Putnam County, Tennessee: Difference between revisions

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The county is part of the greater [[Cumberland River]] watershed. The southern part of the county is drained by tributaries of the [[Caney Fork]], the northeastern part by tributaries of the [[Obey River]], and the north-central and northwestern parts of the county drain into the Cumberland's [[Cordell Hull Lake]] impoundment.<ref>Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, [http://www.tn.gov/environment/watersheds/ Watershed Management Approach] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120417212145/http://www.tn.gov/environment/watersheds/ |date=April 17, 2012 }}. Retrieved: May 10, 2012.</ref> The sources of two tributaries of the Caney Fork, the [[Falling Water River]] and the [[Calfkiller River]], lie near [[Monterey, Tennessee|Monterey]] in the eastern part of the county.
The county is part of the greater [[Cumberland River]] watershed. The southern part of the county is drained by tributaries of the [[Caney Fork]], the northeastern part by tributaries of the [[Obey River]], and the north-central and northwestern parts of the county drain into the Cumberland's [[Cordell Hull Lake]] impoundment.<ref>Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, [http://www.tn.gov/environment/watersheds/ Watershed Management Approach] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120417212145/http://www.tn.gov/environment/watersheds/ |date=April 17, 2012 }}. Retrieved: May 10, 2012.</ref> The sources of two tributaries of the Caney Fork, the [[Falling Water River]] and the [[Calfkiller River]], lie near [[Monterey, Tennessee|Monterey]] in the eastern part of the county.
[[Pene-exclave|It is impossible to reach Cumberland Cove and Glade Creek without driving through another county.]]<ref>{{Cite web| title=Map Putnam County, Tennessee | url=https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/tdot/maps/county-maps-(us-shields)/o-w/Putnam%20County.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180803093915/https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/tdot/maps/county-maps-(us-shields)/o-w/Putnam%20County.pdf | archive-date=2018-08-03}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Cookeville to Stillhouse Park | url=https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Cookeville,+TN/Stillhouse+Park,+Tennessee+38574/@36.1040402,-85.4428967,29518m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x886718a70cf14c59:0x2f4ecce7ea405e1d!2m2!1d-85.4988041!2d36.1625445!1m5!1m1!1s0x8867470dad2293f7:0x5960997fc9ad981f!2m2!1d-85.251085!2d36.0452125!3e0?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDcwNy4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Cookeville to Glade Creek | url=https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Cookeville,+TN/Glade+Creek,+TN/@36.0417856,-85.4396201,29541m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x886718a70cf14c59:0x2f4ecce7ea405e1d!2m2!1d-85.4988041!2d36.1625445!1m5!1m1!1s0x886747f87024a25f:0x4e028daee4b0c1d0!2m2!1d-85.2716362!2d36.0053431!3e0?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDcwNy4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D }}</ref>


===Adjacent counties===
===Adjacent counties===
Line 101: Line 103:
| 83.63%
| 83.63%
|-
|-
!scope="row"| [[African American (U.S. Census)|Black or African American]] (non-Hispanic)
!scope="row"| [[African American (U.S. census)|Black or African American]] (non-Hispanic)
| 2,161
| 2,161
| 2.71%
| 2.71%
Line 159: Line 161:
*[[Bangham, Tennessee|Bangham]]
*[[Bangham, Tennessee|Bangham]]
*[[Bloomington Springs, Tennessee|Bloomington Springs]]
*[[Bloomington Springs, Tennessee|Bloomington Springs]]
*[[Boma, Tennessee]]
*[[Buffalo Valley, Putnam County, Tennessee|Buffalo Valley]]
*[[Buffalo Valley, Putnam County, Tennessee|Buffalo Valley]]
* [[Grandview, Putnam County, Tennessee|Grandview]]
*[[Cumberland Cove, Tennessee]]
*[[Gentry, Tennessee]]
*[[Glade Creek, Tennessee]]
*[[Grandview, Putnam County, Tennessee|Grandview]]
*[[Post Oak Estates, Tennessee|Post Oak Estates]]
*[[Post Oak Estates, Tennessee|Post Oak Estates]]
*[[Post Oak, Putnam County, Tennessee|Post Oak]]
*[[Post Oak, Putnam County, Tennessee|Post Oak]]
* [[Shady Grove, Putnam County, Tennessee|Shady Grove]]
*[[Shady Grove, Putnam County, Tennessee|Shady Grove]]
*[[Silver Point, Tennessee|Silver Point]]
*[[Silver Point, Tennessee|Silver Point]]
*[[Winona, Putnam County, Tennessee|Winona]]
*[[Winona, Putnam County, Tennessee|Winona]]
{{div col end}}
{{div col end}}


