Giles 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, its population was 30,346. 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 Pulaski.

History

Giles County is named after

William Branch Giles William Branch Giles (August 12, 1762December 4, 1830) was an American statesman, long-term United States Senate, Senator from Virginia, and the List of governors of Virginia, 24th Governor of Virginia. He served in the United States House of R ...

, a senator from Virginia who sponsored the admission of Tennessee as the 16th state into the Union. He also sponsored the building of the city and courthouse, which has burned four times. The current courthouse was built in 1909. One of Giles County's local heroes is James McCallum, who served as grandmaster of the Tennessee Masons, a member of the Confederate Congress, and mayor. He lived in Giles County for 70 years. Until Maury County was established in November 1807, the area of the future Giles County was part of Williamson County. Two years after the formation of Maury County, Giles County was created from southern Maury County on November 14, 1809, by an act of the state legislature. Nearly half of the new county lay in Chickasaw territory until September 1816.

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 (0.04%) is covered by water.

Adjacent counties

* Maury County (north) * Marshall County (northeast) * Lincoln County (east) *

Limestone County, Alabama Limestone County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 103,570. Its county seat is Athens. The county is named after Limestone Creek. Limestone County is included in the Huntsville, AL ...

(south) *

Lauderdale County, Alabama Lauderdale County is a county located in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Alabama. At the 2020 census the population was 93,564. Its county seat is Florence. Its name is in honor of Colonel James Lauderdale, of Tennessee. Lauderdale ...

(southwest) * Lawrence County (west)

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 30,346 people, 11,904 households, and 7,807 families residing in the county.

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 29,447 people, 11,713 households, and 8,363 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 13,113 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 86.44%

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 ...

, 11.80%

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 ...

, 0.30% Native American, 0.35% Asian, 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 ...

, 0.21% from other races, and 0.89% from two or more races. 0.90% 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. There were 11,713 households, out of which 31.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.80% 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, 11.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.60% were non-families. 25.70% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.96. In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.50% under the age of 18, 8.30% from 18 to 24, 27.90% from 25 to 44, 24.80% from 45 to 64, and 14.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 94.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.20 males. The median income for a household in the county was $34,824, and the median income for a family was $41,714. Males had a median income of $31,221 versus $22,221 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 $17,543. About 9.00% of families and 11.70% 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 14.50% of those under age 18 and 14.80% of those age 65 or over.

Crime

On November 15, 1995, Giles County received minor notoriety after a shooting occurred at Richland High School in the community of Lynnville. A senior student named Jamie Rouse shot two teachers and a student in the north entrance of the school. One teacher (Carolyn Foster) and the student (Diane Collins) were killed, while teacher Carolyn Yancey was wounded in the crime. Rouse was convicted of the shooting and sentenced to life in prison without parole. In 2000, there were 1,268 arrests made in Giles County, with 781 arrests in the city of Pulaski. One homicide occurred in that year. Based on a 2003 recording conducted by the Uniform Crime Report, the delinquency rate dropped to 71 arrests being made, with 8.8 percent of the county population being arrested that year. No homicides occurred in Giles County in 2003.

Transportation

Airport

Abernathy Field is a public use

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

owned by Giles County and the City of Pulaski. It is located three nautical miles (6 km) southwest of the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

of Pulaski.

Major Highways

* * * * * * * * * *

Communities

Cities

* Ardmore (partial) * Elkton * Minor Hill * Pulaski (county seat)

Town

* Lynnville

Census-designated places

* Frankewing * Prospect

Unincorporated communities

* Aspen Hill * Aymett Town * Beech Hill * Berea * Campbellsville * Five Points * Goodspring * Liberty Hill * Olivet * Waco * Weakley

Politics

Although historically part of overwhelmingly Democratic and secessionist

Middle Tennessee Middle Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee that composes roughly the central portion of the state. It is delineated according to state law as 41 of the state's 95 counties. Middle Tennessee contains the state's capital an ...

, Giles County has, like much of the rural white South, become overwhelmingly Republican since 2000 due to opposition to the Democratic Party's liberal views on social issues.

Notable people

* Aaron V. Brown,

Governor of Tennessee The governor of Tennessee is the head of government of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the commander-in-chief of the U.S. state, state's Tennessee Military Department, military forces. The governor is the only official in the Government of Tenne ...

from 1845 to 1847; resident of Giles County, Tennessee. * Neill S. Brown, Governor of Tennessee from 1847 to 1849; born in Giles County. *

John C. Brown John Calvin Brown (January 6, 1827August 17, 1889) was a Confederate Army officer and an American politician and businessman. Although he originally opposed secession, Brown fought for the Confederacy during the American Civil War, eventually ...

, Governor of Tennessee from 1871 to 1875; born in Giles County. * Cully Cobb, Southern agriculture pioneer and publisher, editor of ''

Progressive Farmer ''Progressive Farmer'' is an agricultural magazine, published 14 times a year by DTN. The magazine is based in Birmingham, Alabama. History Founded in Winston, North Carolina, in 1886 by North Carolina native Leonidas Lafayette Polk (1837� ...

'' * Walter Herschel Beech, co-founder of

Beechcraft Aircraft Beechcraft is an American brand of civil aviation and military aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of Beech Aircraft Corporation, an American manufacturer of general aviat ...

; born in Giles County. * John Crowe Ransom, educator, scholar, literary critic, poet, essayist and editor; born in Giles County. * James McCallum, Grandmaster of the Tennessee Masons, a member of the Confederate Congress, and mayor. He lived in Giles County for 70 years. * James David Vaughan, music teacher, composer, song book publisher, the founder of the Vaughan Conservatory of Music and the James D. Vaughan Publishing Company; born in Giles County. * Archibald Wright, Justice of the

Tennessee Supreme Court The Tennessee Supreme Court is the highest court in the state of Tennessee. The Supreme Court's three buildings are seated in Nashville, Knoxville, and Jackson, Tennessee. The Court is composed of five members: a chief justice, and four justice ...

from 1858 to 1885; raised in Giles County.Albert D. Marks, "The Supreme Court of Tennessee", Part II, '' The Green Bag'', Volume 5 (1893), p. 180-82.

References

External links

Official site

Giles County Chamber of Commerce

Giles County, TNGenWeb
– genealogy resources {{authority control 1809 establishments in Tennessee Populated places established in 1809 Middle Tennessee