Editing Jackson County, Tennessee

{{short description|County in Tennessee, United States}}
{{Distinguish|Jackson, Tennessee}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox U.S. county
 | county       = Jackson County
 | state             = Tennessee
 | seal                 = 
 | founded              = 1801
 | named for            = [[Andrew Jackson]]<ref name=tehc>Moldon Tayse, "[http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=696 Jackson County]," ''Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture''. Retrieved: October 17, 2013.</ref>
 | seat wl          = Gainesboro
 | largest city wl  = Gainesboro
 | city type            = town
 | area_total_sq_mi     = 320
 | area_land_sq_mi      = 308
 | area_water_sq_mi     = 11
 | area percentage      = 3.5%
 | census yr            = 2020
 | pop                  = 11617 {{loss}}
 | pop_est_as_of        = 2024
 | population_est       = 
 | density_sq_mi        = 38
 | time zone           = Central
 | footnotes            = 
 | web                  = www.jacksoncotn.com
 | ex image             = Jackson-county-courthouse-tn2.jpg
 | ex image cap         = Jackson County Courthouse in Gainesboro
 | district             = 6th }}

'''Jackson County''' is a [[County (United States)|county]] located in the [[U.S. state]] of [[Tennessee]]. The population was 11,617 at the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Census - Geography Profile: Jackson County, Tennessee|url=https://data.census.gov/profile/Jackson_County,_Tennessee?g=0500000US47087|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=January 7, 2023}}</ref> Its [[county seat]] is [[Gainesboro, Tennessee|Gainesboro]].<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> Jackson is part of the [[Cookeville micropolitan statistical area|Cookeville Micropolitan Statistical Area]].

==History==
Jackson County was created by an act of the [[Tennessee General Assembly]] on November 6, 1801. It was the 18th county established in the state. It was formed from part of [[Smith County, Tennessee|Smith County]] plus Indian lands. The name honors [[Andrew Jackson]], who by 1801 had already served as a U.S. [[United States Congress|Congressman]] and [[United States Senate|Senator]] from Tennessee, a [[Tennessee Supreme Court]] justice, and a colonel in the Tennessee [[militia (United States)|militia]]. He became more widely known as commander at the [[Battle of New Orleans]] and as the seventh [[President of the United States]].<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/n166 167]}}</ref>

In the 1790s, an Army outpost named [[Fort Blount]] was built {{convert|10|mi|km}} west of Gainesboro on the [[Cumberland River]], in what is now western Jackson County. Fort Blount was an important stop for travelers on [[Avery's Trace]]. Williamsburg, a town developed around the fort, served as the Jackson County seat from 1807 to 1819.<ref>Benjamin Nance, [http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=485 Fort Blount].  ''Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture'', 2002. Retrieved: February 5, 2010.</ref> The county's early records were all lost in a disastrous courthouse fire on August 14, 1872.<ref>Jackson Historical Society, ''[http://ajlambert.com/history/hst_jct.pdf Jackson County Family History Book]'', 1996. Retrieved: October 17, 2013.</ref>

The 1970 Movie "I Walk The Line" starring Gregory Peck was filmed in Gainesboro and Jackson County.

==Geography==
[[File:Cummins Falls by Brenton Rogers 03.jpg|right|220px|thumb|Cummins Falls]]

According to the [[U.S. Census Bureau]], the county has a total area of {{convert|320|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|308|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|11|sqmi}} (3.5%) 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 7, 2015|date=August 22, 2012|title=2010 Census Gazetteer Files}}</ref>

===Adjacent counties===
*[[Clay County, Tennessee|Clay County]] (north)
*[[Overton County, Tennessee|Overton County]] (east)
*[[Putnam County, Tennessee|Putnam County]] (south)
*[[Smith County, Tennessee|Smith County]] (southwest)
*[[Macon County, Tennessee|Macon County]] (northwest)

===State protected areas===
*The Boils Wildlife Management Area
*[[Cummins Falls State Park]]
*Cordell Hull Wildlife Management Area (part)
*Washmorgan Hollow State Natural Area

===Highways===
*{{jct|state=TN|SR|53}}
*{{jct|state=TN|SR|56}}
*{{jct|state=TN|SR|85}}
*{{jct|state=TN|SR|96}}
*{{jct|state=TN|SR|151}}
*{{jct|state=TN|Sec|135}}
*{{jct|state=TN|Sec|262}}
*{{jct|state=TN|Sec|290}}