==Politics==
==Government and politics==
===Local Government===
Putnam County has twenty-four county commissioners elected to twelve legislative districts, with [[multi-member districts|two members per district]].<ref>{{cite web | title=County Commission &#124; Putnam County TN | url=https://putnamcountytn.gov/county-commission }}</ref>
 
====Countywide officials====
 
* '''Mayor:''' ''Randy Porter''
* '''[[Sheriff]]:''' ''Eddie Farris''
* '''County [[clerk (municipal official)|Clerk]]:''' ''Wayne Nabors''
* '''Clerk and Master:''' ''Linda Reeder''
* '''Circuit Court Clerk:''' ''Jennifer Wilkerson''
* '''Road Supervisor:''' ''Randy Jones''
* '''Trustee:''' ''Freddie Nelson''
* '''Register of Deeds:''' ''John Sanders''
* '''Property Assessor:''' ''Steve Pierce''
* '''General Sessions Judges:''' ''Steven Qualls'' and ''Steven Randolph''
* '''Putnam County Board of Education:''' ''Corby King''
* '''Putnam County Attorney:''' ''Jeff Jones''
* '''[[District Attorney]] General:''' ''Bryant Dunaway''<ref>{{cite web | title=Putnam County Officials &#124; Putnam County TN | url=https://putnamcountytn.gov/county-officials }}</ref>
 
===[[Political party strength in Tennessee|State]] and Federal Politics===
Putnam County is extremely [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]-leaning for an [[urban area|urban]] county anchored by a college town ([[Cookeville, Tennessee|Cookeville]], the county seat, is home to [[Tennessee Technological University]]); formerly a reliable [[Solid South]] county, Putnam has voted Republican in nearly every presidential election since [[Richard Nixon]] narrowly did so in [[1968 United States presidential election in Tennessee|1968]], making exceptions for [[Jimmy Carter]] and [[Bill Clinton]] (both of whom are former governors of a neighboring state, namely and respectively [[Georgia, USA|Georgia]] and [[Arkansas]]).
Putnam County is extremely [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]-leaning for an [[urban area|urban]] county anchored by a college town ([[Cookeville, Tennessee|Cookeville]], the county seat, is home to [[Tennessee Technological University]]); formerly a reliable [[Solid South]] county, Putnam has voted Republican in nearly every presidential election since [[Richard Nixon]] narrowly did so in [[1968 United States presidential election in Tennessee|1968]], making exceptions for [[Jimmy Carter]] and [[Bill Clinton]] (both of whom are former governors of a neighboring state, namely and respectively [[Georgia, USA|Georgia]] and [[Arkansas]]).


