Smith County, Tennessee

Smith County
County
Smith County Courthouse in Carthage
Location within the U.S. state of Tennessee
Tennessee's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 36°15′N 85°58′W
Country	United States
State	Tennessee
Founded	1799
Named for	Daniel Smith
Seat	Carthage
Largest town	Carthage
Area
• Total	325 sq mi (840 km2)
• Land	314 sq mi (810 km2)
• Water	11 sq mi (30 km2)  3.4%
Population  (2020)
• Total	19,904
• Density	61/sq mi (24/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	6th

Galena-fluorite specimen from the Elmwood mine, south of Carthage

Smith County is a county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,904. Smith County is located in the region of the state known as Middle Tennessee. Its county seat is Carthage. The county was organized in 1799 and is named for Daniel Smith, a Revolutionary War veteran who made the first map of Tennessee and served as a United States senator.

Smith County is part of the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Smith County was established in 1799 from a portion of Sumner County, and was named for Daniel Smith, a U.S. Senator and former Secretary of the Southwest Territory. The location of the county seat was hotly contested between Bledsoesborough (near modern Dixon Springs) and William Walton's ferry and tavern at the confluence of the Caney Fork and the Cumberland River. In 1804, voters chose Walton's site, and a town, named Carthage, was platted the following year.

Smith County was the site of a large saltpeter mine. Piper Cave, located near Monoville, contains the poorly preserved remnants of dozens of saltpeter leaching vats. Most saltpeter mining in Middle Tennessee took place during the War of 1812 and the Civil War, though the exact dates of this operation are unclear.

Geography

Houses and buildings near Gordonsville

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 325 square miles (840 km²), of which 314 square miles (810 km²) is land and 11 square miles (28 km²) (3.4%) is water. The county is located in a transition area between the rugged Highland Rim to the east and the flatter Nashville Basin to the west. The Caney Fork has its confluence with the Cumberland River in Carthage; these are the primary waterways flowing through the county. Cordell Hull Dam on the Cumberland is located near Carthage.

Adjacent counties

• Macon County (north)
• Jackson County (northeast)
• Putnam County (east)
• DeKalb County (southeast)
• Wilson County (west)
• Trousdale County (northwest)

State protected areas

• Cordell Hull Wildlife Management Area (part)

Highways

• I-40
• US 70N
• SR 25
• SR 53
• SR 80
• SR 85
• SR 141
• SR 263
• SR 264

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1800	4,294		—
1810	11,649		171.3%
1820	17,580		50.9%
1830	19,906		13.2%
1840	21,179		6.4%
1850	18,412		−13.1%
1860	16,357		−11.2%
1870	15,994		−2.2%
1880	17,799		11.3%
1890	18,404		3.4%
1900	19,026		3.4%
1910	18,548		−2.5%
1920	17,134		−7.6%
1930	15,473		−9.7%
1940	16,148		4.4%
1950	14,098		−12.7%
1960	12,059		−14.5%
1970	12,059		0.0%
1980	14,935		23.8%
1990	14,143		−5.3%
2000	17,712		25.2%
2010	19,166		8.2%
2020	19,904		3.9%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2014

Age pyramid Smith County

2020 census

Smith County racial composition

Race	Number	Percentage
White (non-Hispanic)	18,054	90.71%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	356	1.79%
Native American	61	0.31%
Asian	84	0.42%
Other/Mixed	831	4.18%
Hispanic or Latino	518	2.6%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 19,904 people, 7,603 households, and 5,409 families residing in the county.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 17,712 people, 6,878 households, and 5,069 families residing in the county. The population density was 56 people per square mile (22 people/km²). There were 7,665 housing units at an average density of 24 units per square mile (9.3/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.42% White, 2.53% Black or African American, 0.37% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.59% from other races, and 0.93% from two or more races. 1.13% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 6,878 households, out of which 34.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.10% were married couples living together, 9.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.30% were non-families. 23.40% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.10% 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 3.00.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.50% under the age of 18, 8.00% from 18 to 24, 30.00% from 25 to 44, 23.10% from 45 to 64, and 13.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $35,625, and the median income for a family was $41,645. Males had a median income of $30,853 versus $22,133 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,473. About 10.30% of families and 12.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.70% of those under age 18 and 14.80% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Towns