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1810= 5401
|1820= 7593
|1830= 9698
|1840= 12872
|1850= 15673
|1860= 11725
|1870= 12583
|1880= 12008
|1890= 13325
|1900= 15039
|1910= 15036
|1920= 14955
|1930= 13589
|1940= 15082
|1950= 12348
|1960= 9233
|1970= 8141
|1980= 9398
|1990= 9297
|2000= 10984
|2010= 11638
|2020= 11617
|estref=
|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 7, 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 7, 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 7, 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 7, 2015}}</ref> 2010-2014<ref name="QF">{{cite web|title=State & County QuickFacts|url=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/47/47087.html|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=December 3, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110705042011/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/47/47087.html|archive-date=July 5, 2011}}</ref>
}}
{{Stack|[[Image:USA Jackson County, Tennessee.csv age pyramid.svg|thumb|150px|left|Age pyramid for Jackson County<ref>Based on [[2000 United States Census|2000 census]] data</ref>]]}}

===2020 census===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+'''Jackson County, Tennessee – Racial and ethnic composition'''<br><small>{{nobold|''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.''}}</small>
!Race / Ethnicity <small>(''NH = Non-Hispanic'')</small>
!Pop 2000<ref name=2000CensusP004>{{Cite web|title=P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 –Jackson County, Tennessee|url=https://data.census.gov/table?g=050XX00US47087&tid=DECENNIALSF12000.P004|website=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date= }}</ref>
!Pop 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2>{{Cite web|title=P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Jackson County, Tennessee|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=p2&g=050XX00US47087&tid=DECENNIALPL2010.P2|website=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date= }}</ref>
!{{partial|Pop 2020}}<ref name=2020CensusP2>{{Cite web|title=P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Jackson County, Tennessee |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=p2&g=050XX00US47087&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|website=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date= }}</ref>
!% 2000
!% 2010
!{{partial|% 2020}}
|-
|[[Non-Hispanic or Latino whites|White]] alone (NH)
|10,763
|11,267
|style='background: #ffffe6; |10,778
|97.99%
|96.81%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |92.78%
|-
|[[Non-Hispanic or Latino African Americans|Black or African American]] alone (NH)
|16
|29
|style='background: #ffffe6; |31
|0.15%
|0.25%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.27%
|-
|[[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] or [[Alaska Native]] alone (NH)
|37
|52
|style='background: #ffffe6; |35
|0.34%
|0.45%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.30%
|-
|[[Asian Americans|Asian]] alone (NH)
|7
|10
|style='background: #ffffe6; |17
|0.06%
|0.09%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.15%
|-
|[[Native Hawaiian]] or [[Pacific Islander Americans|Pacific Islander]] alone (NH)
|1
|1
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0
|0.01%
|0.01%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%
|-
|[[Race and ethnicity in the United States census|Other race]] alone (NH)
|0
|5
|style='background: #ffffe6; |28
|0.00%
|0.04%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.24%
|-
|[[Multiracial Americans|Mixed race or Multiracial]] (NH)
|71
|110
|style='background: #ffffe6; |483
|0.65%
|0.95%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.16%
|-
|[[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic or Latino]] (any race)
|89
|164
|style='background: #ffffe6; |245
|0.81%
|1.41%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.11%
|-
|'''Total'''
|'''10,984'''
|'''11,638'''
|style='background: #ffffe6; |'''11,617'''
|'''100.00%'''
|'''100.00%'''
|style='background: #ffffe6; |'''100.00%'''
|}

As of the [[2020 United States census]], there were 11,617 people, 4,566 households, and 2,745 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 10,984 people, 4,466 households, and 3,139 families residing in the county. The [[population density]] was {{convert|36|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|people&nbsp;|people|}}. There were 5,163 housing units at an average density of {{convert|17|/mi2|/km2|adj=pre|units&nbsp;}}. The racial makeup of the county was 98.63% [[Race (United States Census)|White]], 0.15% [[Race (United States Census)|Black]] or [[Race (United States Census)|African American]], 0.34% [[Race (United States Census)|Native American]], 0.06% [[Race (United States Census)|Asian]], 0.03% [[Race (United States Census)|Pacific Islander]], 0.12% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 0.67% from two or more races. 0.81% of the population were [[Race (United States Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Race (United States Census)|Latino]] of any race.

