Giles County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2010 census, the population was 29,485. Its county seat is Pulaski.
History
Giles County is named after William Branch Giles, a Senator from Virginia who sponsored the admission of Tennessee as the sixteenth state into the Union. He also sponsored the building of the city and courthouse, which has burned four times. The current courthouse was built in 1909. One of Giles County's local heroes is James McCallum, who served as Grandmaster of the Tennessee Masons, a member of the Confederate Congress, and mayor. He lived in Giles County for seventy years.
Until Maury County was established in November 1807, the area of the future Giles County was considered to be part of Williamson County. Two years after the formation of Maury County, Giles County was created from southern Maury County on November 14, 1809 by an act of the State Legislature. Nearly half of the new county lay in Chickasaw territory until September 1816.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 611 square miles (1,580Â km2), of which 611 square miles (1,580Â km2) is land and 0.2 square miles (0.52Â km2) (0.04%) is water.
Adjacent counties
- Maury County (north)
- Marshall County (northeast)
- Lincoln County (east)
- Limestone County, Alabama (south)
- Lauderdale County, Alabama (southwest)
- Lawrence County (west)
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 29,447 people, 11,713 households, and 8,363 families residing in the county. The population density was 48 people per square mile (19/km²). There were 13,113 housing units at an average density of 22 per square mile (8/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 86.44% White, 11.80% Black or African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.35% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.21% from other races, and 0.89% from two or more races. 0.90% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 11,713 households out of which 31.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.80% were married couples living together, 11.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.60% were non-families. 25.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.20% 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 2.96.
In the county, the population was spread out with 24.50% under the age of 18, 8.30% from 18 to 24, 27.90% from 25 to 44, 24.80% from 45 to 64, and 14.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 94.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.20 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $34,824, and the median income for a family was $41,714. Males had a median income of $31,221 versus $22,221 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,543. About 9.00% of families and 11.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.50% of those under age 18 and 14.80% of those age 65 or over.
Crime
On November 15, 1995, Giles County received minor notoriety after a shooting occurred at Richland High School in the community of Lynnville. The incident was when senior student Jamie Rouse shot two teachers and one female student in the north entrance of the school. Teacher Carolyn Foster and student Diane Collins were killed, and teacher Carolyn Yancey was wounded in the incident. Rouse was convicted of the shooting and sentenced to life in prison. Stephen Abbott, a senior student, was sentenced to 40 years in prison for his role in the shooting, but was released in January 2014. Abbott drove Rouse to Richland High School that morning, knowing of Rouse's intentions to shoot teachers there. This incident is cited as a major school shooting that occurred prior to the Columbine High School massacre of 1999.
In 2000, there were 1,268 arrests made in Giles County, with 781 arrests in the city of Pulaski. One homicide occurred in that year. Based on an 2003 recording conducted by the Uniform Crime Report, the delinquency rate dropped to 71 arrests being made, with 8.8 percent of the county population being arrested that year. No homicides occurred in Giles County in 2003.
Transportation
Airport
Abernathy Field is a public use airport owned by Giles County and the City of Pulaski. It is located three nautical miles (6Â km) southwest of the central business district of Pulaski.
Communities
Cities
- Ardmore (partial)
- Elkton
- Minor Hill
- Pulaski (county seat)
Town
- Lynnville
Unincorporated communities
Politics
Notable people
- Aaron V. Brown, Governor of Tennessee from 1845 to 1847; resident of Giles County.
- Neill S. Brown, Governor of Tennessee from 1847 to 1849; born in Giles County.
- John C. Brown, Governor of Tennessee from 1871 to 1875; born in Giles County.
- Cully Cobb, Southern agriculture pioneer and publisher, editor of Progressive Farmer
- Walter Herschel Beech, co-founder of Beechcraft Aircraft; born in Giles County, TN.
- John Crowe Ransom, educator, scholar, literary critic, poet, essayist and editor; born in Giles County, TN.
- James McCallum, Grandmaster of the Tennessee Masons, a member of the Confederate Congress, and mayor. He lived in Giles County for seventy years
- James David Vaughan, music teacher, composer, song book publisher, the founder of the Vaughan Conservatory of Music and the James D. Vaughan Publishing Company; born in Giles County, TN.
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Giles County, Tennessee
References
External links
- Official site
- Giles County Chamber of Commerce
- Giles County, TNGenWeb â€" genealogy resources
- Giles County at DMOZ