Though favorite son [[Al Gore]] was just over 2% short of carrying Putnam County in [[2000 United States presidential election in Tennessee|2000]], he would be the last Democratic presidential candidate to come within a single-digit margin of doing so or even win so much as 40% of the county vote. In [[2008 United States presidential election in Tennessee|2008]], [[John McCain]] won over 60% of the county's vote. In [[2020 United States presidential election in Tennessee|2020]], Republican [[Donald Trump]] easily swept Putnam with over 70% of the county vote, while Democrat [[Joe Biden]] racked up less than 28% of the vote. Even the University precinct itself voted for Republican presidential candidates in [[2012 United States presidential election in Tennessee|2012]], [[2016 United States presidential election in Tennessee|2016]], 2020 and [[2024 United States presidential election in Tennessee|2024]], although Phil Bredesen and Karl Dean did carry it handily in the 2018 [[2018 United States Senate election in Tennessee|federal Senate]] and [[2018 Tennessee gubernatorial election|gubernatorial]] elections.<ref>https://davesredistricting.org/maps#viewmap::c0ed8258-ce44-4eec-9736-2cc3b86a9d16</ref> Despite this, Putnam was one of only four Tennessee counties Biden lost to [[Bernie Sanders]] in the Democratic primary in 2020, indicating that the few Democrats left in Putnam County are unusually progressive.
Though favorite son [[Al Gore]] was just over 2% short of carrying Putnam County in [[2000 United States presidential election in Tennessee|2000]], he would be the last Democratic presidential candidate to come within a single-digit margin of doing so or even win so much as 40% of the county vote. In [[2008 United States presidential election in Tennessee|2008]], [[John McCain]] won over 60% of the county's vote. In [[2020 United States presidential election in Tennessee|2020]], Republican [[Donald Trump]] easily swept Putnam with over 70% of the county vote, while Democrat [[Joe Biden]] racked up less than 28% of the vote. Even the University precinct itself voted for Republican presidential candidates in [[2012 United States presidential election in Tennessee|2012]], [[2016 United States presidential election in Tennessee|2016]], 2020 and [[2024 United States presidential election in Tennessee|2024]], although Phil Bredesen and Karl Dean did carry it handily in the 2018 [[2018 United States Senate election in Tennessee|federal Senate]] and [[2018 Tennessee gubernatorial election|gubernatorial]] elections.<ref>{{cite web | title=Dra 2020 | url=https://davesredistricting.org/maps#viewmap::c0ed8258-ce44-4eec-9736-2cc3b86a9d16 }}</ref> Despite this, Putnam was one of only four Tennessee counties Biden lost to [[Bernie Sanders]] in the Democratic primary in 2020, indicating that the few Democrats left in Putnam County are unusually progressive.
 
Putnam County's elected officials in the [[Tennessee General Assembly|state legislature]] and at the local level tend to be extremely socially [[far-right]] even by Tennessean standards. In the 1990s, popular [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] former [[Tennessee Senate|state Senator]] [[Tommy Burks]] supported criminalizing [[abortion]] except to save the life of the mother and opposed teaching [[evolution]] in public schools.<ref>https://www.nashvillescene.com/news/coverstory/the-death-of-a-senator-tommy-burks-and-byron-low-tax-looper/article_7176c605-1c9b-53c6-a607-5422e4840953.html</ref> In the 2020s, Republican [[Tennessee House of Representatives|state Representative]] [[Ryan Williams (American politician)|Ryan Williams]] and Senator [[Paul Bailey (politician)|Paul Bailey]] sponsored a bill that would allow school districts in Tennessee to arm teachers with handguns even without informing parents of students,<ref>https://www.chalkbeat.org/tennessee/2024/04/03/school-teachers-could-carry-handguns-under-tennessee-legislature-bill/</ref> and local [[Sheriff]] Eddie Farris has expressed extremely [[anti-LGBT]] and [[xenophobic]] views, with him and his deputies gaining negative coverage for [[Sexual orientation#Perceptions|profiling]] the [[LGBT+ community]] and its allies right after they were harassed by overtly [[neo-Nazi]] protesters, [[Victim blaming|blaming]] the LGBT+ community for bringing "unwelcome guests" into Cookeville during the aforementioned incident<ref>https://wpln.org/post/neo-nazis-threatened-a-drag-show-at-a-cookeville-bar-now-the-bar-is-facing-eviction/</ref> and later inviting heightened suspicion against people "foreign" to Putnam County after two Greyhound buses from [[Texas]] were seen in Cookeville,<ref>https://fox17.com/news/local/tenn-sheriff-asks-public-to-report-suspicious-activity-from-those-foreign-to-area</ref><ref>https://tennesseestar.com/justice/tennessee-sheriff-asks-citizens-to-report-suspicious-activity-amid-ongoing-border-crisis-growing-homeless-population/tpappert/2024/09/20/</ref> with Farris's response to the latter incident prompting criticism from an [[immigrant]] rights group for fueling "suspicion, hate and fear."<ref>https://fox17.com/news/local/immigrant-rights-group-says-putnam-county-sheriff-misses-the-mark-with-crime-statement</ref>


