Scott County, Tennessee

Scott County
Scott County
County
	Scott County Courthouse in Huntsville
	Location within the U.S. state of Tennessee
	Tennessee's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 36°26′N 84°31′W / 36.43°N 84.51°W
Country	United States
State	Tennessee
Founded	1849
Named for	Winfield Scott
Seat	Huntsville
Largest town	Oneida
Area
• Total	533 sq mi (1,380 km2)
• Land	532 sq mi (1,380 km2)
• Water	0.9 sq mi (2 km2) 0.2%
Population (2020)
• Total	22,039
• Density	41/sq mi (16/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional districts	3rd, 6th
Website	www.scottcounty.com

Scott County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, its population was 22,039, down from 22,228 at the 2010 census. Its county seat is Huntsville and the largest town is Oneida.^[2] Scott County is known for having seceded from Tennessee in protest of the state's decision to join the Confederacy during the Civil War, and subsequently forming The Free and Independent State of Scott.

History

Scott County was formed in 1849 from portions of Anderson, Campbell, Fentress and Morgan counties. It is named for U.S. Army General Winfield Scott, a hero of the Mexican War.^[1]

State of Scott

During the Civil War, the county was a Southern Unionist bastion, voting against secession from the Union in Tennessee's June 1861 referendum by a higher percentage (521 to 19, or 96%) than in any other Tennessee county.^[1]^[3] This sentiment was encouraged by a June 4, 1861, speech in Huntsville by U.S. Senator Andrew Johnson.^[1]^[4] In 1861, the county assembly officially enacted a resolution seceding from the state of Tennessee, and thus the Confederacy, forming the "Free and Independent State of Scott," also known simply as the "State of Scott." The county remained a pro-Union enclave throughout the war.^[1]^[5] Ulysses S. Grant received over 90% of the vote in Scott County during both the 1868 United States presidential election and the 1872 United States presidential election.

The proclamation was finally repealed, over a hundred years later, by Scott County in 1986.^[6]

Geography

US-27 at the Tennessee-Kentucky state line, looking south into Scott County

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 533 square miles (1,380 km²), of which 532 square miles (1,380 km²) is land and 0.9 square miles (2.3 km²) (0.2%) is water.^[7] The county is located in a relatively hilly area atop the Cumberland Plateau. In the southwestern part of the county, the Clear Fork and New River converge to form the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River, a major tributary of the Cumberland River, and the focus of a national river and recreation area.

U.S. Route 27 is the county's primary north–south road. State Route 63 connects Scott County with Campbell County to the east. State Route 52 connects Scott County with the Fentress County area to the west. A portion of State Route 297 connects Oneida with the Big South Fork Recreation Area. State Route 456 is another major road in the area.

Adjacent counties

McCreary County, Kentucky (north)
Campbell County (east)
Anderson County (southeast)
Morgan County (southwest)
Fentress County (west/CST Border)
Pickett County (northwest/CST Border)
Wayne County, Kentucky (northwest)

National protected area

Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area (part)

State protected areas

North Cumberland Wildlife Management Area (part)
Scott State Forest (part)
Twin Arches State Natural Area (part)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1850	1,905	—
1860	3,519	84.7%
1870	4,054	15.2%
1880	6,021	48.5%
1890	9,794	62.7%
1900	11,077	13.1%
1910	12,947	16.9%
1920	13,411	3.6%
1930	14,080	5.0%
1940	15,966	13.4%
1950	17,362	8.7%
1960	15,413	−11.2%
1970	14,762	−4.2%
1980	19,259	30.5%
1990	18,358	−4.7%
2000	21,127	15.1%
2010	22,228	5.2%
2020	22,039	−0.9%

1790-1960^[8] 1900-1990^[9]
1990-2000^[10] 2010-2014^[11] }}

2020 census

Scott County racial composition^[13]
Race	Number	Percentage
White (non-Hispanic)	20,957	95.91%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	32	0.15%
Native American	36	0.16%
Asian	51	0.23%
Other/Mixed	569	2.6%
Hispanic or Latino	205	0.94%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 21,850 people, 8,664 households, and 6,059 families residing in the county.

2000 census

At the 2000 census,^[14] there were 21,127 people, 8,203 households and 6,012 families residing in the county. The population density was 40 people per square mile (15 people/km²). There were 8,909 housing units at an average density of 17 units per square mile (6.6/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.53% White, 0.09% Black or African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 0.10% from other races, and 0.91% from two or more races. 0.57% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 8,203 households, of which 35.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.20% were married couples living together, 11.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.70% were non-families. 24.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.50% 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 3.02.

26.10% of the population were under the age of 18, 10.30% from 18 to 24, 28.70% from 25 to 44, 23.60% from 45 to 64, and 11.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 97.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.00 males.

The median household income was $24,093 and the median family income was $28,595. Males had a median income of $24,721 compared with $19,451 for females. The per capita income for the county was $12,927. About 17.60% of families and 20.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.10% of those under age 18 and 17.10% of those age 65 or over.

