Editing Houston County, Tennessee

{{short description|County in Tennessee, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox U.S. county
 | county               = Houston County
 | state                = Tennessee
 | seal                 = 
 | flag                 = Flag of Houston County, Tennessee.svg
 | logo                 = Logo of Houston County, Tennessee.gif
 | founded              = 1871<ref name="state.tn.us">[http://www.state.tn.us/tsla/history/county/facthouston.htm Tennessee State Library and Archives, Genealogical "Fact sheets" about counties]. "Houston County: Houston County was formed in 1871 from Dickson, Humphreys and Montgomery Counties. Acts of Tennessee 1870-71, Chapter 46." Retrieved December 7, 2010</ref>
 | named for            = [[Sam Houston]]<ref name=tehc>Charles Lovelady and Nina Finley, "[http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=662 Houston County]," ''Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture''. Retrieved: October 17, 2013.</ref>
 | seat wl              = Erin
 | largest city wl      = Erin
 | area_total_sq_mi     = 207
 | area_land_sq_mi      = 200
 | area_water_sq_mi     = 6.7
 | area percentage      = 3.2%
 | census yr            = 2020
 | population_total     = 8283 {{decrease}}
 | density_sq_mi        = 42
 | time zone            = Central
 | footnotes            = 
 | web                  = https://www.explorehoustoncountytn.com/
 | ex image             = Houston County Courthouse, Erin.jpg
 | ex image cap         = Houston County Courthouse in April 2014
 | district             = 7th 
}}

'''Houston County''' is a [[County (United States)|county]] located in the [[U.S. state]] of [[Tennessee]]. As of the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]], the population was 8,283. Its [[county seat]] is [[Erin, Tennessee|Erin]].<ref name="GR6">{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx |access-date=June 7, 2011 |title=Find a County |publisher=National Association of Counties |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110531210815/http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx |archive-date=May 31, 2011 }}</ref> The county was founded in 1871.<ref name="state.tn.us"/> It was named for [[Sam Houston]].<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n160 161]}}</ref>

==Geography==
According to the [[U.S. Census Bureau]], the county has a total area of {{convert|207|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|200|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|6.7|sqmi}} (3.2%) is water.<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=http://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/counties_list_47.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=April 5, 2015|date=August 22, 2012|title=2010 Census Gazetteer Files}}</ref>

===Adjacent counties===
*[[Stewart County, Tennessee|Stewart County]] - north
*[[Montgomery County, Tennessee|Montgomery County]] - northeast
*[[Dickson County, Tennessee|Dickson County]] - east
*[[Humphreys County, Tennessee|Humphreys County]] - south
*[[Benton County, Tennessee|Benton County]] - west

===Major highways===
*[[State Route 13 (Tennessee)|State Route 13]]
*[[State Route 46 (Tennessee)|State Route 46]]
*[[State Route 49 (Tennessee)|State Route 49]]
*[[State Route 147 (Tennessee)|State Route 147]]
*[[State Route 149 (Tennessee)|State Route 149]]
*[[State Route 231 (Tennessee)|State Route 231]]
*[[State Route 232 (Tennessee)|State Route 232]]

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1880= 4295
|1890= 5390
|1900= 6476
|1910= 6224
|1920= 6212
|1930= 5555
|1940= 6432
|1950= 5318
|1960= 4794
|1970= 5845
|1980= 6871
|1990= 7018
|2000= 8088
|2010= 8426
|2020= 8283
|align-fn=center
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=U.S. Decennial Census|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=April 5, 2015}}</ref><br />1790-1960<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu|title=Historical Census Browser|publisher=University of Virginia Library|access-date=April 5, 2015}}</ref> 1900-1990<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/tn190090.txt|title=Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990|publisher=United States Census Bureau|editor-last=Forstall|editor-first=Richard L.|date=March 27, 1995|access-date=April 5, 2015}}</ref><br />1990-2000<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live|title=Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000|publisher=United States Census Bureau|date=April 2, 2001|access-date=April 5, 2015}}</ref> 2010-2020<ref name="QF">{{cite web|title=State & County QuickFacts|url=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/47/47083.html|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=December 2, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607142332/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/47/47083.html|archive-date=June 7, 2011}}</ref>  2020<ref name="2020 Census">{{cite web |title=2020 Census Data |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?g=0500000US47083 |website=data.census.gov}}</ref>
}}
{{Stack|[[Image:USA Houston County, Tennessee.csv age pyramid.svg|thumb|150px|left|Age pyramid Houston County<ref>Based on [[2000 United States Census|2000 census]] data</ref>]]}}

