Smith County was established in 1799 from a portion of Sumner County, and was named for Daniel Smith, a U.S. Senator and former Secretary of the Southwest Territory. The location of the county seat was hotly contested between Bledsoesborough and William Walton's ferry and tavern at the confluence of the Caney Fork and the Cumberland River. In 1804, voters chose Walton's site, and a town, named Carthage, was platted the following year. Smith County was the site of a large saltpeter mine. Piper Cave, located near Monoville, contains the poorly preserved remnants of dozens of saltpeter leaching vats. Most saltpeter mining in Middle Tennessee took place during the War of 1812 and the Civil War, though the exact dates of this operation are unclear.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water. The county is located in a transition area between the rugged Highland Rim to the east and the flatter Nashville Basin to the west. The Caney Fork has its confluence with the Cumberland River in Carthage; these are the primary waterways flowing through the county. Cordell Hull Dam on the Cumberland is located near Carthage.
As of the census of 2000, there were 17,712 people, 6,878 households, and 5,069 families residing in the county. The population density was 56 people per square mile. There were 7,665 housing units at an average density of 24 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 95.42% White, 2.53% Black or African American, 0.37% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.59% from other races, and 0.93% from two or more races. 1.13% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 6,878 households out of which 34.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.10% were married couplesliving together, 9.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.30% were non-families. 23.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.10% 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 3.00. In the county, the population was spread out with 25.50% under the age of 18, 8.00% from 18 to 24, 30.00% from 25 to 44, 23.10% from 45 to 64, and 13.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.40 males. The median income for a household in the county was $35,625, and the median income for a family was $41,645. Males had a median income of $30,853 versus $22,133 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,473. About 10.30% of families and 12.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.70% of those under age 18 and 14.80% of those age 65 or over.
Communities
Towns
Carthage
Gordonsville
South Carthage
Unincorporated communities
Brush Creek
Chestnut Mound
Defeated
Difficult
Dixon Springs
Elmwood
Hickman
Kempville
Lancaster
New Middleton
Pleasant Shade
Riddleton
Rome
Politics
Prior to 2008, Smith County was a Democratic Party stronghold at the presidential level. The highly transitional presidential electionsfor the South of 1968 & 1972 were the lone two from 1912 to 2004 where the county failed to back a Democratic candidate. However, while the county was Carthage resident Al Gore's fourth strongest statewide in his 2000 presidential bid, he failed to win an increasingly Republican Tennessee. Since then, Smith County has swung hard towards the Republican Party similar to the rest of the state outside of Memphis & Nashville. Hillary Clinton failed to win even a quarter of the county's votes in 2016, a far cry from the 71% & 62% her husband Bill won in the county with Gore also on the ticket.
