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Stewart County
Stewart County
County
	Stewart County Courthouse in Dover
	Location within the U.S. state of Tennessee
	Tennessee's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 36°30′N 87°50′W / 36.5°N 87.84°W
Country	United States
State	Tennessee
Founded	1803
Named for	Duncan Stewart
Seat	Dover
Largest city	Dover
Area
• Total	493 sq mi (1,280 km2)
• Land	459 sq mi (1,190 km2)
• Water	34 sq mi (90 km2) 6.8%
Population (2020)
• Total	13,657
• Density	29/sq mi (11/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	7th
Website	www.stewartcogov.com

Stewart County is a county located on the northwestern corner of Middle Tennessee, in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,657.^[2] Its county seat is Dover.^[3] Stewart County is part of the Clarksville Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Stewart County was created by European Americans in 1803 from a portion of Montgomery County, and was named for Duncan Stewart, an early settler and state legislator.^[1] The first County Court met in March 1804. According to Goodspeed's history of Stewart County, "Stewart County was settled principally by North Carolinians, the first of whom came some time about 1795, that State having issued military grants to survivors of the Continental war, which called for large tracts of land lying in this county".^[4] It was settled during the early migration of pioneers from Virginia to the west after the American Revolutionary War. They pushed Native American peoples, such as the Cherokee, out of the area. (Please supply sources proving that the early pioners were from Virginia.)

During the American Civil War, the Battle of Fort Donelson took place in February 1862. Union forces took control of the state, occupying several strategic areas. In August 1862 their forces partially burned the county seat, Dover, to prevent its re-capture by Confederate Lt. Col. Thomas G. Woodward.^[5] A second battle in the area, commonly called the Battle of Dover, took place in February 1863.

Tobaccoport Saltpeter Cave was intensely mined for saltpeter, possibly during the War of 1812 but more likely not until the Civil War. Saltpeter is the main ingredient of gunpowder and was obtained by leaching the earth from the cave. The Union took control of Tennessee and this area in February 1862, early in the Civil War. It seems unlikely that mining could have happened before that.^[6]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 493 square miles (1,280 km²), of which 459 square miles (1,190 km²) is land and 34 square miles (88 km²) (6.8%) is water.^[7] The county lies in a rugged section of the northwestern Highland Rim. The Cumberland River (part of Lake Barkley) traverses the county. The Tennessee River (part of Kentucky Lake) provides the county's border with Henry County to the west.

Federal and state agencies control nearly 44% of the land in the county.^[1]

Adjacent counties

National protected areas

State protected areas

Barkley Wildlife Management Area
Stewart State Forest

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1810	4,262	—
1820	8,397	97.0%
1830	6,968	−17.0%
1840	8,587	23.2%
1850	9,719	13.2%
1860	9,896	1.8%
1870	12,019	21.5%
1880	12,690	5.6%
1890	12,193	−3.9%
1900	15,224	24.9%
1910	14,860	−2.4%
1920	14,664	−1.3%
1930	13,278	−9.5%
1940	13,549	2.0%
1950	9,175	−32.3%
1960	7,851	−14.4%
1970	7,319	−6.8%
1980	8,665	18.4%
1990	9,479	9.4%
2000	12,370	30.5%
2010	13,324	7.7%
2020	13,657	2.5%
U.S. Decennial Census^[8] 1790-1960^[9] 1900-1990^[10] 1990-2000^[11] 2010-2014^[12]

2020 census

Stewart County racial composition^[14]
Race	Number	Percentage
White (non-Hispanic)	12,321	90.22%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	171	1.25%
Native American	74	0.54%
Asian	76	0.56%
Pacific Islander	2	0.01%
Other/Mixed	677	4.96%
Hispanic or Latino	336	2.46%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 13,657 people, 5,178 households, and 3,355 families residing in the county.

2000 census

As of the census^[15] of 2000, there were 12,370 people, 4,930 households, and 3,653 families residing in the county. The population density was 27 inhabitants per square mile (10/km²). There were 5,977 housing units at an average density of 13 units per square mile (5.0/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.27% White, 1.29% Black or African American, 0.61% Native American, 1.46% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.23% from other races, and 1.10% from two or more races. 1.00% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 4,930 households, out of which 31.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.30% were married couples living together, 8.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.90% were non-families. 23.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 2.91.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.90% under the age of 18, 7.50% from 18 to 24, 28.40% from 25 to 44, 25.40% from 45 to 64, and 14.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $32,316, and the median income for a family was $38,655. Males had a median income of $31,106 versus $21,985 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,302. About 10.60% of families and 12.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.90% of those under age 18 and 15.60% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

