Lake County, Tennessee
Lake County | |
---|---|
UTC−5 (CDT) | |
Congressional district | 8th |
Website | www |
Lake County is a
History
The history of Lake County has been largely defined by Reelfoot Lake, a natural lake created by the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811 and 1812. It is surrounded by wetlands. This territory was originally included in Obion County.[1]
In 1862, during the Civil War, the Battle of Island Number Ten took place in the Mississippi River, just off the shores of Obion County, in territory now part of Lake County.[1]
The county was organized in 1870, during the Reconstruction era. Its residents had long complained about the difficulty of having to traverse swampy areas during seasonal high waters around Reelfoot Lake to reach the county seat, then Troy, Tennessee, located to the east of the lake. After the new Lake County was established, Tiptonville was designated as its county seat.
In 1907 and 1908, a violent conflict took place in Lake and Obion counties, and neighboring Fulton County, Kentucky, which also had frontage on the lake. Private investors bought title to most of the land around the lake, gaining control, and formed the West Tennessee Land Company, to develop the property. In this era, western Tennessee and Kentucky were being developed for cotton culture and the lowlands around the lake were fertile floodplain. They announced plans to drain the lake. A band of local farmers and others who made their living from the lake, organized resistance, becoming known as the "Night Riders of Reelfoot Lake."
Beginning with the burning of John Carlos Burdick's fish docks on April 12, 1908, they committed crimes over a period of months, harassing the land company's employees.
The state gained title to Reelfoot Lake in 1914 to preserve it for public use, but actions were tied up for some years in court challenges.[6] To prevent private development from restricting its use, in 1925 Governor Austin Peay designated the lake as a hunting and fishing reserve. This was the precedent for the larger area to be preserved as the modern Reelfoot Lake State Park.[7]
From 1877 to 1950, there were 13
Geography
According to the
Adjacent counties
- Fulton County, Kentucky (north)
- Obion County (east)
- Dyer County (south)
- Pemiscot County, Missouri (west)
- New Madrid County, Missouri (northwest)
National protected areas
- Lake Isom National Wildlife Refuge
- Reelfoot National Wildlife Refuge (part)
State protected areas
- Reelfoot Lake State Natural Area (part)
- Reelfoot Lake State Park (part)
- Tumbleweed Wildlife Management Area (part)
Demographics
From 1950 to 1990 the population declined noticeably, as many African Americans moved to cities or to the West Coast in the Great Migration of the second half of the 20th century.
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1870 | 2,428 | — | |
1880 | 3,968 | 63.4% | |
1890 | 5,304 | 33.7% | |
1900 | 7,368 | 38.9% | |
1910 | 8,704 | 18.1% | |
1920 | 9,075 | 4.3% | |
1930 | 10,486 | 15.5% | |
1940 | 11,235 | 7.1% | |
1950 | 11,655 | 3.7% | |
1960 | 9,572 | −17.9% | |
1970 | 7,896 | −17.5% | |
1980 | 7,455 | −5.6% | |
1990 | 7,129 | −4.4% | |
2000 | 7,954 | 11.6% | |
2010 | 7,832 | −1.5% | |
2020 | 7,005 | −10.6% | |
U.S. Decennial Census[11] 1790–1960[12] 1900–1990[13] 1990–2000[14] 2010–2020[15] 2020[2] |
2020 census
Race | Num. | Perc. |
---|---|---|
White (non-Hispanic)
|
4,755 | 67.88% |
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)
|
1,832 | 26.15% |
Native American
|
15 | 0.21% |
Asian
|
12 | 0.17% |
Pacific Islander
|
5 | 0.07% |
Other/Mixed
|
211 | 3.01% |
Latino
|
175 | 2.5% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 7,005 people, 2,243 households, and 1,498 families residing in the county.
2000 census
As of the
There were 2,410 households, out of which 28.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.20% were married couples living together, 16.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.00% were non-families. 30.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.92.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 17.70% under the age of 18, 13.70% from 18 to 24, 33.80% from 25 to 44, 21.50% from 45 to 64, and 13.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 151.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 163.40 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $21,995, and the median income for a family was $30,339. Males had a median income of $25,082 versus $18,700 for females. The
Media
Radio stations
- WTNV FM 97.3
- KMIS-AM 1050
Newspaper
- The Lake County Banner [19]
Education
- Lake County High School (9–12)
- Lara Kendall Elementary School (K–8)
- Margaret Newton Elementary School (K–6)
Communities
Towns
- Ridgely
- Tiptonville (county seat)
Unincorporated communities
Reelfoot Lake State Park
The eastern half of the county sits mostly in Reelfoot Lake State Park, a 280 acre recreational area with sections for boating, hunting, fishing, and bird watching. A yearly highlight is watching Bald Eagles nest in the park.