• Carthage (county seat)
• Gordonsville
• South Carthage

Unincorporated communities

• Brush Creek
• Chestnut Mound
• Defeated
• Difficult
• Dixon Springs
• Elmwood
• Enigma
• Hickman
• Kempville
• Lancaster
• New Middleton
• Pleasant Shade
• Riddleton
• Rome
• Stonewall
• Sykes

Education

The Smith County School System operates nine schools:

• Carthage Elementary School, Carthage (PreK–4)
• Defeated Elementary School, Defeated (PreK–8)
• Forks River Elementary School, Elmwood (PreK–8)
• Gordonsville Elementary School, Gordonsville (3–6)
• Gordonsville High School, Gordonsville (7–12)
• New Middleton Elementary School, New Middleton (PreK–2)
• Union Heights Elementary School, Rome (PreK–8)
• Smith County Middle School, South Carthage (5–8)
• Smith County High School, Carthage (9–12)

The county formerly operated Pleasant Shade Elementary School, which closed in 2007, and Cox Davidson Elementary, which closed sometime in the 1950s. New Middleton Elementary was formerly PreK–8, while Gordonsville Elementary was formerly PreK–6. A realignment beginning with the 2017–2018 school year resulted in the current grade alignment of those schools.

Politics

Prior to 2008, Smith County was a Democratic Party stronghold at the presidential level. The county failed to back a Democratic candidate only twice between the Civil War and 2004, when voting for George Wallace in 1968 and against George McGovern in 1972. However, while the county was Carthage resident Al Gore's fourth strongest statewide in his 2000 presidential bid, he failed to win an increasingly Republican Tennessee. Democrat John Kerry won the county in 2004, but by a much narrower four point margin. Since then, Smith County has swung hard towards the Republican Party similar to the rest of the state outside of Memphis and Nashville. Hillary Clinton failed to win even a quarter of the county's votes in 2016, a far cry from the 71 percent and 62 percent her husband Bill won in the county with Gore also on the ticket.

United States presidential election results for Smith County, Tennessee

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	7,136	78.84%	1,802	19.91%	113	1.25%
2016	5,494	73.88%	1,689	22.71%	253	3.40%
2012	4,495	63.41%	2,470	34.84%	124	1.75%
2008	4,563	58.95%	2,992	38.65%	186	2.40%
2004	3,739	47.76%	4,044	51.66%	45	0.57%
2000	2,384	32.44%	4,884	66.47%	80	1.09%
1996	1,857	30.66%	3,812	62.94%	388	6.41%
1992	1,482	21.04%	5,061	71.85%	501	7.11%
1988	2,138	45.63%	2,522	53.82%	26	0.55%
1984	2,393	42.05%	3,258	57.25%	40	0.70%
1980	1,755	31.73%	3,674	66.43%	102	1.84%
1976	1,332	25.93%	3,753	73.07%	51	0.99%
1972	1,812	56.84%	1,260	39.52%	116	3.64%
1968	1,089	24.96%	1,443	33.07%	1,831	41.97%
1964	1,084	26.98%	2,934	73.02%	0	0.00%
1960	1,601	39.43%	2,411	59.38%	48	1.18%
1956	1,267	29.96%	2,949	69.73%	13	0.31%
1952	1,412	34.80%	2,622	64.61%	24	0.59%
1948	773	27.33%	1,764	62.38%	291	10.29%
1944	887	29.51%	2,107	70.09%	12	0.40%
1940	648	22.30%	2,244	77.22%	14	0.48%
1936	626	22.96%	2,092	76.74%	8	0.29%
1932	595	22.30%	2,057	77.10%	16	0.60%
1928	1,150	43.94%	1,446	55.25%	21	0.80%
1924	700	28.82%	1,701	70.03%	28	1.15%
1920	1,981	38.61%	3,150	61.39%	0	0.00%
1916	941	29.98%	2,196	69.96%	2	0.06%
1912	915	30.89%	1,863	62.90%	184	6.21%

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Smith County, Tennessee

External links

• Smith County Archived April 24, 2013, at the Wayback Machine at TN.gov
• Smith County Chamber of Commerce
• UT Extension office
• TNGenWeb
• Tennessee Central Economic Alliance for Smith County
• Smith County at Curlie