Meigs County, Tennessee

Before 1819, the area that is now Meigs County was part of the Cherokee nation. It had been inhabited for thousands of years by succeeding cultures of indigenous peoples. European trades had interacted with the Cherokee since the late 17th century, coming from colonial settlements in Virginia and South Carolina. Following the American Revolutionary War, American settlers began to enter the territory in greater numbers. They established ferries across the Tennessee River from Rhea County as early as 1807. Colonel Return J. Meigs, a Revolutionary veteran and namesake for the county, was appointed as the United States Indian agent, based in Rhea County until 1817. He supervised trade with the Cherokee. That year, the agency was moved to an area in what is now Meigs County. In 1819, the US made what is known as the Calhoun Treaty with the Cherokee, forcing them to cede lands north of the Hiwassee River for settlement. Meigs County was formed by the Tennessee legislature in 1836 from parts of Rhea County. Earlier in February 1861, Meigs County was alongside Sullivan County one of only two counties in East Tennessee voting to support a secession convention, which it did by a vote of 338 to 323. The county provided troops for both sides during the course of the war. A new building was constructed in Decatur to house the collection of the Meigs County Historical Museum. It opened in July 2002. The Meigs County Historical Museum houses many court and family records. On permanent display is a mural depicting Main Street in Decatur in the 1930s. The mural was funded by grants from the Tennessee Arts Commission and the VEC Customer shares program. It was painted by local artist Bill McDonald. ==Geography==

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (10%) is water. The main geographic feature of Meigs County is the Tennessee River, which forms the county's western boundary. Watts Bar Dam is located along the river between Meigs and adjacent Rhea County. Above it is the manmade Watts Bar Lake, which spans the river upstream to Fort Loudoun Dam just west of Knoxville. Watts Bar Dam's tailwaters are part of Chickamauga Lake, which stretches downstream to Chickamauga Dam in Chattanooga. The mouth of the Hiwassee River flows into the Tennessee River at a point in southwestern Meigs County, near where Meigs, Rhea, and Hamilton counties meet. Adjacent counties • Roane County, Tennessee (north) • McMinn County, Tennessee (east) • Bradley County, Tennessee (southeast) • Hamilton County, Tennessee (south) • Rhea County, Tennessee (west) State protected areas • Chickamauga Wildlife Management Area (part) • Hiwassee Refuge (part) ==Demographics==

2020 census As of the 2020 census, there were 12,758 people, 5,058 households, and 3,331 families residing in the county. The median age was 45.8 years. 20.8% of residents were under the age of 18 and 20.9% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 99.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 98.7 males age 18 and over. There were 5,058 households in the county, of which 28.9% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 52.5% were married-couple households, 18.4% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 21.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 24.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. of 2000, there were 11,086 people, 4,304 households, and 3,262 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 5,188 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 97.65% White, 1.24% Black or African American, 0.21% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 0.11% from other races, and 0.60% from two or more races. 0.57% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 4,304 households, out of which 32.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.70% were married couples living together, 9.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.20% were non-families. 20.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.80% 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 2.94. In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.10% under the age of 18, 8.10% from 18 to 24, 28.90% from 25 to 44, 26.30% from 45 to 64, and 11.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 100.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.30 males. The median income for a household in the county was $29,354, and the median income for a family was $34,114. Males had a median income of $29,521 versus $20,419 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,551. About 15.80% of families and 18.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.50% of those under age 18 and 14.60% of those age 65 or over. ==Transportation==

Town • Decatur (county seat) Unincorporated communities • Big Spring • Birchwood (partial) • Euchee • Georgetown (partial) • Ten Mile (partial) Ghost town • Cute ==Politics==

Meigs County, like all of Tennessee outside Nashville and the extreme southwest, is presently overwhelmingly Republican. However, unlike most of East Tennessee, it has not voted consistently Republican since the Civil War. Being one of only two counties in East Tennessee to support a Secession Convention in February 1861, Meigs was a Democratic-leaning swing county – one of the few in the intensely partisan Tennessee of this era – up to the 1950s. The last Democrat to carry Meigs County was Bill Clinton in 1996, although the only Democrat to win a majority since 1952 has been Jimmy Carter in 1976. ==See also==