Politics
Prior to 2008, Lake County was a Democratic Party stronghold in presidential elections. During the period between 1880 and 2004 it only failed to back that party's presidential candidates in 1968 and 1972. Since then, the county has become increasingly Republican, with Hillary Clinton failing to even crack thirty percent of the county's vote despite her husband Bill Clinton winning over sixty percent in 1992 and 1996.
Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
2020 | 1,492 | 73.35% | 526 | 25.86% | 16 | 0.79% |
2016 | 1,357 | 68.88% | 577 | 29.29% | 36 | 1.83% |
2012 | 1,163 | 55.73% | 884 | 42.36% | 40 | 1.92% |
2008 | 1,175 | 52.50% | 1,024 | 45.76% | 39 | 1.74% |
2004 | 1,039 | 43.84% | 1,317 | 55.57% | 14 | 0.59% |
2000 | 781 | 35.12% | 1,419 | 63.80% | 24 | 1.08% |
1996 | 589 | 29.72% | 1,273 | 64.23% | 120 | 6.05% |
1992 | 680 | 29.49% | 1,449 | 62.84% | 177 | 7.68% |
1988 | 806 | 46.06% | 935 | 53.43% | 9 | 0.51% |
1984 | 878 | 41.97% | 1,191 | 56.93% | 23 | 1.10% |
1980 | 823 | 32.11% | 1,718 | 67.03% | 22 | 0.86% |
1976 | 591 | 23.19% | 1,933 | 75.83% | 25 | 0.98% |
1972 | 1,147 | 65.69% | 536 | 30.70% | 63 | 3.61% |
1968 | 409 | 16.99% | 737 | 30.61% | 1,262 | 52.41% |
1964 | 736 | 30.63% | 1,667 | 69.37% | 0 | 0.00% |
1960 | 732 | 34.03% | 1,346 | 62.58% | 73 | 3.39% |
1956 | 512 | 22.80% | 1,673 | 74.49% | 61 | 2.72% |
1952 | 487 | 24.66% | 1,475 | 74.68% | 13 | 0.66% |
1948 | 179 | 11.92% | 833 | 55.46% | 490 | 32.62% |
1944 | 150 | 9.43% | 1,440 | 90.57% | 0 | 0.00% |
1940 | 213 | 6.68% | 2,962 | 92.94% | 12 | 0.38% |
1936 | 113 | 3.04% | 3,604 | 96.88% | 3 | 0.08% |
1932 | 78 | 4.10% | 1,824 | 95.90% | 0 | 0.00% |
1928 | 166 | 14.74% | 960 | 85.26% | 0 | 0.00% |
1924 | 87 | 9.53% | 817 | 89.49% | 9 | 0.99% |
1920 | 352 | 22.68% | 1,192 | 76.80% | 8 | 0.52% |
1916 | 130 | 14.96% | 727 | 83.66% | 12 | 1.38% |
1912 | 122 | 18.35% | 499 | 75.04% | 44 | 6.62% |
See also
References
- ^ a b c d Abigail Hyde, "Lake County," Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture. Retrieved: October 21, 2013.
- ^ a b "2020 Census Data". data.census.gov.
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
- ^ Tennessee Department of Correction (May 31, 2020). Tennessee Bed Space and Operating Capacities Report (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022.
- ^ Grove, Uneasy Waters (2012, p. 7
- ^ a b Bill Threlkeld, "Night Riders of Reelfoot Lake," Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture. Retrieved: October 21, 2013.
- ^ Phillip Langsdon, Tennessee: A Political History (Franklin, Tenn.: Hillsboro Press, 2000), pp. 303–309.
- ^ Lynching in America/ Supplement: Lynchings by County Archived June 27, 2018, at the Wayback Machine, Equal Justice Initiative, 2015, p. 6
- ^ Jama McMurtery Grove, "Uneasy Waters: The Night Riders at Reelfoot Lake, Tennessee, 1908"], East Tennessee University, 2012; Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 1496. http://dc.etsu.edu etd/1496
- ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
- ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
- ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
- ^ Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 7, 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 7, 2015.
- ^ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved December 3, 2013.
- 2000 censusdata
- ^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
- ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
- ^ Lake County Banner website. Retrieved: October 21, 2013.
- ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 11, 2018.
External links
- Reelfoot Chamber of Commerce
- Lake County, TNGenWeb – free genealogy resources for the county
- Lake County at Curlie
- Lake County - Tennessee Encyclopedia