Washington County, Tennessee in Encyclopedia

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Washington County, Tennessee

Washington County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2000, the population was 107,198. Its county seat is Jonesborough. The county's largest city and a regional educational, medical and commercial center is Johnson City.

Geography

Adjacent counties

Demographics
History
Cities and towns
Schools
Notable Residents
References
External links

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 330 square miles (854 km²), of which, 326 square miles (845 km²) of it is land and 3 square miles (9 km²) of it (1.06%) is water.

Adjacent counties

Sullivan County (north)
Carter County (east)
Unicoi County (south)
Greene County (west)
Hawkins County (northwest)

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 107,198 people, 44,195 households, and 29,478 families residing in the county. The population density was 328 people per square mile (127/km²). There were 47,779 housing units at an average density of 146 per square mile (57/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 93.72% White, 3.82% Black or African American, 0.24% Native American, 0.73% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.51% from other races, and 0.97% from two or more races. 1.38% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Age pyramid Washington County^[1]

There were 44,195 households out of which 28.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.60% were married couples living together, 10.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.30% were non-families. 27.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.85.

In the county, the population was spread out with 21.30% under the age of 18, 10.80% from 18 to 24, 30.00% from 25 to 44, 24.00% from 45 to 64, and 13.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 94.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $33,116, and the median income for a family was $41,162. Males had a median income of $30,874 versus $21,485 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,085. About 10.20% of families and 13.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.80% of those under age 18 and 14.20% of those age 65 or over.

History

The Johnson City-Jonesborough-Washington County region has a colorful and fascinating history. The county was established in 1777 as Washington County, North Carolina and was named in honor of General George Washington while the Revolutionary War was underway. At that time, "Washington County" included the geographic area that later became the entire State of Tennessee. The county also was part of the "State of Franklin" from 1784 through 1788 (an attempt to create the fourteenth state) prior to Tennessee becoming a state in 1796.

Jonesborough, Tennessee's oldest town, has been carefully restored as one of the nation's most authentic historic districts from the period 1790 - 1870. Johnson City, originally known as Johnson's Depot, was a major railway center for the southeastern states and was the headquarters for the Carolina, Clinchfield, and Ohio (Clinchfield) and East Tennessee and Western North Carolina (Tweetsie) Railroads. Significant restoration efforts are underway to recognize the railroad heritage of the Johnson's Depot Historic District and to restore historic properties to reflect Johnson City's late nineteenth and early twentieth century era as a railway center.