Weakley 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 northwest of 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 32,902. 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 ...

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

. Its largest city is

Martin Martin may refer to: Places Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Europe * Martin, Croatia, a village * Martin, Slovakia, a city * Martín del Río, Aragón, Spain * M ...

, the home of the

University of Tennessee at Martin The University of Tennessee at Martin (UT Martin or UTM) is a public university in Martin, Tennessee, United States. It is one of the five campuses of the University of Tennessee system. UTM is the only public university in West Tennessee outsi ...

. The county was established by the Tennessee General Assembly on October 21, 1823, and is named for U.S. Congressman Robert Weakley (1764–1845). Weakley County comprises the Martin, TN Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Weakley County was created in October 1823 from some of the land that the

Chickasaw The Chickasaw ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, United States. Their traditional territory was in northern Mississippi, northwestern and northern Alabama, western Tennessee and southwestern Kentucky. Their language is ...

people ceded to the United States in the

Treaty of 1818 The Convention respecting fisheries, boundary and the restoration of slaves, also known as the London Convention, Anglo-American Convention of 1818, Convention of 1818, or simply the Treaty of 1818, is an international treaty signed in 1818 betw ...

. The county was named after Colonel Robert Weakley, a member of the House of Representatives, a speaker of the State Senate, and the man commissioned to treat (negotiate) with the Chickasaw. During the 19th century, the county was the state's largest corn producer. By the latter half of the 20th century,

soybeans The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean. Soy is a staple crop, the world's most grown legume, and an important animal feed. Soy is a key source of f ...

became the county's leading crop.

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. The North Fork of the Obion River flows through the northern half of the county, the Middle Fork flows across the central portion of the county, and the South Fork flows across the southern part of the county. The Obion is a tributary of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

Adjacent counties

Hickman County, Kentucky Hickman County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 4,521, making it the third-least populous county in Kentucky. Its county seat is Cli ...

(northwest) *

Graves County, Kentucky Graves County is a county located on the southwest border of the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 36,649. Its county seat is Mayfield. The county was formed in 1824 and was named for Major Benjamin F ...

(north) * Henry County (east) * Carroll County (southeast) * Gibson County (southwest) * Obion County (west)

State protected areas

*Bean Switch Refuge *Big Cypress Tree State Natural Area * Big Cypress Tree State Park *Harts Mill Wetland Wildlife Management Area (part) *Obion River Wildlife Management Area (part)

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 32,902 people, 13,640 households, and 8,677 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 34,895 people, 13,599 households, and 9,124 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 14,928 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 90.27%

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 ...

, 6.95%

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 ...

, 0.15% Native American, 1.32% 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 ...

, 0.52% from other races, and 0.78% from two or more races. 1.15% 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 13,599 households, out of which 29.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.20% 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, 9.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.90% were non-families. 27.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.89. The population was spread out, with 21.60% under the age of 18, 15.90% from 18 to 24, 26.10% from 25 to 44, 21.90% from 45 to 64, and 14.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 94.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.10 males. The median income for a household in the county was $30,008, and the median income for a family was $38,658. Males had a median income of $28,597 versus $20,845 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 $15,408. About 11.10% of families and 16.00% 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 16.80% of those under age 18 and 16.20% of those age 65 or over.

Media

Radio

* WWGY 99.3 "Today's Best Music with " Ace & TJ in the Morning" * WRQR-FM 105.5 "Today's Best Music with " Ace & TJ in the Morning" * WENK-AM 1240 "The Greatest Hits of All Time" * WTPR-AM 710 "The Greatest Hits of All Time" * WTPR-FM 101.7 "The Greatest Hits of All Time" * WCMT-AM 1410 100.5FM * WCMT-FM 101.3 * WUTM-FM 90.3 *(WCDZ FM 95.1 and 102.9FM) * WCMT-AM 1410 "your best friend"

Print

*'' Dresden Enterprise'' - located in Dresden, the county seat.Dresden Enterprise official site
Retrieved: April 24, 2013. *'' The Weakley County Press'' - located in Martin *'' The Pacer'' - Student newspaper of the University of Tennessee at Martin

Education

Weakley County Schools

School District website - http://www.weakleyschools.com/

Communities

Cities

* Greenfield *

* McKenzie (mostly in Carroll County and a small portion in Henry County)

Towns

(county seat) * Gleason *

Sharon Sharon ( 'plain'), also spelled Saron, is a given name as well as a Hebrew name. In Anglosphere, English-speaking areas, Sharon is now predominantly a feminine given name, but historically it was also used as a masculine given name. In Israel, ...

Census-designated places

* Dukedom * Palmersville

Unincorporated communities

* Austin Springs * Boydsville * Gardner * Latham

Politics

References

External links

Official siteWeakley County Chamber of CommerceWeakley County SchoolsWeakley County TNGenWeb
{{authority control 1823 establishments in Tennessee Populated places established in 1823 West Tennessee