There were 4,466 households, out of which 28.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.30% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 10.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.70% were non-families. 25.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.89.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 22.30% under the age of 18, 7.80% from 18 to 24, 28.20% from 25 to 44, 26.80% from 45 to 64, and 15.00% 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 94.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $26,502, and the median income for a family was $32,088. Males had a median income of $24,759 versus $19,511 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the county was $15,020. About 15.10% of families and 18.10% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 15.10% of those under age 18 and 22.50% of those age 65 or over.

==Communities==
===Town===
*[[Gainesboro, Tennessee|Gainesboro]] (county seat)

===Census-designated place===
*[[Dodson Branch, Tennessee|Dodson Branch]]

===Unincorporated communities===
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
*[[Center Grove, Tennessee|Center Grove]]
*[[Granville, Tennessee|Granville]]
*[[Mayfield, Tennessee|Mayfield]]
*[[Nameless, Tennessee|Nameless]]
*[[North Springs, Tennessee|North Springs]]
*[[Shady Grove, Jackson County, Tennessee|Shady Grove]]
*[[Whitleyville, Tennessee|Whitleyville]]
{{div col end}}

==Politics==
{{PresHead|place=Jackson 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 11, 2018}}</ref>}}
<!-- PresRow should be {{PresRow|Year|Winning party|GOP vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} -->
{{PresRow|2024|Republican|4,586|1,040|50|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|2020|Republican|4,118|1,135|70|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|2016|Republican|3,236|1,129|101|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|2012|Republican|2,383|1,739|62|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|2008|Democratic|2,185|2,224|92|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|2004|Democratic|2,026|2,998|32|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|2000|Democratic|1,384|3,304|66|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1996|Democratic|944|2,889|328|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1992|Democratic|708|3,208|342|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1988|Democratic|1,168|1,962|14|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1984|Democratic|1,544|2,894|48|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1980|Democratic|995|2,480|60|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1976|Democratic|591|2,959|19|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1972|Democratic|956|1,085|38|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1968|Democratic|673|1,122|908|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1964|Democratic|551|2,291|0|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1960|Democratic|1,049|1,539|48|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1956|Democratic|881|1,743|35|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1952|Democratic|1,138|1,686|3|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1948|Democratic|536|1,502|149|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1944|Democratic|695|1,407|12|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1940|Democratic|605|2,046|9|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1936|Democratic|422|1,702|4|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1932|Democratic|256|1,726|4|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1928|Democratic|614|827|15|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1924|Democratic|354|1,074|10|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1920|Republican|1,187|1,097|0|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1916|Democratic|740|1,506|0|Tennessee}}
{{PresFoot|1912|Democratic|743|1,344|251|Tennessee}}

As a [[Secession in the United States|secessionist]] [[Middle Tennessee]] county, Jackson County was historically one of the most Democratic in the state. Only once up to 2008 did a Democrat lose the county – when [[Warren G. Harding]] carried Jackson County by ninety votes in his record popular-vote landslide of 1920, due to large increases in voter turnout for the [[isolationism|isolationist]] cause Harding espoused.<ref>Phillips, Kevin P.; ''The Emerging Republican Majority'', p. 287-288 {{ISBN|1400852293}}</ref> Along with [[Lewis County, Tennessee|Lewis County]] it was one of two Tennessee counties to be carried by both [[Hubert Humphrey]] in 1968 and [[George McGovern]] in 1972.

However, like most of [[Appalachia]] and surrounding areas, Jackson County has since 2000 seen a very rapid shift towards the Republican Party due to opposition to the Democratic Party's liberal views on social issues.<ref>Cohn, Nate; [https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/24/upshot/southern-whites-loyalty-to-gop-nearing-that-of-blacks-to-democrats.html ‘Demographic Shift: Southern Whites’ Loyalty to G.O.P. Nearing That of Blacks to Democrats’], ''[[New York Times]]'', April 24, 2014</ref> Whereas [[Al Gore Jr.|Al Gore]] (who grew up in neighboring [[Smith County, Tennessee|Smith County]]) won almost seventy percent of the vote in 2000, [[Barack Obama]] won by only thirty-nine votes in 2008, [[Mitt Romney]] became only the second Republican to carry the county in 2012 and [[Donald Trump]] four years later received over 70% of the vote - the first time that any Republican even surpassed 60% of the vote in Jackson County. Trump successively gained more and more in Jackson County in [[2020 United States presidential election in Tennessee|2020]] and [[2024 United States presidential election in Tennessee|2024]], even reaching 80% of the vote in the latter, although Republican [[U.S. Senate|Senator]] [[Marsha Blackburn]] failed to reach 80% on the same ballot in [[2024 United States Senate election in Tennessee|the concurrent U.S. Senate election]].

