Houston 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 of

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 8,283. 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 Erin. The county was founded in 1871. It was named for Sam Houston.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (3.2%) is water.

Adjacent counties

* Stewart County - north * Montgomery County - northeast * Dickson County - east * Humphreys County - south * Benton County - west

Major highways

* State Route 13 * State Route 46 * State Route 49 * State Route 147 * State Route 149 * State Route 231 * State Route 232

Demographics

2020 census

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 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 8,088 people, 3,216 households, and 2,299 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 3,901 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 94.58%

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 ...

, 3.31%

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 ...

, 0.19% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 0.06%

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 ...

, 0.78% from other races, and 0.95% from two or more races. 1.25% 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 3,216 households, out of which 31.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.00% 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, 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 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 $15,614. About 14.30% of families and 18.10% 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 23.20% of those under age 18 and 20.80% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Like many other

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...

southern and/or

Appalachia Appalachia ( ) is a geographic region located in the Appalachian Mountains#Regions, central and southern sections of the Appalachian Mountains in the east of North America. In the north, its boundaries stretch from the western Catskill Mountai ...

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

Elected officials

*County Mayor: Joey Brake *County Clerk: Robert Brown *Administrator of Elections: Annette Pulley *Property Assessor: Joy Hooper *Register of Deeds: Sherrill Potts Moore *County Trustee: Jimmy Lowery *County Highway Department Superintendent: Teresa Alsobrooks *County Circuit Court Clerk: Donna Potts Vincent *General Sessions & Juvenile Judge: W. Sidney Vinson *Sheriff: Kevin L. Sugg

Commissioners

*District 1: William C. Agy and Ann Fielder *District 2: Randall French and J. Steve Hall *District 3: Glen Baggett and Danny Warren *District 4: Charles Darrell Kingsmill and Howard Spurgeon *District 5: Lance Uffelman and Vickie Reedy *District 6: Joey Brake and Chris Pitts *District 7: Brant Lamastus and Tony Hayes

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 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 ...

became the first Republican presidential candidate to ever carry Houston County, due to anti-Catholic voting against

Al Smith Alfred Emanuel Smith (December 30, 1873 – October 4, 1944) was the 42nd governor of New York, serving from 1919 to 1920 and again from 1923 to 1928. He was the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party's presidential nominee in the 1 ...

in this "Bible Belt" region. The second non-Democrat to carry Houston County was

George Wallace George Corley Wallace Jr. (August 25, 1919 – September 13, 1998) was an American politician who was the 45th and longest-serving governor of Alabama (1963–1967; 1971–1979; 1983–1987), and the List of longest-serving governors of U.S. s ...

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 Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

's 3,000-plus-county landslide of 1972. In the 2008 presidential election, when most other traditionally Democratic counties in the state voted for

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...

, Houston County supported

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

. However, the county's vote has been shifting Republican as reflected by

's winning margin of barely more than 2%, the lowest margin among all Democratic presidential candidates who have carried Houston County since its creation. In the 2012 presidential election,

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...

became the first Republican in 80 years to win the county. Republican Senator Bob Corker and Republican Representative Marsha Blackburn also won the county.CNN results for Tennessee's 7th district
/ref> In 2016, the county swung hard to the right, with Republican

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

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

*Houston County High School - (Students: 465; Location: 2500 State Route 149; Grades: 09 - 12) *Houston County Adult High School - (Students: 2; Location: 3573 West Main Street; Grades: 11 - 12)

Public primary/middle schools

*Erin Elementary School - (Students: 456; Location: 6500 State Route 13; Grades: KG - 05) *Tennessee Ridge Elementary School - (Students: 280; Location: 135 School Street; Grades: KG - 05) *Houston County Middle School - (Students: 338; Location: 1241 West Main Street; Grades: 06 - 08)

Media

*FM radio: WTPR-FM 101.7 "The Greatest Hits of All Time" *Weekly newspaper: '' Houston County Herald '' *""Tv Station"" Wells Creek Basin Network

Communities

City

* Erin (county seat)

Town

* Tennessee Ridge (small part in Stewart County)

Unincorporated communities

* McKinnon * Stewart

Notes

References

External links

Houston County Chamber of Commerce

Houston County, TNGenWeb
- free genealogy resources for the county * {{authority control 1871 establishments in Tennessee Populated places established in 1871 Middle Tennessee