Rutherford County, Tennessee

History

Rutherford County was formed in 1803 from parts of Davidson, Williamson and Wilson counties, and named in honor of Griffith Rutherford (1721–1805). Rutherford was a North Carolina colonial legislator and an American Revolutionary War general, who settled in Middle Tennessee after the Revolution. He was appointed President of the Council of the Southwest Territory (the upper chamber of the territorial legislature) in 1794.

Rutherford County strongly supported the Confederacy during the Civil War, having voted 2,392 to 73 in favor of Tennessee's Ordinance of Secession on June 8, 1861. Rutherford County's central location and proximity to Nashville during the Civil War made it a contested area. The county was home to one of the bloodiest battles of the war, the Battle of Stones River, which was fought between December 31, 1861, and January 2, 1862. On July 13, 1862, Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest conducted a series of operations in the county known as Forrest's Raid. The raid successfully led to the surrender of Union forces occupying the area. Soon after, Union troops retook the region and occupied it until the end of the war.

Rutherford County is an outlying part of metropolitan Nashville. Since 1970, its population has been increasing rapidly as Nashville becomes a true metropolis. The rate of growth accelerated in the 1990s and continued at a brisk pace into the first decade of the 21st century.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 624 square miles (1,620 km²), of which 619 square miles (1,600 km²) is land and 4.7 square miles (12 km²) (0.8%) is water.

Adjacent counties

National protected area

State protected areas

Demographics

From the 2010 census, there were 262,604 people and 96,731 households residing in the county. The population density was 424 people per square mile (114/km²). There were 96,731 housing units at an average density of 114 per square mile (44/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 79.7% White, 14.0% Black or African American, 3.3% Asian, 0.5% Native American, 0.1% Pacific Islander, and 2.3% from two or more races. 7.2% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

As of the 2000 census, there were 182,023 people, 66,443 households, and 47,440 families residing in the county. The population density was 294 people per square mile (114/km²), and there were 70,616 housing units. The racial makeup of the county was 85.73% White, 9.51% Black or African American, 1.90% Asian, 0.29% Native American, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.32% from other races, and 1.20% from two or more races. 2.78% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

In 2000 there were 66,443 households out of which 37.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.30% were married couples living together, 11.20% had a female head of household with no husband present, and 28.60% were non-families. 20.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the county, the population was spread out with 26.40% under the age of 18, 13.20% from 18 to 24, 33.50% from 25 to 44, 19.40% from 45 to 64, and 7.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 99.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $46,312, and the median income for a family was $53,553. Males had a median income of $36,788 versus $26,555 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,938. About 5.80% of families and 9.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.50% of those under age 18 and 9.40% of those age 65 or over.

The 2010 census put the population of Rutherford County at 262,604. This represents a greater than 40% population growth since the 2000 U.S. Census. As of 2009, it was estimated that the total minority fraction of the population had grown to almost 20% of the total, with Hispanic population at 5.58%, African-American population at 12.09%, and Asian population at 2.66% of the total.

Government and politics

The Board of County Commissioners, the county legislative body, consists of 21 members elected for four-year terms from single-member districts based on roughly equal populations. The county mayor is the chief executive officer and is elected from the county at-large.

Political parties

This area of the state was predominately Democrat following the American Civil War, but the significant minority of African Americans joined the Republican Party. The white-dominated state legislature in the 1880s passed four laws that effectively disenfranchised most blacks and many poor whites, particularly due to the requirement of payment of a poll tax in order to register to vote. This reduced the competitiveness of the Republican Party in the state for more than six decades, and thus it effectively held political power only in eastern Tennessee.

Since the late 20th century, the majority of white conservatives in Rutherford County shifted toward the Republican Party as the supporters of constitutional state rights. After gaining enforcement of their voting rights under the Voting Rights Act of 1965, most local African Americans favored the Democratic Party because of national support for policies associated with the civil rights movement among other reasons.

The changing demographics of the county has shown a slow and shifting increase in minorities; however, this small change has resulted in no significant impact to party alignment. In recent years the conservative majority in the county has favored Republican candidates for local, state, and national elections.

Economy

The top employers (over 500 employees) in the county are listed below. Rutherford County government and schools also employ 5,665 individuals.

Murfreesboro

Smyrna

Asurion: 1,050

The county is also home to Barrett Firearms Manufacturing, a General Mills production facility, and a Whirlpool Corporation plant.

Cities

Town

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities