Fayette County, Tennessee facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Fayette County
U.S. county
Fayette County Courthouse in Somerville
Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Tennessee
Tennessee's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Tennessee
Founded	September 29, 1824
Named for	Marquis de Lafayette
Seat	Somerville
Largest town	Oakland
Area
• Total	706 sq mi (1,830 km2)
• Land	705 sq mi (1,830 km2)
• Water	1.5 sq mi (4 km2)  0.2%%
Population  (2020)
• Total	41,990
• Density	56.8/sq mi (21.9/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	8th

Fayette County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 41,990. Its county seat is Somerville. The county was named after the Marquis de la Fayette, French hero of the American Revolution. A part of the Memphis, TN-MS-AR Metropolitan Statistical Area, Fayette County is culturally alike to the Mississippi Delta and was a major area of cotton plantations dependent on slave labor in the nineteenth century.

History

Fayette County was established by Tennessee General Assembly in 1824 from the neighboring counties of Shelby and Hardeman. The same year, Somerville was selected as its county seat. The first churches in the county were the First Presbyterian Church in Somerville, established in 1829, and Immanuel Parish, established in 1832.

Herb Parsons 1908–1959) of Somerville, Tennessee, was Winchester's "Showman Shooter" for 30 years.

Following the emancipation of slaves on plantations, many of Fayette County's African-American residents worked as sharecroppers. In the 1960s and 1970s, civil rights activists fought for school integration and voting rights; and created tent cities to house displaced tenant farmers who had tried to register to vote.

In recent years, Fayette County has been transitioning from a rural area to accommodate the suburban sprawl from Memphis.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 706 square miles (1,830 km²), of which 705 square miles (1,830 km²) is land and 1.5 square miles (3.9 km²) (0.2%) is water. It is the third-largest county in Tennessee by area. The county is, roughly, the same size as Marshall County, Mississippi.

Adjacent counties

• Haywood County (north)
• Hardeman County (east)
• Benton County, Mississippi (southeast)
• Marshall County, Mississippi (south)
• Shelby County (west)
• Tipton County (northwest)

State protected areas

• William B. Clark Conservation Area
• Ghost River State Natural Area
• Piperton Wetland Complex Wildlife Management Area (part)
• Wolf River Wildlife Management Area
• WMA Briggs Tract
• Herb Parsons Lake

Demographics

Age pyramid Fayette County

Since the four-lane expansion of Highway 64 in the early 1990s, western Fayette County has had a population explosion. Although the county seat is still in Somerville, the population of Oakland has far surpassed it because of the influx of people working in Shelby County and seeking more affordable housing.

Although Fayette County is growing on its western side, the county's economy is still based on agriculture. Historically it was a site of cotton plantations as part of the Mississippi Delta. Several of the county's largest farmers control the vast majority of the county's wealth. Some of these families have been farming for generations dating back to plantations before the Civil War. Others are younger farmers who have used their skill, business savvy, and work ethic to develop large farming operations.

Fayette County has become a destination for people of the Memphis metro area. The total value for building permits in June 2007 was close to that of the much larger Memphis suburban area of DeSoto County, Mississippi.

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 41,990 people, 15,596 households, and 11,567 families residing in the county.

2010 census

As of the census of 2010 there were 38,413 people, 14,505 households, and 11,029 families residing in the county. The population density was 54.49 persons per square mile and the housing unit density was 20.57 units per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 69.19% White, 28.07% Black or African American, 0.48% Asian, 0.28% Native American, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.08% from other races, and 0.89% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origins were 2.23% of the population.

Of the 14,505 households, 32.58% had children under the age of 18 living in them, 58.24% were married couples living together, 4.64% had a male householder with no wife present, 13.15% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.96% were non-families. 20.77% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.71% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.02

Of the 38,413 residents, 23.11% were under the age of 18, 62.01% were between the ages of 18 and 64, and 14.88% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.9 years. 50.42% of the residents were female, and 49.58% were male.

The median household income in the county was $57,919 and the median family income was $68,159. Males had a median income of $50,560 versus $40,412 for females. The per capita income for the county was $30,471. About 9.9% of families and 14.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.1% of those under the age of 18 and 9.8% of those age 65 and over.

Education

• Fayette Ware Comprehensive High
• Fayette Academy (PK-12 Independent School)
• Fayette Christian School
• Rossville Christian Academy
• West Jr High
• East Jr High
• Buckley-Carpenter Elementary School
• Southwest Elementary
• Oakland Elementary
• LaGrange-Moscow Elementary
• University of Tennessee at Martin (Somerville Campus)

Communities

Cities

Towns

Unincorporated communities

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Fayette (Tennessee) para niños