United States presidential election results for Stewart County, Tennessee^[16]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	5,389	81.40%	1,160	17.52%	71	1.07%
2020	4,950	78.62%	1,232	19.57%	114	1.81%
2016	3,864	72.92%	1,222	23.06%	213	4.02%
2012	2,963	57.93%	2,069	40.45%	83	1.62%
2008	2,956	53.68%	2,470	44.85%	81	1.47%
2004	2,675	47.91%	2,860	51.23%	48	0.86%
2000	1,826	38.18%	2,870	60.02%	86	1.80%
1996	1,306	27.79%	2,962	63.02%	432	9.19%
1992	1,046	24.20%	2,779	64.28%	498	11.52%
1988	1,302	39.50%	1,979	60.04%	15	0.46%
1984	1,285	36.82%	2,174	62.29%	31	0.89%
1980	985	29.69%	2,274	68.54%	59	1.78%
1976	510	17.16%	2,442	82.17%	20	0.67%
1972	790	40.83%	1,098	56.74%	47	2.43%
1968	443	17.43%	1,041	40.97%	1,057	41.60%
1964	441	15.29%	2,444	84.71%	0	0.00%
1960	539	22.59%	1,810	75.86%	37	1.55%
1956	560	20.77%	2,120	78.64%	16	0.59%
1952	641	22.71%	2,170	76.87%	12	0.43%
1948	331	13.73%	1,962	81.38%	118	4.89%
1944	335	14.88%	1,916	85.12%	0	0.00%
1940	374	12.11%	2,699	87.40%	15	0.49%
1936	303	14.94%	1,718	84.71%	7	0.35%
1932	184	10.55%	1,548	88.76%	12	0.69%
1928	401	24.21%	1,255	75.79%	0	0.00%
1924	264	15.92%	1,369	82.57%	25	1.51%
1920	849	26.17%	2,366	72.93%	29	0.89%
1916	591	25.26%	1,711	73.12%	38	1.62%
1912	485	23.68%	1,312	64.06%	251	12.26%

The county is part of Tennessee's 7th congressional district. From the antebellum period, conservative whites historically voted Democratic, adding to the Southern Block. Residents of eastern Tennessee had been Unionist and supported the Republican Party.

In the late 20th century realignment of political parties, many white conservatives shifted into the Republican Party. Before Richard Nixon's campaign in 1972, no Republican had ever won as much as thirty percent of Stewart County's vote, but he won by a landslide in the South. Until 2000, Richard Nixon was the only GOP presidential candidate to gain forty percent of the vote in the country.

Before 2000, the Democratic presidential candidate lost Stewart County only in 1968, when segregationist George Wallace ran for the American Independent Party. After that Stewart County was one of only six Wallace counties^[a] to support Democratic candidate George McGovern.

Since the turn of the 21st century, Stewart County's voters have increasingly supported Republican candidates in recent presidential elections. In the 2008 presidential election, John McCain received approximately 53.7% of the vote;^[17] he was the first Republican to carry the county. For 100 years before that, Stewart County was the sole county in Tennessee that had never voted in majority for a Republican presidential candidate.^[18] In 2016, Republican Donald Trump gained a proportion of votes here that was only marginally less than that of the GOP gained in the historically Unionist counties of East Tennessee and the Highland Rim; by 2024 he achieved an eye-popping 81% of the vote, making Kamala Harris's performance the worst ever of all time by a Democrat and the first one to not even hit 19% of Stewart's vote.

Media

Radio stations

WTPR-FM 101.7 - "The Greatest Hits of All Time"
WTPR-AM 710 - "The Greatest Hits of All Time"
WRQR-FM 105.5 - "Today's Best Music with Ace & TJ in the Morning"

Newspaper

The Stewart County Standard

Communities

City

Dover (county seat)

Towns

Cumberland City
Tennessee Ridge (mostly in Houston County)

Unincorporated communities

Ghost towns

Model
Tharpe

Notes

^ The others were the fellow secessionist white-majority Middle Tennessee counties of Houston and Perry, plus the three Alabama Black Belt counties of Bullock, Lowndes and Wilcox. where Negro voter registration was severely delayed after the Voting Rights Act.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Jane Bagwell, "Stewart County," Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture. Retrieved: April 7, 2013.
^ "census - Geography Profile: Stewart County, Tennessee". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
^ "Goodspeed/Part2:Early Settlement". www.tngenweb.org. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
^ "The War of the Rebellion". Cornell University. August 22, 2012. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
^ Thomas C. Barr, Jr., "Caves of Tennessee", Bulletin 64 of the Tennessee Division of Geology, 1961, 568 pages.
^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. 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 QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. 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.
^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
^ 2008 electoral map, New York Times, December 9, 2008. Retrieved: April 7, 2013.
^ David Leip, "Presidential General Election Map Comparison (Tennessee)," Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved: April 7, 2013.