===2020 census===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right"
|+Houston County racial composition<ref>{{Cite web|title=Explore Census Data|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=0500000US47083&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|access-date=December 27, 2021|website=data.census.gov}}</ref>
!scope="col"| Race
!scope="col"| Number
!scope="col"| Percentage
|-
!scope="row"| [[White (U.S. Census)|White]] (non-Hispanic)
| 7,491
| 90.44%
|-
!scope="row"| [[African American (U.S. Census)|Black or African American]] (non-Hispanic)
| 200
| 2.41%
|-
!scope="row"| [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]]
| 32
| 0.39%
|-
!scope="row"| [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]]
| 16
| 0.19%
|-
!scope="row"| [[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]]
| 8
| 0.1%
|-
!scope="row"| [[Race (United States Census)|Other/Mixed]]
| 334
| 4.03%
|-
!scope="row"| [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]]
| 202
| 2.44%
|}
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]]<ref name="GR8">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=May 14, 2011|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref> of 2000, there were 8,088 people, 3,216 households, and 2,299 families residing in the county. The [[population density]] was {{convert|40.4|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|people&nbsp;|people}}. There were 3,901 housing units at an average density of {{convert|19.5|/mi2|/km2}}. The racial makeup of the county was 94.58% [[Race (United States Census)|White]], 3.31% [[Race (United States Census)|Black]] or [[Race (United States Census)|African American]], 0.19% [[Race (United States Census)|Native American]], 0.12% [[Race (United States Census)|Asian]], 0.06% [[Race (United States Census)|Pacific Islander]], 0.78% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 0.95% from two or more races. 1.25% of the population were [[Race (United States Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Race (United States Census)|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 [[Marriage|married couples]] 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]] for the county was $15,614. About 14.30% of families and 18.10% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 23.20% of those under age 18 and 20.80% of those age 65 or over.{{clear}}

==Government==
Like many other [[rural]] southern and/or [[Appalachia]]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]].

{{PresHead|place=Houston County, Tennessee|source=<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|last=Leip|first=David|website=uselectionatlas.org|access-date=March 10, 2018}}</ref>}}
<!-- PresRow should be {{PresRow|Year|Winning party|GOP vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} -->
{{PresRow|2024|Republican|2,989|773|48|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|2020|Republican|2,718|871|97|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|2016|Republican|2,182|866|120|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|2012|Republican|1,579|1,400|48|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|2008|Democratic|1,608|1,678|68|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|2004|Democratic|1,440|2,126|32|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|2000|Democratic|993|2,081|53|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1996|Democratic|742|1,868|207|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1992|Democratic|648|2,012|291|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1988|Democratic|882|1,467|18|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1984|Democratic|882|1,716|21|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1980|Democratic|738|1,757|46|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1976|Democratic|407|1,990|30|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1972|Democratic|800|870|55|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1968|American Independent|232|636|941|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1964|Democratic|287|1,572|0|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1960|Democratic|366|1,150|17|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1956|Democratic|340|1,033|12|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1952|Democratic|465|1,229|0|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1948|Democratic|202|1,159|94|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1944|Democratic|248|976|0|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1940|Democratic|229|1,093|9|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1936|Democratic|193|813|0|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1932|Democratic|112|750|5|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1928|Republican|374|258|0|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1924|Democratic|97|444|35|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1920|Democratic|385|790|18|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1916|Democratic|207|627|43|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1912|Democratic|172|586|151|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1908|Democratic|288|665|25|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1904|Democratic|287|555|55|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1900|Democratic|341|738|25|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1896|Democratic|343|896|38|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1892|Democratic|206|704|96|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1888|Democratic|259|745|4|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1884|Democratic|174|630|0|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1880|Democratic|127|522|0|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1876|Democratic|100|502|0|Tennessee}}
{{PresFoot|1872|Democratic|94|459|0|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 <ref name="HCMayor">{{cite web |url=http://www.houstoncochamber.com/county-mayor-commissioners-cms-47 |title=County Mayor & Commissioners - Houston County Area Chamber of Commerce Website |access-date=March 30, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402164349/http://www.houstoncochamber.com/county-mayor-commissioners-cms-47 |archive-date=April 2, 2015 }}</ref>
*'''County Clerk:''' Robert Brown<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.houstoncochamber.com/county-officials-cms-72 |title=County Officials - Houston County Area Chamber of Commerce Website |access-date=March 30, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402165529/http://www.houstoncochamber.com/county-officials-cms-72 |archive-date=April 2, 2015 }}</ref>
*'''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<ref name="HCMayor" />
*'''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 Party (United States)|Democratic]] counties, however, like other [[Social conservatism in the United States|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 Coalition|Blue Dog Democrat]] [[John Tanner (Tennessee politician)|John Tanner]], Houston County is now part of [[Tennessee's 7th congressional district]] and is represented by Republican [[Mark Green (Tennessee politician)|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]] became the first [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] presidential candidate to ever carry Houston County, due to anti-Catholic voting against [[Al Smith]] in this "Bible Belt" region.<ref>Phillips, Kevin P.; ''The Emerging Republican Majority'', p. 212 {{ISBN|1400852293}}</ref> The second non-Democrat to carry Houston County was [[George Wallace]] of the [[American Independent Party]] during the [[1968 United States presidential election|1968 presidential election]], following which Houston County became one of only six Wallace counties to vote for [[George McGovern]] against [[Richard Nixon]]'s 3,000-plus-county landslide of 1972.{{efn|The others were the fellow secessionist white-majority Middle Tennessee counties of [[Perry County, Tennessee|Perry]] and [[Stewart County, Tennessee|Stewart]], plus the three Alabama Black Belt counties of [[Bullock County, Alabama|Bullock]], [[Lowndes County, Alabama|Lowndes]] and [[Wilcox County, Alabama|Wilcox]] where Negro voter registration was severely delayed after [[Voting Rights Act of 1965|the Voting Rights Act]].}}

