Chester County, Tennessee

Chester County
Chester County
County
	Chester County Courthouse in Henderson, 2003
	Location within the U.S. state of Tennessee
	Tennessee's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 35°26′N 88°37′W / 35.43°N 88.61°W
Country	United States
State	Tennessee
Founded	1882
Named for	Robert Chester
Seat	Henderson
Largest city	Henderson
Area
• Total	286 sq mi (740 km2)
• Land	286 sq mi (740 km2)
• Water	0.2 sq mi (0.5 km2) 0.08%
Population (2020)
• Total	17,341
• Density	60/sq mi (20/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	8th
Website	chestercountytn.org

Chester County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,341.^[2] Its county seat is Henderson.^[3] The county was created in 1879 and organized in 1882.^[1]^[4] Chester County is included in the Jackson, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Chester County was the last county formed in Tennessee, created by the General Assembly in 1875 from adjacent parts of neighboring Hardeman, Henderson, McNairy, and Madison counties. This land was used to create a county named Wisdom County, but "Wisdom County" was never organized, and in March 1879 the Assembly repealed this and created Chester County out of the same land. Lawsuits by opponents of the creation of the new county delayed actual organization until 1882.^[1] Chester County was named for Colonel Robert I. Chester, a quartermaster in the War of 1812, an early postmaster in Jackson, and a federal marshal.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 286 square miles (740 km²), of which 286 square miles (740 km²) is land and 0.2 square miles (0.52 km²) (0.08%) is water.^[5]

Adjacent Counties

Henderson County (northeast)
Hardin County (southeast)
McNairy County (south)
Hardeman County (southwest)
Madison County (northwest)

State protected areas

Chickasaw State Park
Chickasaw State Forest (part)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1890	9,069	—
1900	9,869	8.8%
1910	9,090	−7.9%
1920	9,669	6.4%
1930	10,603	9.7%
1940	11,124	4.9%
1950	11,149	0.2%
1960	9,569	−14.2%
1970	9,927	3.7%
1980	12,727	28.2%
1990	12,819	0.7%
2000	15,540	21.2%
2010	17,131	10.2%
2020	17,341	1.2%
U.S. Decennial Census^[6] 1790-1960^[7] 1900-1990^[8] 1990-2000^[9] 2010-2014^[10]

2020 census

Chester County racial composition^[12]
Race	Perc.
White (non-Hispanic)	84.5%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	9.5%
Native American	0.6%
Asian	0.8%
Other/Mixed	2.1%
Hispanic or Latino	3.0%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 17,341 people, 6,060 households, and 4,471 families residing in the county.

2000 census

As of the census^[13] of 2000, there were 15,540 people, 5,660 households, and 4,199 families residing in the county. The population density was 54 people per square mile (21 people/km²). There were 6,178 housing units at an average density of 21 units per square mile (8.1/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 88.13% White (non-Hispanic), 10.03% Black or African American, 0.23% Native American, 0.23% Asian, 0.31% from other races, and 1.07% from two or more races. 0.97% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

As of 2000 there were 5,660 households, out of which 33.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.00% were married couples living together, 11.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.80% were non-families. 22.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.20% under the age of 18, 14.40% from 18 to 24, 26.40% from 25 to 44, 21.40% from 45 to 64, and 13.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $34,349, and the median income for a family was $41,127. Males had a median income of $31,378 versus $21,615 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,756. About 11.10% of families and 14.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.50% of those under age 18 and 15.30% of those age 65 or over.

Education

There are six schools in the Chester County School District. Chester County High School serves the whole county and holds grades 9–12. Chester County Junior High School holds grades 6 through 8 for the entire county. Chester County Middle School serves the whole county's students in grades 4 and 5. East Chester County Elementary School, West Chester County Elementary School, and Jacks Creek Elementary School all hold kindergarten through 3rd grade. ^[14]

Henderson is the home of Freed-Hardeman University.

Communities

City

Henderson (County Seat)

Town

Enville (partial)
Finger (partial)
Milledgeville (partial)
Silerton (partial)

Unincorporated communities

Finger

In popular culture

Country musician Eddy Arnold, a native of Henderson, titled his 1969 autobiography It's A Long Way From Chester County.
The 1973 movie Walking Tall was filmed in Henderson and elsewhere in Chester County, including important scenes filmed in the county courthouse; many local residents served as extras or played bit parts.

Politics

Chester County is a Republican stronghold. The last Democrat to carry the county was Jimmy Carter in 1976.

United States presidential election results for Chester County, Tennessee^[15]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	5,952	78.48%	1,412	18.62%	220	2.90%
2016	5,081	78.09%	1,243	19.10%	183	2.81%
2012	4,684	73.07%	1,624	25.34%	102	1.59%
2008	4,587	71.02%	1,797	27.82%	75	1.16%
2004	4,086	64.28%	2,242	35.27%	29	0.46%
2000	3,487	60.88%	2,192	38.27%	49	0.86%
1996	2,746	56.03%	1,922	39.22%	233	4.75%
1992	2,834	50.64%	2,317	41.40%	445	7.95%
1988	2,781	61.05%	1,757	38.57%	17	0.37%
1984	2,793	59.68%	1,854	39.62%	33	0.71%
1980	2,751	55.69%	2,123	42.98%	66	1.34%
1976	1,949	43.15%	2,532	56.05%	36	0.80%
1972	2,787	71.70%	961	24.72%	139	3.58%
1968	1,408	32.79%	849	19.77%	2,037	47.44%
1964	1,767	50.06%	1,763	49.94%	0	0.00%
1960	1,807	59.05%	1,192	38.95%	61	1.99%
1956	1,460	48.85%	1,495	50.02%	34	1.14%
1952	1,674	53.01%	1,484	46.99%	0	0.00%
1948	766	39.48%	980	50.52%	194	10.00%
1944	931	44.52%	1,156	55.28%	4	0.19%
1940	1,015	39.77%	1,537	60.23%	0	0.00%
1936	565	32.40%	1,172	67.20%	7	0.40%
1932	356	26.23%	985	72.59%	16	1.18%
1928	582	44.19%	735	55.81%	0	0.00%
1924	484	38.47%	758	60.25%	16	1.27%
1920	1,088	48.81%	1,105	49.57%	36	1.62%
1916	645	41.64%	862	55.65%	42	2.71%
1912	312	22.71%	636	46.29%	426	31.00%

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Tara Mitchell Mielnik, "Chester County," Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture. Retrieved: June 23, 2013.
^ "Census - Geography Profile: Chester County, Tennessee". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 9, 2015. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
^ "Tennessee: Individual County Chronologies". Tennessee Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library. 2007. Archived from the original on February 3, 2018. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Archived from the original on August 11, 2012. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
^ Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
^ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved November 29, 2013.
^ Based on 2000 census data
^ "Explore Census Data".
^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
^ School Tree. "Schools in Chester County, Tennessee". Retrieved May 29, 2008.
^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 10, 2018.