Smith 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 ...

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 19,904. Smith County is located in the region of the state known as Middle Tennessee. 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 ...

Carthage Carthage was an ancient city in Northern Africa, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classic ...

. The county was organized in 1799 and is named for Daniel Smith, a Revolutionary War veteran who made the first map of Tennessee and served as a

United States senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

. Smith County is part of the Nashville-Davidson– Murfreesboro– Franklin, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Smith County was established in 1799 from a portion of Sumner County, and was named for Daniel Smith, a U.S. Senator and former Secretary of the

Southwest Territory The Territory South of the River Ohio, more commonly known as the Southwest Territory or the old Southwest Territory, was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 26, 1790, until June 1, 1796, when it was ...

. The location of the county seat was hotly contested between Bledsoesborough (near modern Dixon Springs) and William Walton's ferry and tavern at the confluence of the Caney Fork and the

Cumberland River The Cumberland River is a major waterway of the Southern United States. The U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 8, 2011 river drains almost of southern Kentucky and ...

. In 1804, voters chose Walton's site, and a town, named Carthage, was platted the following year. Smith County was the site of a large

saltpeter Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with a sharp, salty, bitter taste and the chemical formula . It is a potassium salt of nitric acid. This salt consists of potassium cations and nitrate anions , and is therefore an alkali metal nitrate ...

mine. Piper Cave, located near Monoville, contains the poorly preserved remnants of dozens of saltpeter leaching vats. Most saltpeter mining in Middle Tennessee took place during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

and the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, though the exact dates of this operation are unclear.

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 (3.4%) is water. The county is located in a transition area between the rugged

Highland Rim The Highland Rim is a geographic term for the area in Tennessee, North Alabama, and Kentucky which surrounds the Central Basin. The Central Basin is a geological dome which has subsequently fractured and eroded to produce a basin. The Highland R ...

to the east and the flatter

Nashville Basin The Nashville Basin, also known as the Central Basin, is a term often used to describe the area surrounding Murfreesboro, Tennessee, in which Nashville is located. The Central Basin was caused by an uplifting which produced a dome known as the ...

to the west. The Caney Fork has its

confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...

with the

in Carthage; these are the primary waterways flowing through the county. Cordell Hull Dam on the Cumberland is located near Carthage.

Adjacent counties

* Macon County (north) * Jackson County (northeast) * Putnam County (east) *

DeKalb County DeKalb County may refer to one of several counties in the United States, all of which were named for Baron Johann de Kalb: * DeKalb County, Alabama DeKalb County is a County (United States), county in the Northeast Alabama, northeastern part ...

(southeast) * Wilson County (west) * Trousdale County (northwest)

State protected areas

*Cordell Hull Wildlife Management Area (part)

Highways

* * * * * * * * *

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 19,904 people, 7,603 households, and 5,409 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 17,712 people, 6,878 households, and 5,069 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 7,665 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 95.42%

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 ...

, 2.53%

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 ...

, 0.37% Native American, 0.17% 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 ...

, 0.59% from other races, and 0.93% from two or more races. 1.13% 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 6,878 households, out of which 34.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.10% 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, 9.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.30% were non-families. 23.40% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.00. In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.50% under the age of 18, 8.00% from 18 to 24, 30.00% from 25 to 44, 23.10% from 45 to 64, and 13.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.40 males. The median income for a household in the county was $35,625, and the median income for a family was $41,645. Males had a median income of $30,853 versus $22,133 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 $17,473. About 10.30% of families and 12.20% 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 14.70% of those under age 18 and 14.80% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Towns

(county seat) * Gordonsville * South Carthage

Census-designated place

* Hickman

Unincorporated communities

* Brush Creek * Chestnut Mound * Defeated * Difficult * Dixon Springs * Elmwood * Enigma * Kempville * Lancaster * New Middleton * Pleasant Shade * Riddleton *

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

* Stonewall *

Sykes "Sykes" is a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origins, which generally has topographical roots as it original linguistic origin. The name derives from the Old Norse word "sík" or "síkja", meaning a small stream, marshy hollow, or gully. It eventua ...

Education

The Smith County School System operates nine schools: * Carthage Elementary School,

(PreK–4) * Defeated Elementary School, Defeated (PreK–8) * Forks River Elementary School, Elmwood (PreK–8) * Gordonsville Elementary School, Gordonsville (3–6) * Gordonsville High School, Gordonsville (7–12) * New Middleton Elementary School, New Middleton (PreK–2) * Union Heights Elementary School,

(PreK–8) * Smith County Middle School, South Carthage (5–8) * Smith County High School, Carthage (9–12) The county formerly operated Pleasant Shade Elementary School, which closed in 2007, and Cox Davidson Elementary, which closed sometime in the 1950s. New Middleton Elementary was formerly PreK–8, while Gordonsville Elementary was formerly PreK–6. A realignment beginning with the 2017–2018 school year resulted in the current grade alignment of those schools.

Politics

Prior to 2008, Smith County was a Democratic Party stronghold at the presidential level. The county failed to back a Democratic candidate only twice between the Civil War and 2004, when voting for

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 ...

in 1968 and against

George McGovern George Stanley McGovern (July 19, 1922 – October 21, 2012) was an American politician, diplomat, and historian who was a U.S. representative and three-term U.S. senator from South Dakota, and the Democratic Party (United States), Democ ...

in 1972. However, while the county was Carthage resident

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...

's fourth strongest statewide in his 2000 presidential bid, he failed to win an increasingly Republican Tennessee. Democrat John Kerry won the county in 2004, but by a much narrower four point margin. Since then, Smith County has swung hard towards the Republican Party similar to the rest of the state outside of Memphis and Nashville.

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

failed to win even a quarter of the county's votes in 2016, a far cry from the 71 percent and 62 percent her husband Bill won in the county with Gore also on the ticket.

References

External links

Smith County
at TN.gov
Smith County Chamber of CommerceUT Extension officeTNGenWebTennessee Central Economic Alliance for Smith County
{{authority control Nashville metropolitan area 1799 establishments in Tennessee Populated places established in 1799 Middle Tennessee