In the [[2008 United States presidential election|2008 presidential election]], when most other traditionally Democratic counties in the state voted for [[John McCain]], Houston County supported [[Barack Obama]]. However, the county's vote has been shifting Republican as reflected by [[Barack Obama]]'s winning margin of barely more than 2%, the lowest margin among all Democratic presidential candidates who have carried Houston County since its creation.<ref>[http://www.uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/comparemaps.php?year=2008&fips=47&f=1&off=0&elect=0 David Leip’s Presidential Election Atlas (Election maps for Tennessee)]</ref> In the [[2012 United States presidential election|2012 presidential election]], [[Mitt Romney]] became the first Republican in 80 years to win the county.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/election/2012/results/state/TN/president CNN results for Tennessee]</ref> Republican Senator [[Bob Corker]]<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/election/2012/results/state/TN/senate CNN Results for Senate]</ref> and Republican Representative [[Marsha Blackburn]] also won the county.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/election/2012/results/state/TN/house/07 CNN results for Tennessee's 7th district]</ref>

In 2016, the county swung hard to the right, with Republican [[Donald Trump]] 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:''' [[WENK-WTPR|WTPR-FM 101.7]] "The Greatest Hits of All Time"
*'''Weekly newspaper:''' ''[[Houston County Herald ]]'' 
*""Tv Station""[[Wells Creek Basin Network]]

== Communities ==
===City===
*[[Erin, Tennessee|Erin]] (county seat)

===Town===
*[[Tennessee Ridge, Tennessee|Tennessee Ridge]] (small part in [[Stewart County, Tennessee|Stewart County]])

===Unincorporated communities===
*[[McKinnon, Tennessee|McKinnon]]
*[[Stewart, Tennessee|Stewart]]

==See also==
*[[National Register of Historic Places listings in Tennessee#Houston County|National Register of Historic Places listings in Houston County, Tennessee]]

==Further reading==

*''History of Houston County, Tennessee 1871 - 1996 - History and Families''. Nashville: Turner Publishing Company (1995). {{ISBN|1-56311-194-2}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[http://www.houstoncochamber.com/ Houston County Chamber of Commerce]
* [http://www.tngenweb.org/houston Houston County, TNGenWeb] - free genealogy resources for the county
*{{Cite AmCyc|wstitle=Houston (counties)|display=Houston. III. A N. W. county of Tennessee |short=x}}

{{Geographic location
|Centre    = Houston County, Tennessee
|North     = [[Stewart County, Tennessee|Stewart County]]
|Northeast = [[Montgomery County, Tennessee|Montgomery County]]
|East      = [[Dickson County, Tennessee|Dickson County]]
|Southeast =
|South     = [[Humphreys County, Tennessee|Humphreys County]]
|Southwest =
|West      = [[Benton County, Tennessee|Benton County]]
|Northwest =
}}

{{Houston County, Tennessee}}
{{Tennessee}}
{{Sam Houston}}

{{coord|36.28|-87.71|display=title|type:adm2nd_region:US-TN_source:UScensus1990}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Houston County, Tennessee| ]]
[[Category:1871 establishments in Tennessee]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1871]]
[[Category:Middle Tennessee]]