{{PresHead|place=Putnam County, Tennessee|source=<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|last=Leip|first=David|website=uselectionatlas.org|access-date=March 12, 2018}}</ref>}}
{{PresHead|place=Putnam County, Tennessee|source=<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|last=Leip|first=David|website=uselectionatlas.org|access-date=March 12, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite report |url=https://sos-prod.tnsosgovfiles.com/s3fs-public/document/20241105GeneralbyCounty.pdf |title=State of Tennessee General Election Results, November 5, 2024, Results By County |date=December 2, 2024 |publisher=Secretary of State of Tennessee |access-date=December 2, 2024}}</ref>}}
<!-- PresRow should be {{PresRow|Year|Winning party|GOP vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} -->
<!-- PresRow should be {{PresRow|Year|Winning party|GOP vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} -->
{{PresRow|2024|Republican|25,554|8,991|552|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1912|Democratic|923|1,867|391|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1916|Democratic|1,383|2,300|4|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1920|Democratic|2,132|2,996|0|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1924|Democratic|1,489|2,474|55|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1928|Democratic|1,612|2,145|0|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1932|Democratic|1,281|2,911|22|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1936|Democratic|1,207|2,619|6|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1940|Democratic|1,576|2,963|5|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1944|Democratic|1,770|2,788|0|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1948|Democratic|1,879|3,134|551|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1952|Democratic|3,183|4,096|0|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1956|Democratic|3,492|4,481|31|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1960|Democratic|4,240|4,443|32|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1964|Democratic|2,993|6,309|0|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1968|Republican|3,693|3,541|3,073|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1972|Republican|6,038|3,738|223|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1976|Democratic|4,079|8,485|144|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1980|Democratic|6,235|8,084|434|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1984|Republican|8,999|7,443|99|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1988|Republican|9,547|6,606|132|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1992|Democratic|7,998|10,858|2,626|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1996|Democratic|9,093|10,047|1,748|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|2000|Republican|11,248|10,785|405|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|2004|Republican|15,637|10,566|239|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|2008|Republican|17,101|9,739|476|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|2012|Republican|17,254|7,802|444|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|2016|Republican|19,002|6,851|1,359|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|2020|Republican|23,759|9,185|649|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|2020|Republican|23,759|9,185|649|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|2016|Republican|19,002|6,851|1,359|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|2024|Republican|25,554|8,991|394|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|2012|Republican|17,254|7,802|444|Tennessee}}
{{PresFoot}}
{{PresRow|2008|Republican|17,101|9,739|476|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|2004|Republican|15,637|10,566|239|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|2000|Republican|11,248|10,785|405|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1996|Democratic|9,093|10,047|1,748|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1992|Democratic|7,998|10,858|2,626|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1988|Republican|9,547|6,606|132|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1984|Republican|8,999|7,443|99|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1980|Democratic|6,235|8,084|434|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1976|Democratic|4,079|8,485|144|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1972|Republican|6,038|3,738|223|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1968|Republican|3,693|3,541|3,073|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1964|Democratic|2,993|6,309|0|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1960|Democratic|4,240|4,443|32|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1956|Democratic|3,492|4,481|31|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1952|Democratic|3,183|4,096|0|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1948|Democratic|1,879|3,134|551|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1944|Democratic|1,770|2,788|0|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1940|Democratic|1,576|2,963|5|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1936|Democratic|1,207|2,619|6|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1932|Democratic|1,281|2,911|22|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1928|Democratic|1,612|2,145|0|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1924|Democratic|1,489|2,474|55|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1920|Democratic|2,132|2,996|0|Tennessee}}
{{PresRow|1916|Democratic|1,383|2,300|4|Tennessee}}
{{PresFoot|1912|Democratic|923|1,867|391|Tennessee}}


