–Mississippi Delta, or simply the Delta, is the distinctive northwest section of the U.S. state of Mississippi (and portions of Arkansas and Louisiana) that lies between the Mississippi and Yazo ...

and was a major area of cotton plantations dependent on

slave Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

labor in the nineteenth century.

History

Fayette County was established by

Tennessee General Assembly The Tennessee General Assembly (TNGA) is the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is a part-time bicameral legislature consisting of a Tennessee Senate, Senate and a Tennessee House of Representa ...

in 1824 from the neighboring counties of Shelby and Hardeman. The same year, Somerville was selected as its county seat. The first churches in the county were the First Presbyterian Church in Somerville, established in 1829, and Immanuel Parish, established in 1832. Herb Parsons 1908–1959) of

Somerville, Tennessee Somerville is a town in Fayette County, Tennessee, United States. It is part of the Memphis metropolitan area. The population was 3,415 at the 2020 census, up from 3,094 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Fayette County. History The ...

, was

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

's "Showman Shooter" for 30 years. Following the emancipation of slaves on plantations, many of Fayette County's African-American residents worked as sharecroppers. In the 1960s and 1970s, civil rights activists fought for school integration and voting rights; and created tent cities to house displaced tenant farmers who had tried to register to vote. In recent years, Fayette County has been transitioning from a rural area to accommodate the suburban sprawl from Memphis.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, 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 U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.2%) is water. It is the third-largest county in Tennessee by area. The county is, roughly, the same size as Marshall County, Mississippi.

Adjacent counties

* Haywood County (north) * Hardeman County (east) *

Benton County, Mississippi Benton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,646. Its county seat is Ashland. It is locally believed that residents convinced the post-Civil War Reconstruction government that ...

(southeast) *

Marshall County, Mississippi Marshall County is a County (United States), county located on the north central border of the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 33,752. Its county seat is Holly Springs, Mississippi ...

(south) * Shelby County (west) * Tipton County (northwest)

State protected areas

*William B. Clark Conservation Area *Ghost River State Natural Area *Piperton Wetland Complex Wildlife Management Area (part) *Wolf River Wildlife Management Area *WMA Briggs Tract * Herb Parsons Lake

Demographics

Since the four-lane expansion of Highway 64 in the early 1990s, western Fayette County has had a population explosion. Although the county seat is still in Somerville, the population of Oakland has far surpassed it because of the influx of people working in Shelby County and seeking more affordable housing. Although Fayette County is growing on its western side, the county's economy is still based on agriculture. Historically it was a site of cotton plantations as part of the Mississippi Delta. Several of the county's largest farmers control the vast majority of the county's wealth. Some of these families have been farming for generations dating back to plantations before the Civil War. Others are younger farmers who have used their skill, business savvy, and work ethic to develop large farming operations. Fayette County has become a destination for people of the Memphis metro area. The total value for building permits in June 2007 was close to that of the much larger Memphis suburban area of DeSoto County, Mississippi.

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 41,990 people, 15,596 households, and 11,567 families residing in the county.

2010 census

As of the census of 2010 there were 38,413 people, 14,505 households, and 11,029 families residing in the county. The population density was 54.49 persons per square mile and the housing unit density was 20.57 units per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 69.19%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 28.07%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.48% Asian, 0.28% Native American, 0.01%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 1.08% from other races, and 0.89% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origins were 2.23% of the population. Of the 14,505 households, 32.58% had children under the age of 18 living in them, 58.24% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 4.64% had a male householder with no wife present, 13.15% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.96% were non-families. 20.77% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.71% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.02 Of the 38,413 residents, 23.11% were under the age of 18, 62.01% were between the ages of 18 and 64, and 14.88% were 65 years of age or older. The

median age A population pyramid (age structure diagram) or "age-sex pyramid" is a graphical illustration of the distribution of a population (typically that of a country or region of the world) by age groups and sex; it typically takes the shape of a pyramid ...

was 41.9 years. 50.42% of the residents were female, and 49.58% were male. The

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of und ...

in the county was $57,919 and the median family income was $68,159. Males had a median income of $50,560 versus $40,412 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $30,471. About 9.9% of families and 14.4% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 22.1% of those under the age of 18 and 9.8% of those age 65 and over.

