| Tennessee, state in the south-central United States. It is bordered by Kentucky and Virginia (N), North Carolina (E), Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi (S), and, across the Mississippi R., Arkansas and Missouri (W).
Area, 42,244 sq mi (109,412 sq km).
Pop. (2000) 5,689,283, a 16.7% increase since the 1990 census.
Capital, Nashville.
Largest city, Memphis.
Motto, Agriculture and Commerce.
State bird, mockingbird.
State flower, iris. 
State tree, tulip poplar.
West Tennessee, with its rich river-bottom lands, on which most of the state's cotton is grown, lies between the Tennessee and the Mississippi rivers. The average annual rainfall ranges from 40 to 50 in. (101.6-127 cm), and the climate ranges from humid continental in the north of the state to humid subtropical in the south; the rigors of a northern winter usually affect only the most mountainous parts of East Tennessee. Twenty-three state parks, covering some 132,000 acres (53,420 hectares) as well as parts of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Cherokee National Forest, and Cumberland Gap National Historical Park are in Tennessee. 
The state also has many sites of historic interest, including the Hermitage, home of Andrew Jackson; the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site; Shiloh National Military Park; and Fort Donelson and Stones River national battlefields. Part of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park is also in Tennessee. The Natchez Trace National Parkway generally follows the old Natchez Trace. Nashville is the capital and the second largest city. The largest city is Memphis.
Although Tennessee is now primarily industrial, with most of its people residing in urban areas, many Tennesseans still derive their livelihood from the land. The state's leading crops are cotton, soybeans, and tobacco; cattle, dairy products, and hogs are also principal farm commodities. Tennessee's leading mineral, in dollar value, is stone; zinc ranks second (Tennessee leads the nation in its production). Industry is being continually diversified; the state's leading manufactures are chemicals and related products, foods, electrical machinery, primary metals, automobiles, textiles and apparel, and stone, clay, and glass items. Aluminum production has been important since World War I.
*Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, Copyright (c) 2003
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rutherford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2000, the population was 182,023. This grew when the 2005 estimate placed the population at 218,292. Its county seat is Murfreesboro6, which is also the geographic center of Tennessee, as well as the center of population of Tennessee [1]. The county is included in the Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 624 square miles (1,616 km²), of which, 619 square miles (1,603 km²) of it is land and 5 square miles (13 km²) of it (0.81%) is water.
Cities and towns
Demographics
As of the census² of 2000, 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). There were 70,616 housing units at an average density of 114 per square mile (44/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 85.73% White, 9.51% Black or African American, 0.29% Native American, 1.90% Asian, 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.
By 2005 there had been small but noticeable shifts. The Latino population had climed to 4.8%, which meant that in light of the growing county population the number of Latinos in the county had nearly doubled, now numbering about 10,000. The African American population had climed to 11.3% of the population. The Asian population had climbed to 2.6% of the population.
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 householder 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.
|
Historical populations |
|
Census |
Pop. |
|
%± |
|
1900 |
33,543 |
|
— |
|
1910 |
33,199 |
|
-1.0% |
|
1920 |
33,059 |
|
-0.4% |
|
1930 |
32,286 |
|
-2.3% |
|
1940 |
33,604 |
|
4.1% |
|
1950 |
40,696 |
|
21.1% |
|
1960 |
52,368 |
|
28.7% |
|
1970 |
59,428 |
|
13.5% |
|
1980 |
84,058 |
|
41.4% |
|
1990 |
118,570 |
|
41.1% |
|
2000 |
182,023 |
|
53.5% |
|
Est. 2005 |
218,292 |
[2] |
19.9% | U.S. Census 2006 estimates put the population of Rutherford County at 228,829. This represented over 25% population growth since the 2000 census.[2]
History
Rutherford County was formed in 1803 from parts of Davidson, Williamson and Wilson counties. It was named in honor of Griffith Rutherford (1721-1805). Rutherford was a North Carolina colonial legislator and a Revolutionary War general who settled in Middle Tennessee after the Revolution and served as President of the Council of the Territory of Tennessee before Tennessee attained statehood.
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. From 2005-2006 the county population grew by over 10,000 people. |