Putnam County, Tennessee

Putnam County is a located in the  of. As of 2000, the population was 62,315, a 21 percent increase from 1990. The 2004 Census estimate populationis 66,000. After its original formation in 1842 was declared unconstitutional, Putnam County was firmly established  when Richard Fielding Cooke's bill, with amendments, cleared the Tennessee House. Putnam County was again a reality. The name is in honor of, who was a hero in the and a general in the. Its is.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,043 (403 ). 1,039 km² (401 sq mi) of it is land and 4 km² (2 sq mi) of it (0.37%) is water.

Adjacent Counties

 * (northeast)
 * (east)
 * (south)
 * (southwest)
 * (west)
 * (northwest)

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 62,315 people, 24,865 households, and 16,410 families residing in the county. The was 60/km² (155/sq mi). There were 26,916 housing units at an average density of 26/km² (67/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 94.52%, 1.71% or , 0.20% , 0.93% , 0.09% , 1.60% from , and 0.94% from two or more races. 3.03% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 24,865 households out of which 29.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.70% were living together, 9.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.00% were non-families. 27.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the county, the population was spread out with 22.30% under the age of 18, 14.70% from 18 to 24, 27.90% from 25 to 44, 21.90% from 45 to 64, and 13.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 98.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $30,914, and the median income for a family was $39,553. Males had a median income of $29,243 versus $21,001 for females. The for the county was $16,927. About 10.30% of families and 16.40% of the population were below the, including 15.90% of those under age 18 and 16.10% of those age 65 or over.

History


Putnam County is named in honor of General Israel Putnam, who rose to prominence in the American Revolutionary War and fought at the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775.

Putnam County was first established on 2 February 1842 when the Twenty-fourth General Assembly enacted a measure creating Putnam County from portions of Jackson, Overton, Fentress, and White Counties. Isaac Buck, Burton Marchbanks, Henry L. McDaniel, Lawson Clark, Carr Terry, Richard F. Cooke, H. D. Marchbanks, Craven Maddox, and Elijah Con, all of Jackson County, were named by the Act to superintend the surveying of the new county.

Surveying was done by Mounce Gore (thanks to Nancy Hargesheimer for the correct spelling of his first name), also of Jackson County, and the Assembly instructed them to locate the county seat, to be called "Monticello," near the center of the county. However contending that the formation of Putnam was illegal because it reduced their areas below constitutional limits, Overton and Jackson counties secured an injunction against its continued operation. Putnam officials failed to reply to the complaint, and in the March, 1845 term of the Chancery Court at Livingston, Chancellor Bromfield L. Ridley declared Putnam unconstitutionally established and therefore dissolved. The 1854 act reestablishing Putnam was passed after Representative Henderson M. Clements of Jackson County assured his colleagues that a new survey showed that there was sufficient area to form the county.

The act specified the the "county town" be named "Cookeville" in honor of Richard F. Cooke, who served in the Tennessee Senate from 1851-1854, representing at various times Jackson, Fentress, Macon, Overton and White Counties. The act authorized Joshua R. Stone and Green Baker from White County, William Davis and Isaiah Warton from Overton County, John Brown and Austin Morgan from Jackson County, William B. Stokes and Bird S. Rhea from DeKalb County, and Benjamin A. Vaden and Nathan Ward from Smith County to study the Conner survey and select a spot, not more than two and one-half miles from the center of the county, for the courthouse. The first County Court chose a hilly tract of land then owned by Charles Crook for the site.

Education
Cookeville, the largest town in Putnam County, is the home of Tennessee Technological University, which is known for its engineering programs, its school of education, its business school and its center for rural health. The largest college at Tennessee Tech is its College of Arts and Sciences. The university student population of 9,600 comprises a third of the resident population of Cookeville.

The Putnam County school system consists of 10,200 students in 18 schools spread throughout the county. The largest, Cookeville High School, is the largest non-metropolitan school in the state and is one of only five schools in the state to offer the International Baccalaureate program.

Putnam County ZIP codes and their 2000 populations

 * Algood is included in Cookeville's 38506 ZIP code
 * Baxter 38544 (5,908)
 * Bloomington Springs 38545 (1,315)
 * Buffalo Valley 38548 (634)
 * Cookeville 38501 (32,906), 38502, 38503, 38505, 38506 (22,542)
 * Monterey 38574 (7,432)
 * Silver Point 38582 (1,403)
 * Tennessee Tech University 38505 (10,300 students)