==See also==
==See also==

Revision as of 21:55, 31 October 2025

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Putnam County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 79,854.[1] Its county seat is Cookeville.[2] Putnam County is part of the Cookeville, TN Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Putnam County is named in honor of Israel Putnam, who was a hero in the French and Indian War and a general in the American Revolutionary War. The county was initially established on February 2, 1842, when the Twenty-fourth Tennessee General Assembly enacted a measure creating the county from portions of Jackson, Overton, Fentress, and White counties.[3]

After the survey was completed by Mounce Gore, the Assembly instructed the commissioners to locate the county seat, to be called "Monticello," near the center of the county. Contending, however, 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. White Plains, near modern Algood, acted as a temporary county seat.[4]

The act specified the "county town" be named "Cookeville" in honor of Richard F. Cooke, who served in the Tennessee Senate from 1851 to 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.

Putnam County was the site of several saltpeter mines. Saltpeter is the main ingredient of gunpowder and was obtained by leaching the earth from several local caves. Calfkiller Saltpeter Cave, located in the Calfkiller Valley, was a major mining operation, as was Johnson Cave, also located in the Calfkiller Valley. Both caves still contain significant remnants of the mining activity. Several other caves in the county were the site of smaller operations. Most saltpeter mining in Middle Tennessee occurred during the War of 1812 and the Civil War.[5]

Geography

File:Farm-gate-putnam-tn1.jpg
Farm in rural northern Putnam County
File:Burgess Falls (935955560).jpg
Burgess Falls near the southern border with White County

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Script error: No such module "convert"., of which Script error: No such module "convert". is land and Script error: No such module "convert". (0.4%) is water.[6]

The county is part of the greater Cumberland River watershed. The southern part of the county is drained by tributaries of the Caney Fork, the northeastern part by tributaries of the Obey River, and the north-central and northwestern parts of the county drain into the Cumberland's Cordell Hull Lake impoundment.[7] The sources of two tributaries of the Caney Fork, the Falling Water River and the Calfkiller River, lie near Monterey in the eastern part of the county.

It is impossible to reach Cumberland Cove and Glade Creek without driving through another county.[8][9][10]

Adjacent counties

State protected areas

Demographics

<templatestyles src="US Census population/styles.css"/>

Historical population
CensusPop.Template:Sronly%±
18608,558—
18708,698Script error: No such module "String".%
188011,501Script error: No such module "String".%
189013,683Script error: No such module "String".%
190016,890Script error: No such module "String".%
191020,023Script error: No such module "String".%
192022,231Script error: No such module "String".%
193023,759Script error: No such module "String".%
194026,250Script error: No such module "String".%
195029,869Script error: No such module "String".%
196029,236Script error: No such module "String".%
197035,487Script error: No such module "String".%
198047,690Script error: No such module "String".%
199051,373Script error: No such module "String".%
200062,315Script error: No such module "String".%
201072,321Script error: No such module "String".%
202079,854Script error: No such module "String".%
2023 (est.)83,844[11]Script error: No such module "String".%
U.S. Decennial Census[12]
1790-1960[13] 1900-1990[14]
1990-2000[15] 2010-2014[1]

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2020 census

Putnam County racial composition[17]
Race Number Percentage
White (non-Hispanic) 66,782 83.63%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 2,161 2.71%
Native American 161 0.2%
Asian 1,086 1.36%
Pacific Islander 33 0.04%
Other/Mixed 3,375 4.23%
Hispanic or Latino 6,256 7.83%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 79,854 people, 31,778 households, and 19,395 families residing in the county.

