Houston County, Tennessee

Houston County
Houston County
County
	Houston County Courthouse in April 2014
	Flag Logo
	Location within the U.S. state of Tennessee
	Tennessee's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 36°17′N 87°43′W / 36.28°N 87.71°W
Country	United States
State	Tennessee
Founded	1871
Named for	Sam Houston
Seat	Erin
Largest city	Erin
Area
• Total	207 sq mi (540 km2)
• Land	200 sq mi (500 km2)
• Water	6.7 sq mi (17 km2) 3.2%
Population (2020)
• Total	8,283
• Density	42/sq mi (16/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	7th
Website	www.houstoncochamber.com

Houston County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,283. Its county seat is Erin.^[3] The county was founded in 1871.^[1] It was named for Sam Houston.^[4]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 207 square miles (540 km²), of which 200 square miles (520 km²) is land and 6.7 square miles (17 km²) (3.2%) is water.^[5]

Adjacent counties

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

Major highways

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1880	4,295	—
1890	5,390	25.5%
1900	6,476	20.1%
1910	6,224	−3.9%
1920	6,212	−0.2%
1930	5,555	−10.6%
1940	6,432	15.8%
1950	5,318	−17.3%
1960	4,794	−9.9%
1970	5,845	21.9%
1980	6,871	17.6%
1990	7,018	2.1%
2000	8,088	15.2%
2010	8,426	4.2%
2020	8,283	−1.7%
U.S. Decennial Census^[6] 1790-1960^[7] 1900-1990^[8] 1990-2000^[9] 2010-2020^[10] 2020^[11]

2020 census

Houston County racial composition^[13]
Race	Number	Percentage
White (non-Hispanic)	7,491	90.44%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	200	2.41%
Native American	32	0.39%
Asian	16	0.19%
Pacific Islander	8	0.1%
Other/Mixed	334	4.03%
Hispanic or 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^[14] 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 people/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

Like many other rural southern and/or Appalachian 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; lack of support for workers in these counties; and, arguably, racial/cultural animus to Barack Obama's campaign in 2008), 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.

United States presidential election results for Houston County, Tennessee^[15]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	2,718	73.74%	871	23.63%	97	2.63%
2016	2,182	68.88%	866	27.34%	120	3.79%
2012	1,579	52.16%	1,400	46.25%	48	1.59%
2008	1,608	47.94%	1,678	50.03%	68	2.03%
2004	1,440	40.02%	2,126	59.09%	32	0.89%
2000	993	31.76%	2,081	66.55%	53	1.69%
1996	742	26.34%	1,868	66.31%	207	7.35%
1992	648	21.96%	2,012	68.18%	291	9.86%
1988	882	37.26%	1,467	61.98%	18	0.76%
1984	882	33.68%	1,716	65.52%	21	0.80%
1980	738	29.04%	1,757	69.15%	46	1.81%
1976	407	16.77%	1,990	81.99%	30	1.24%
1972	800	46.38%	870	50.43%	55	3.19%
1968	232	12.82%	636	35.16%	941	52.02%
1964	287	15.44%	1,572	84.56%	0	0.00%
1960	366	23.87%	1,150	75.02%	17	1.11%
1956	340	24.55%	1,033	74.58%	12	0.87%
1952	465	27.45%	1,229	72.55%	0	0.00%
1948	202	13.88%	1,159	79.66%	94	6.46%
1944	248	20.26%	976	79.74%	0	0.00%
1940	229	17.21%	1,093	82.12%	9	0.68%
1936	193	19.18%	813	80.82%	0	0.00%
1932	112	12.92%	750	86.51%	5	0.58%
1928	374	59.18%	258	40.82%	0	0.00%
1924	97	16.84%	444	77.08%	35	6.08%
1920	385	32.27%	790	66.22%	18	1.51%
1916	207	23.60%	627	71.49%	43	4.90%
1912	172	18.92%	586	64.47%	151	16.61%
1908	288	29.45%	665	68.00%	25	2.56%
1904	287	32.00%	555	61.87%	55	6.13%
1900	341	30.89%	738	66.85%	25	2.26%
1896	343	26.86%	896	70.16%	38	2.98%
1892	206	20.48%	704	69.98%	96	9.54%
1888	259	25.69%	745	73.91%	4	0.40%
1884	174	21.64%	630	78.36%	0	0.00%
1880	127	19.57%	522	80.43%	0	0.00%
1876	100	16.61%	502	83.39%	0	0.00%
1872	94	17.00%	459	83.00%	0	0.00%

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 ^[16]
County Clerk: Robert Brown^[17]
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^[16]
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 counties, however, like other 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 Democrat John Tanner, Houston County is now part of Tennessee's 7th congressional district and is represented by Republican 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 presidential candidate to ever carry Houston County, due to anti-Catholic voting against Al Smith in this "Bible Belt" region.^[18] The second non-Democrat to carry Houston County was George Wallace of the American Independent Party during the 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.^[a]

In the 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.^[19] In the 2012 presidential election, Mitt Romney became the first Republican in 80 years to win the county.^[20] Republican Senator Bob Corker^[21] and Republican Representative Marsha Blackburn also won the county.^[22]

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: WTPR-FM 101.7 (website) "The Greatest Hits of All Time"
Weekly newspaper: Houston County Herald
""Tv Station""Wells Creek Basin Network

Communities

City

Erin (county seat)

Town

Tennessee Ridge (small part in Stewart County)

Unincorporated communities

Notes

^ The others were the fellow secessionist white-majority Middle Tennessee counties of Perry and Stewart, plus the three Alabama Black Belt counties of Bullock, Lowndes and Wilcox where Negro voter registration was severely delayed after the Voting Rights Act.