Wilson County, Tennessee

Wilson County
	Wilson County, Tennessee
	The Wilson County courthouse in Lebanon, Tennessee.
	; Seal
	; Seal
	; Location in the state of Tennessee
	; Tennessee's location in the U.S.
Founded	1799
Seat	Lebanon
Area; - Total; - Land; - Water	; 583 sq mi (1,510 km²); ; 13 sq mi (34 km²), 2.17%
Population; - (2000); - Density	; 88,809; 155/sq mi (60/km²)
Website	www.wilsoncountytn.com

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Wilson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2000, the population was 88,809. Its county seat is Lebanon and largest city is Mt. Juliet.

Wilson County is part of the Nashville-Davidson–Mufreesboro–Franklin Metropolitan Statistical Area.

[edit] Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 583 square miles (1,510 km²), of which 571 square miles (1,480 km²) is land and 13 square miles (34 km²) (2.17%) is water.

[edit] Adjacent counties

Trousdale County (north)
Smith County (northeast)
DeKalb County (east)
Cannon County (southeast)
Rutherford County (south)
Davidson County (west)
Sumner County (northwest)

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 88,809 people, 32,798 households, and 25,582 families residing in the county. The population density was 156 people per square mile (60/km²).

There were 34,921 housing units at an average density of 61 per square mile (24/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 91.50% White, 6.26% Black or African American, 0.32% Native American, 0.48% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.48% from other races, and 0.92% from two or more races. 1.27% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Like many places in the south-east United States, Wilson County saw an increase in Latinos in the years 2000-2005, with them constituting 2.1% of the population by 2005.

Age pyramid Wilson County^[2]

There were 32,798 households out of which 37.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.20% were married couples living together, 10.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.00% were non-families. 18.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.03.

In the county, the population was spread out with 26.20% under the age of 18, 7.70% from 18 to 24, 31.70% from 25 to 44, 24.70% from 45 to 64, and 9.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 97.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $50,140, and the median income for a family was $56,650. Males had a median income of $39,848 versus $26,794 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,739. About 4.60% of families and 6.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.80% of those under age 18 and 11.50% of those age 65 or over.

In the 2004 U.S. presidential election, 65 percent of voters supported the reelection of President of the United States George W. Bush. In the 2008 U.S. presidential election, 68 percent of voters favored Republican Senator John McCain.

By 2008 the population of Wilson County had risen to nearly 110,000.^[3]

[edit] History

Wilson County was the site of an important saltpeter mine. Saltpeter is the main ingredient of gunpowder and was obtained by leaching the earth from Valley Cave. Valley Cave is located near Statesville. Numerous saltpeter hoppers still inside the cave indicate that this was a relatively large mining operation. These saltpeter vats may date from either the War of 1812 mining era or the Civil War mining era, or perhaps both. Further research is needed to determine when this mine was active. (Thomas C. Barr, Jr., "Caves of Tennessee", Bulletin 64 of the Tennessee Division of Geology, 1961, 568 pages.)

[edit] Education

Wilson County, Tennessee operates a system of public schools.
Mt. Juliet has seven elementary schools, two middle schools, and one high school.
Gladeville has an elementary school.
Watertown has two schools, Watertown Elementary and Watertown High.