2010 census

As of the census[18] of 2010, there were 72,321 people, 28,930 households, and 18,489 families residing in the county. The population density was Script error: No such module "convert".. There were 31,882 housing units at an average density of Script error: No such module "convert".. The racial makeup of the county was 92.0% White, 2.0% Black or African American, 0.4% Native American, 1.2% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 2.8% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. 5.3% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 28,930 households, out of which 26.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.70% were married couples 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 10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.94.

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 $33,092, and the median income for a family was $39,553. Males had a median income of $29,243 versus $21,001 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,892. About 10.30% of families and 16.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.90% of those under age 18 and 16.10% of those age 65 or over.

According to the US Census for 2013 Putnam County has the highest wealth inequality of any United States county with a population of over 65,000.[19]

Education

File:Laboratory-Science-Commons-se-TTU.jpg
The Laboratory Science Commons at Tennessee Tech

Cookeville, the largest town in Putnam County, is the home of Tennessee Technological University, which is known for its College of Education's undergraduate and graduate programs, its Engineering program's rigor, its College of Business alumni success, and the creativity of the College of Arts and Sciences. The largest college at Tennessee Tech is the College of Education. The university student population of 11,800 comprises one fourth of the resident population of Cookeville.[20]

The Putnam County school system enrolls approximately 12,000 students in 18 schools throughout the county. All schools are accredited. Cookeville High School is the largest non-metropolitan school in the state and is one of only eight high schools in the state to offer the International Baccalaureate program.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

Communities

File:Cookeville-Depot-Cream-City-tn2.jpg
Cookeville

Cities

Towns

Unincorporated communities

<templatestyles src="Div col/styles.css"/>

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Government and politics

Local Government

Putnam County has twenty-four county commissioners elected to twelve legislative districts, with two members per district.[21]

Countywide officials

  • Mayor: Randy Porter
  • Sheriff: Eddie Farris
  • County Clerk: Wayne Nabors
  • Clerk and Master: Linda Reeder
  • Circuit Court Clerk: Jennifer Wilkerson
  • Road Supervisor: Randy Jones
  • Trustee: Freddie Nelson
  • Register of Deeds: John Sanders
  • Property Assessor: Steve Pierce
  • General Sessions Judges: Steven Qualls and Steven Randolph
  • Putnam County Board of Education: Corby King
  • Putnam County Attorney: Jeff Jones
  • District Attorney General: Bryant Dunaway[22]

State and Federal Politics

Putnam County is extremely Republican-leaning for an urban county anchored by a college town (Cookeville, the county seat, is home to Tennessee Technological University); formerly a reliable Solid South county, Putnam has voted Republican in nearly every presidential election since Richard Nixon narrowly did so in 1968, making exceptions for Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton (both of whom are former governors of a neighboring state, namely and respectively Georgia and Arkansas).

Though favorite son Al Gore was just over 2% short of carrying Putnam County in 2000, he would be the last Democratic presidential candidate to come within a single-digit margin of doing so or even win so much as 40% of the county vote. In 2008, John McCain won over 60% of the county's vote. In 2020, Republican Donald Trump easily swept Putnam with over 70% of the county vote, while Democrat Joe Biden racked up less than 28% of the vote. Even the University precinct itself voted for Republican presidential candidates in 2012, 2016, 2020 and 2024, although Phil Bredesen and Karl Dean did carry it handily in the 2018 federal Senate and gubernatorial elections.[23] Despite this, Putnam was one of only four Tennessee counties Biden lost to Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary in 2020, indicating that the few Democrats left in Putnam County are unusually progressive.

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See also

References

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  1. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  4. ↑ Randal William, National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form for White PlainsScript error: No such module "Unsubst".. Retrieved: September 27, 2009.
  5. ↑ Thomas C. Barr, Jr., "Caves of Tennessee", Bulletin 64 of the Tennessee Division of Geology, 1961.
  6. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Watershed Management Approach Template:Webarchive. Retrieved: May 10, 2012.
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  16. ↑ Based on 2000 census data
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External links

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