White County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 27,351. Its county seat is Sparta. White County is in the Cookeville Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

On September 11, 1806, an act of the Tennessee General Assembly created White County out of Smith and Jackson counties, responding to a petition signed by 155 residents of the area. The county's original geographic area included all of what are now White and Warren counties, as well as parts of modern Cannon, Coffee, DeKalb, Franklin, Grundy, Putnam, and Van Buren counties.

The origin of the county's name is disputed. The county is officially held to be named for John White (1751–1846), a Revolutionary War soldier, surveyor, and frontiersman who was the first known white settler of the area. White had moved his family to the Cumberland Mountains from Virginia in 1789.

White County was the site of a very large saltpeter mining operation during the Civil War. The Cave Hill Saltpeter Pits (No. 1 and No. 2), located on Cave Hill near the mouth of England Cove, were intensively mined. Relics remain from that operation. Saltpeter is the main ingredient of gunpowder and was obtained by leaching the earth from these caves.

The Civil War deeply affected White County, although no major battles were fought in the area. As it was on the border between the largely pro-Union East Tennessee and pro-Confederate Middle Tennessee, the county was the scene of bloodshed from partisans (called "bushwhackers") of both sides.

In 1981, a dispute between a local mining company and residents escalated and later became a Tennessee Supreme Court case known as Doochin v. Rackley. The disagreement began when the local coal companies began to strip mine residents' private land. The court ruled in favor of the defendants because the Broad Form Deed did not recognize strip mining as a legal form of mining.

Geography

upright=1.15|thumb|Sunset over White County, viewed from US-70 at the edge of the Cumberland Plateau

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.7%) is water. The eastern part of the county lies atop the Cumberland Plateau, while the western portion is situated on the Highland Rim, at a lower elevation. The Plateau Escarpment is visible from much of the western part of the county.

The Caney Fork, the county's primary drainage, flows across the southern portion of the county, and forms part the county's border with Van Buren, Warren and DeKalb. The river descends from the Cumberland Plateau to the Highland Rim through Scott's Gulf, a dramatic gorge noted for scenic waterfalls, most notably the Virgin Falls. The section of the Caney Fork in southern White County is part of Great Falls Lake, an artificial reservoir created by Great Falls Dam at Rock Island State Park. Downstream from this dam, the river enters a second reservoir, Center Hill Lake.

The Calfkiller River, a tributary of the Caney Fork, flows through the central part of White County, and drains the county seat, Sparta. The Falling Water River, also a tributary of the Caney Fork, flows through the northwestern part of the county, and forms part of the county's border with Putnam County. The Falling Water River is noted for its waterfall, Burgess Falls, which straddles the Putnam-White line.

White County also boasts over 1,200 documented caves (over 3.17 caves per square mile), which makes White County one of the most cave-dense regions in the world.

thumb|upright|Virgin Falls

Adjacent counties

The following counties are adjacent to White.

  • Putnam County (north)
  • Cumberland County (east)
  • Van Buren County (south)
  • Warren County (southwest)
  • DeKalb County (west)

Blue Spring Cave

Blue Spring Cave, located five miles northeast of Sparta, is the longest mapped cave in Tennessee and the tenth longest cave in the United States, with of passages. The footprints of extinct Pleistocene (Ice Age) jaguars were discovered in the cave in 1990 by Bill Walter.

Major highways

State protected areas

  • Bledsoe State Forest (part)
  • Bridgestone/Firestone Centennial Wilderness Wildlife Management Area (part)
  • Burgess Falls State Park and Natural Area (part)
  • Rock Island State Park (part)
  • Sparta Rock House State Historic Site
  • Virgin Falls State Natural Area

Demographics

2020 census

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right"

|+White County racial composition

!scope="col"| Race

!scope="col"| Number

!scope="col"| Percentage

|-

!scope="row"| White (non-Hispanic)

| 24,833

| 90.79%

|-

!scope="row"| Black or African American (non-Hispanic)

| 405

| 1.48%

|-

!scope="row"| Native American

| 75

| 0.27%

|-

!scope="row"| Asian

| 132

| 0.48%

|-

!scope="row"| Pacific Islander

| 10

| 0.04%

|-

!scope="row"| Other/Mixed

| 1,160

| 4.24%

|-

!scope="row"| Hispanic or Latino

| 736

| 2.69%

|}

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 27,351 and the median age was 43.8 years; 21.9% of residents were under the age of 18 and 21.3% were 65 years of age or older, with 97.4 males for every 100 females and 95.3 males for every 100 females age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 91.5% White, 1.5% Black or African American, 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.8% from some other race, and 5.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.7% of the population.

20.8% of residents lived in urban areas, while 79.2% lived in rural areas.

There were 10,865 households in the county, of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 50.4% were married-couple households, 18.1% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 25.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 26.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. of 2000, there were 23,102 people, 9,229 households, and 6,774 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 10,191 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 96.63% White, 1.64% Black or African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.23% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.46% from other races, and 0.79% from two or more races. 1.03% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 9,229 households, out of which 30.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.50% were married couples living together, 10.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.60% were non-families. 23.40% 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 2.47 and the average family size was 2.90.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.50% under the age of 18, 7.90% from 18 to 24, 27.90% from 25 to 44, 25.40% from 45 to 64, and 15.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 96.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $29,383, and the median income for a family was $34,854. Males had a median income of $26,706 versus $20,346 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,791. About 11.20% of families and 14.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.90% of those under age 18 and 13.90% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Public schools

  • White County High School
  • White County Middle School
  • BonDeCroft Elementary School
  • Cassville Elementary School
  • Central View Elementary School
  • Doyle Elementary School
  • Findlay Elementary School
  • Northfield Elementary School
  • Woodland Park Elementary School

Communities

City

  • Sparta

Town

  • Doyle

Unincorporated communities

  • Bon Air
  • Darkey Springs
  • DeRossett
  • Macedonia
  • Quebeck
  • Ravenscroft
  • Shady Grove
  • Walling
  • Yankeetown

Notable people

  • David Culley - National Football League head coach
  • George Gibbs Dibrell – U.S. Congressman and Confederate general
  • Champ Ferguson – Confederate guerrilla
  • Lester Flatt – bluegrass guitarist and mandolinist, best known for his collaboration with banjo picker Earl Scruggs in "The Foggy Mountain Boys"
  • Kellie Harper – women's basketball head coach at the University of Tennessee Lady Vols - formerly (North Carolina State and Missouri State University) and a graduate of White County High School
  • Benny Martin – bluegrass musician; invented the eight-string fiddle
  • Carl Rowan – journalist, author, U.S. Ambassador to Finland
  • Pauline Weaver – Arizona mountain man, born in White County
  • Earl Webb – Major League Baseball record holder for most doubles in a season

Politics

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See also

  • National Register of Historic Places listings in White County, Tennessee

References

  • Sparta-White County Chamber of Commerce
  • White County Schools
  • White County TNGenWeb
  • White County landforms
  • Tennessee Department of Transportation Map of White County