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 28,806 people, 10,467 households, and 8,017 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 11,214 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 62.48%

, 35.95%

, 0.19% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 0.01%

, 0.39% from other races, and 0.76% from two or more races. 1.03% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. According to the

of 2000, the largest ancestry groups in Fayette County were English 51.66%, African 35.95%, Scots-Irish 7.1%, and

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

1.2%. In 2000 there were 10,467 households, out of which 31.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.50% were

living together, 14.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.40% were non-families. 20.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.14. In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.70% under the age of 18, 8.20% from 18 to 24, 27.40% from 25 to 44, 25.60% from 45 to 64, and 13.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 96.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.20 males. The median income for a household in the county was $40,279, and the median income for a family was $46,283. Males had a median income of $33,603 versus $24,690 for females. The

for the county was $17,969. About 10.90% of families and 14.30% of the population were below the

, including 18.40% of those under age 18 and 18.00% of those age 65 or over.

Education

* *Fayette Ware Comprehensive High
Fayette Academy (PK-12 Independent School)Fayette Christian School
*Rossville Christian Academy *West Jr High *East Jr High *Buckley-Carpenter Elementary School *Southwest Elementary *Oakland Elementary *LaGrange-Moscow Elementary *University of Tennessee at Martin (Somerville Campus)

Communities

Cities

* Gallaway * Grand Junction (mostly in Hardeman County) *

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

* Piperton * Williston

Towns

* Braden * La Grange *

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

* Rossville * Somerville (county seat)

Unincorporated communities

* Fisherville‡ * Hickory Withe *

Laconia Laconia or Lakonia (, , ) is a historical and Administrative regions of Greece, administrative region of Greece located on the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparti (municipality), Sparta. The word ...

* Liberty Hill * Macon * Yum Yum * Zu Zu

Politics

Fayette County has a 19-seat legislative body referred to as the Board of County Commissioners representing 8 districts. All positions are elected every four years. * District 1 (Somerville) ** Matt Rhea ** Win Moore * District 2 (Laconia) ** Ray Seals ** Tommy Perkins * District 3 (Gallaway/Braden/Garnett) ** Elizabeth Rice ** Jim Norton * District 4 (North Oakland) ** David Webb ** Tim A. Goodroe * District 5 (Piperton/Rossville) ** Terrye Canady ** Betty Knox Morrison Salmon ** David Crislip * District 6 (Moscow/Williston) ** Mike Reeves ** Steve Reeves * District 7 (Moscow) ** Claude Oglesby * District 8 (Hickory Withe/Eads) ** Robert Sills ** Terry Leggett * District 9 (South Oakland ** Adrian Wiggins ** Steve Laskoski * District 10 (Lagrange) ** Larry Watkins The County Mayor is currently Rhea "Skip" Taylor. Historically, Fayette County was part of the "

Solid South The Solid South was the electoral voting bloc for the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party in the Southern United States between the end of the Reconstruction era in 1877 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In the aftermath of the Co ...

" whereby the county's black majority was entirely disenfranchised. From the end of

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...

until

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

's civil rights proposals during the 1940s, Democrats won over 85 percent of Fayette County's vote even in 1920 and 1928 when

Warren G. Harding Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he was one of the most ...

and

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was the 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933. A wealthy mining engineer before his presidency, Hoover led the wartime Commission for Relief in Belgium and ...

carried the state's electoral votes. During the Civil Rights era, Fayette County's politics resembled that of Mississippi more than that of the rest of Tennessee, with

Strom Thurmond James Strom Thurmond Sr. (December 5, 1902 – June 26, 2003) was an American politician who represented South Carolina in the United States Senate from 1954 to 2003. Before his 49 years as a senator, he served as the 103rd governor of South ...

winning over 83 percent of the county's limited electorate in 1948 and T. Coleman Andrews carrying the county as a "States' Rights" candidate in 1956. Once the county's blacks were enfranchised during the 1960s, Democrats would carry the county or only lose narrowly between 1976 and 1996, but in the twenty-first century as the county becomes increasingly white and suburban, its strongly conservative social views have made it strongly Republican. The first county Republican Primary was held in 2018.Cohn, Nate
'Demographic Shift: Southern Whites' Loyalty to G.O.P. Nearing That of Blacks to Democrats'
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', April 24, 2014

References

External links

Official site

Fayette County Chamber of Commerce

Fayette County SchoolsFayette Academy - PreK - 12 Private School

Fayette County, TNGenWeb
– genealogy resources

multi-part series in ''The Jackson Sun'' by Jimmy Hart {{authority control Counties in the Memphis metropolitan area 1824 establishments in Tennessee Populated places established in 1824 Second Amendment sanctuaries in Tennessee West Tennessee