Houston County, Tennessee

Houston County
County
Location within the U.S. state of Tennessee
Tennessee's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 36°17′N 87°43′W
Country	United States
State	Tennessee
Founded	1871
Seat	Erin
Largest city	Erin
Area
• Total	206.92 sq mi (535.92 km2)
• Land	200.21 sq mi (518.54 km2)
• Water	6.71 sq mi (17.38 km2)  3.24%
Population  (2010)
• Total	8,426
• Density	40.4/sq mi (15.6/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Website	www.houstoncochamber.com
U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000

Houston County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2010, the population was 8,426. Its county seat is ErinTemplate:GR.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 206.92 square miles (535.9 km²), of which 200.21 square miles (518.5 km²) is land and 6.71 square miles (17.4 km²) (3.24%) is water.

Adjacent counties

• Stewart County, Tennessee - north
• Montgomery County, Tennessee - northeast
• Dickson County, Tennessee - east
• Humphreys County, Tennessee - south
• Benton County, Tennessee - west

Major roads and highways

• State Route 13
• State Route 46
• State Route 49
• State Route 147
• State Route 149
• State Route 231
• State Route 232

Demographics

Age pyramid Houston County

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 8,088 people, 3,216 households, and 2,299 families residing in the county. The population density was 40.4 people per square mile (15.6/km²). There were 3,901 housing units at an average density of 19.5 per square mile (7.5/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 94.58% White, 3.31% Black or African American, 0.19% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.78% from other races, and 0.95% from two or more races. 1.25% of the population were Hispanic or 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 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.

Government

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: G.E. Clark
• County Clerk: Robert Brown
• Administrator of Elections: Gay Robinson
• Property Assessor: Tyanne Morrison
• Register of Deeds: Sherrill Potts Moore
• County Trustee: Jimmy Lowery
• County Highway Department Superintendent: Jimmy Felts
• County Circuit Court Clerk: Sharon Tomlinson
• General Sessions & Juvenile Judge: W. Sidney Vinson
• Sheriff: Darrell Allison

Commissioners

• District 1: William C. Agy and George Jeram
• District 2: Randall French and J. Steve Hall
• District 3: Martha Greenfield and V. Ray Elliott
• District 4: Charles Darrell Kingsmill and James F. VanFleet
• District 5: Chris Selph and Leslie Lewis
• District 6: James O. Fussell and Joey Brake
• District 7: Donnie C. Lewis and Larry W. Sykes

Politics

Houston County is one of the state's most Democratic counties. Although traditionally Democratic, the county is somewhat conservative on social issues. As such it is part of Tennessee's 8th congressional district, which is represented by Blue Dog Democrat John S. Tanner.

The county is among the most consistently Democratic in the state on presidential elections. Only twice have Democratic candidates failed to carry Houston County at the presidential level. In 1928, Herbert Hoover became the first and only Republican presidential candidate to ever carry Houston County. The second non-Democrat who carried Houston County was George Wallace of the American Independent Party during the 1968 presidential election.

In the 2008 presidential election, when most other traditionally Democratic counties in the state voted for John McCain, Houston County supported Barack Obama. That said the county's vote has been shifting Republican as reflected by Barack Obama's win of barely more than 2%, the lowest margin among all Democratic presidential candidates who have carried Houston County since its inception.

Schools

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: WTPR-FM 101.7 (website) "The Greatest Hits of All Time"
• Weekly newspaper: Stewart-Houston Times (website)

Communities

• Erin — city
• Tennessee Ridge — town

See also

• 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 1563111942

External links

• Houston County, TNGenWeb - free genealogy resources for the county
• Template:Dmoz
• Houston County Chamber of Commerce