Robertson County, Tennessee

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Robertson County is a county located on the central northern border of Tennessee in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 72,803. Its seat of government is Springfield.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The county was named for James Robertson, an explorer, founder of Nashville, and a state senator, who was often called the "Father of Middle Tennessee." Robertson County is a component of the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

This was part of the Miro District (also spelled Mero), named after the Spanish Governor Esteban Rodríguez Miró of what was then Louisiana on the west side of the Mississippi River. Miró had served with Spanish troops that assisted the Americans during their war for independence. James Robertson, the explorer for whom this county was named, was trying to create an alliance with Miró that would allow free movement on the Mississippi River (which Spain controlled) to settlers on the Cumberland frontier. Before statehood, this territory was known as Tennessee County.

Thomas Kilgore, the first European settler in Robertson County, arrived in 1778 to establish a settlement in what is now present-day Cross Plains. Robertson County was organized in 1796, at the same time as Montgomery County, which had also been part of the Miro district. The county seat, Springfield, Tennessee, was laid out in 1798. Although initially, most settlers did not hold slaves, by the 1820s planters began to cultivate tobacco, a commodity crop that was labor-intensive and depended on enslaved African Americans. The planters bought slaves to work their plantations, as well as to care for the livestock they bred - thoroughbred horses and cattle.

By the time of the Civil War, African Americans comprised about one-quarter of the area's population, typical for Middle Tennessee, where tobacco and hemp were commodity crops. During the Civil War, Tennessee was occupied by the Union from 1862, which led to a breakdown in social organization in Middle Tennessee.<ref>Durham, Walter T. Rebellion Revisited: A History of Sumner County, Tennessee from 1861 to 1870(Franklin, Tennessee: Hillsboro Press, 1999, 2nd ed.)</ref>

By 1910 the county's population was 25,466, including 6,492 black citizens, who continued to make up one-quarter of the total. Most of the residents were still involved in farm work, and tobacco was the primary commodity crop, but agricultural mechanization was reducing the need for laborers. White Democrats had tried to restrict black voting; other southern states had excluded blacks from the political process. Many African Americans left rural Robertson County and other parts of Tennessee in the Great Migration to northern and midwestern cities for employment and social freedom. Combined with the later in-migration of whites to the county, by the early 21st century, African Americans comprised less than 10 percent of the county population. They live chiefly in its larger towns.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert is land and Template:Convert (0.04%) is water.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Unlike most of Tennessee, a sizable part of northern Robertson County is outside of the Sun Belt due to a past error surveying the northern border of Middle and East Tennessee. Downtown Springfield in particular is north of the Sun Belt.<ref>https://www.williamsonherald.com/features/w_life/tennessee-history-a-closer-look-at-why-state-s-northern-border-is-askew/article_fa390acc-5383-11ea-ab72-9bfcdc4177a8.html</ref> The Sun Belt is defined by the Kinder Institute as being south of 36°30'N latitude, which was intended to be the northern border of Tennessee and is the actual northern border of West Tennessee.<ref>https://kinder.rice.edu/urbanedge/large-young-and-fast-growing-sun-belt-metros-need-urban-policy-innovation#:~:text=The%20Kinder%20Institute%20defines%20the,degrees%2030%20minutes%20north%20latitude</ref>

Adjacent counties

State protected areas

Demographics

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2020 census

Robertson County racial composition<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Race Number Percentage
White (non-Hispanic) 57,049 78.36%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 5,091 6.99%
Native American 139 0.19%
Asian 447 0.61%
Pacific Islander 21 0.03%
Other/Mixed 3,178 4.37%
Hispanic or Latino 6,878 9.45%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 72,803 people, 26,577 households, and 20,378 families residing in the county.

2000 census

As of the census<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> of 2000, there were 54,433 people, 19,906 households, and 15,447 families residing in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 20,995 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 89.13% White, 8.62% Black or African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.83% from other races, and 0.80% from two or more races. 2.66% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

In 2005 the racial makeup of the county was 85.4% non-Hispanic whites, 8.3% African Americans, and 5.3% Latinos.

There were 19,906 households, out of which 37.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.90% were married couples living together, 11.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.40% were non-families. 18.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.80% under the age of 18, 8.50% from 18 to 24, 31.40% from 25 to 44, 22.50% from 45 to 64, and 10.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $43,174, and the median income for a family was $49,412. Males had a median income of $34,895 versus $24,086 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,054. About 6.40% of families and 9.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.90% of those under age 18 and 13.10% of those aged 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

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Towns

Hamlets

Unincorporated communities

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Transportation

Highways

Interstate Highways

United States Numbered Highways

Tennessee State Routes

Interstate 65 runs along the eastern border of the county for about Template:Convert, and Interstate 24 runs along the southwestern border of the county for about Template:Convert. U.S. Routes 41 and 431 run through the county, intersecting and briefly forming a concurrency in Springfield. US 31W forms the eastern border with Sumner County and runs through White House and Cross Plains. Major state routes include 25, 49, 52, 76, and 109. Secondary state routes in Robertson County include 161, 256, and 257.<ref>Template:Cite map</ref>

Government and politics

County Government

The county mayor serves as the chief executive officer of Robertson County and is elected at-large. The office is responsible for overseeing county administration and finances and serves as a non-voting ex-officio member of the county commission, except in the case of a tie vote.The current county mayor is Independent<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Billy Vogle, who first took office in 2018.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Legislative authority is vested in the Robertson County Board of County Commissioners, which is composed of 24 members elected from 12 districts, with two commissioners representing each district. The commission is charged with adopting the county budget, setting the property tax rate, and overseeing county departments and services.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Regular meetings are held at 7:00 p.m. on the third Monday of each month, except in January and February when they are scheduled for the fourth Monday.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:PresHead Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresFoot

Political history

Robertson County was historically a "Solid South" Democratic stronghold, like much of Middle Tennessee, consistently supporting Democratic presidential candidates through much of the 20th century and even supporting segregationist George Wallace<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> in 1968. Republican candidates began gaining some traction in the latter half of the century, with Richard Nixon carrying the county in 1972 for the first time in recent memory.Template:Efn

After 1972, Democrats continued to win Robertson County until the beginning of the 2000s. By 2004, Robertson County solidified as a Republican stronghold, when George W. Bush flipped the county and carried it by over 21 points.

Since then, the county has voted reliably Republican in every presidential election, with Donald Trump surpassing 70% of the vote in 2016, and Democrats have not approached one-third of the county’s vote share since. The last time Robertson County voted for a Democratic candidate in a statewide race was for Phil Bredesen in 2006, and the last time it voted for a Democratic candidate on a presidential level, was in 2000 when it voted for Al Gore, a Tennessee native.

See also

Notes

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References

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