Despite this drastic shift in the county overall at the federal level, Democrats continued to compete in the Gainesboro town limits in statewide elections as recently as [[2018 United States Senate election in Tennessee|2018]], when former Governor [[Phil Bredesen]] lost Gainesboro by just a 4.4% margin even as he lost to Blackburn statewide by double-digits.<ref>https://davesredistricting.org/maps#viewmap::c0ed8258-ce44-4eec-9736-2cc3b86a9d16</ref> Republican [[Governor of Tennessee|Governor]] [[Bill Lee (Tennessee politician)|Bill Lee]] also did more poorly in Gainesboro than statewide in both [[2018 Tennessee gubernatorial election|2018]] and [[2022 Tennessee gubernatorial election|2022]].<ref>https://davesredistricting.org/maps#viewmap::c0ed8258-ce44-4eec-9736-2cc3b86a9d16</ref> Furthermore, [[conservative Democrat]]<ref>https://tennesseelookout.com/2021/04/23/stockard-on-the-stump-house-democrats-keep-windle-from-defecting/</ref> [[John Windle|John Mark Windle]] represented Jackson County in the [[Tennessee House of Representatives|state House]] until 2022, when he switched to being an [[independent politician]], Jackson County was drawn out of the 41st state House district and into the neighboring 40th district<ref>https://tennesseelookout.com/2021/06/24/redistricting-in-tennessee-an-explanation-of-how-the-system-works/</ref><ref>https://comptroller.tn.gov/maps/tennessee-house-districts.html</ref><ref>https://davesredistricting.org/maps#viewmap::c0ed8258-ce44-4eec-9736-2cc3b86a9d16</ref> and Windle narrowly lost re-election to Republican [[Ed Butler]] in his redrawn district.<ref>https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2022/11/09/tennessee-general-assembly-contested-middle-tennessee-legislative-races-on-nov-8/69631193007/</ref> Last but not least, despite Jackson County's [[safe seat|extremely heavy partisan lean]], local Republicans often aren't as socially [[far-right]] as even those in neighboring, urban [[Putnam County, Tennessee|Putnam County]] which is less red on paper, with a [[misogynistic]], [[authoritarian]], [[xenophobic]], [[white supremacist]] and [[anti-LGBT]] [[Christian nationalist]] [[hate group]] formed by out-of-staters in the early 2020s<ref>https://www.splcenter.org/resources/hatewatch/how-whites-only-group-plans-turn-rural-tennessee-its-homeland/</ref> being denounced by people originally from Jackson County and the vice chair of the local Republican Party when the news of their arrival broke. "This town is not for them," one local resident interviewed said of the hate group.<ref>https://www.newschannel5.com/news/newschannel-5-investigates/confronting-hate/this-town-is-not-for-them-residents-react-to-white-christian-nationalists-moving-to-tennessee</ref><ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X1kOeia0YY</ref><ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byvkRclGfSE</ref><ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNj9G00WXX4</ref>

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

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://www.jacksoncotn.com/index.php Official Jackson County Website]
* [http://www.gainesboro-jcchamber.com/ Gainesboro-Jackson County Chamber of Commerce]
* [http://www.tngenweb.org/jackson Jackson County, TNGenWeb] - free genealogy resources for the county

{{Geographic Location
|Centre    = Jackson County, Tennessee
|North     = [[Clay County, Tennessee|Clay County]]
|Northeast =
|East      = [[Overton County, Tennessee|Overton County]]
|Southeast =
|South     = [[Putnam County, Tennessee|Putnam County]]
|Southwest = [[Smith County, Tennessee|Smith County]]
|West      =
|Northwest = [[Macon County, Tennessee|Macon County]]
}}

{{Jackson County, Tennessee}}
{{Tennessee}}
{{Authority control}}

{{Coord|36.36|-85.67|display=title|type:adm2nd_region:US-TN_source:UScensus1990}}

[[Category:Jackson County, Tennessee| ]]
[[Category:1801 establishments in Tennessee]]
[[Category:Cookeville, Tennessee micropolitan area]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1801]]
[[Category:Middle Tennessee]]