Scott County, a part of the Cumberland Plateau, includes the majority of the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area.

2010 ancestry

As of 2010, the largest self-reported ancestry groups in the county were:^[15]

American - 18.1%
English - 16.7%
Irish - 8.4%
German - 4.2%
Scots-Irish - 3.2%
Scottish - 2.0%
Italian - 1.2%
Polish - 1.1%

Education

Scott County School District (Website)

Burchfield Elementary School; "The Rams" (Website) Archived February 3, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
Farview Elementary School; "The Rebels" (Website) Archived March 28, 2022, at the Wayback Machine
Huntsville Elementary School; "The Bears" (Website) Archived October 14, 2021, at the Wayback Machine
Huntsville Middle School; "The Bears" (Website)
Robbins Elementary School; "The Hawks" (Website)
Scott High School; "The Highlanders" (Website) Archived November 2, 2021, at the Wayback Machine
Winfield Elementary School; "The Bobcats" (Website) Archived July 23, 2020, at the Wayback Machine

Oneida Special School District (Website)

Oneida Elementary School; "The Indians" (Website)
Oneida Middle School; "The Indians" (Website)
Oneida High School; "The Indians" (Website)

Private schools

Landmark Christian School

Public safety

Includes the Scott County Sheriff Department; Oneida and Winfield Police Department; a full-time ambulance service with two stations; a volunteer rescue squad; and nine volunteer fire stations placed throughout the county.^{[citation needed]}

Media

The Independent Herald^[16]
The Scott County News
Hive 105, WBNT-FM

Communities

Towns

Huntsville (county seat)
Oneida
Winfield

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Politics

United States presidential election results for Scott County, Tennessee^[17]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	8,004	88.42%	986	10.89%	62	0.68%
2016	6,044	84.85%	934	13.11%	145	2.04%
2012	5,117	76.74%	1,452	21.78%	99	1.48%
2008	4,931	72.70%	1,720	25.36%	132	1.95%
2004	4,509	59.11%	3,086	40.46%	33	0.43%
2000	3,579	54.10%	2,967	44.85%	69	1.04%
1996	2,646	46.94%	2,506	44.46%	485	8.60%
1992	3,011	46.91%	2,730	42.54%	677	10.55%
1988	2,562	61.10%	1,611	38.42%	20	0.48%
1984	3,107	62.63%	1,810	36.48%	44	0.89%
1980	3,014	62.38%	1,724	35.68%	94	1.95%
1976	2,432	51.42%	2,260	47.78%	38	0.80%
1972	2,775	79.24%	679	19.39%	48	1.37%
1968	2,406	58.24%	991	23.99%	734	17.77%
1964	2,406	54.52%	2,007	45.48%	0	0.00%
1960	3,301	74.84%	1,098	24.89%	12	0.27%
1956	3,282	79.10%	842	20.29%	25	0.60%
1952	3,274	73.82%	1,161	26.18%	0	0.00%
1948	2,016	66.67%	972	32.14%	36	1.19%
1944	1,971	69.60%	850	30.01%	11	0.39%
1940	2,187	59.93%	1,448	39.68%	14	0.38%
1936	2,012	70.67%	827	29.05%	8	0.28%
1932	1,890	64.29%	1,025	34.86%	25	0.85%
1928	2,700	91.59%	244	8.28%	4	0.14%
1924	1,611	77.71%	274	13.22%	188	9.07%
1920	2,537	90.54%	221	7.89%	44	1.57%
1916	1,486	82.24%	206	11.40%	115	6.36%
1912	123	7.49%	160	9.74%	1,359	82.76%

Notable people

Howard Baker Sr.- U.S. Representative for Tennessee's 2nd congressional district.
Howard Baker Jr. - U.S. senator from Tennessee; first Republican elected to the U.S. senate from Tennessee since Reconstruction.
Mike Duncan- Former chairman of the Republican National Committee. Former governor of The United States Postal Service. Former chairman of The Tennessee Valley Authority.
Sparky Woods- Former college football coach.
Mike Marlar- American dirt track and stock car racing driver.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Margaret D. Binnicker, Scott County, Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, accessed April 17, 2011
^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
^ Oliver Perry Temple, East Tennessee and the Civil War (R. Clarke Company, 1899), p. 199.
^ Astor, Aaron (June 11, 2011), "The Switzerland of America", Opinionator: Exclusive On-Line Commentary From The Times, New York Times, retrieved December 21, 2011
^ Evan Andrews, "6 Southern Unionist Strongholds During the Civil War, History.com, January 13, 2015.
^ History of Scott County, Tennessee. Retrieved at Web Archive February 16, 2013.
^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
^ Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 14, 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 14, 2015.
^ "State & County hhusushbQuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved December 7, 2013.
^ Based on 2000 census data
^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
^ https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/10_5YR/DP02/0500000US47137%7C0500000US47151%7C0500000US47187^{[permanent dead link]}
^ Independent Herald official website. Retrieved: March 22, 2013.
^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 12, 2018.