Robertson County
County
Robertson County courthouse in Springfield
Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Tennessee
Tennessee's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 36°32′N 86°52′W / 36.53°N 86.87°W / 36.53; -86.87
Country	United States
State	Tennessee
Founded	April 9, 1796 (1796-04-09)
Named for	James Robertson[1]
Seat	Springfield
Largest city	Springfield
Government
• Mayor	Billy Vogle
Area
• Total	476 sq mi (1,230 km2)
• Land	476 sq mi (1,230 km2)
• Water	0.2 sq mi (0.5 km2)  0.04%
Population  (2020)
• Total	72,803
• Density	145/sq mi (56/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	7th
Website	robertsoncountytn.gov

Robertson County is a county located on the central northern border of Tennessee in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 72,803 people. Its county seat is Springfield.^[2] The county was named for James Robertson, an explorer, founder of Nashville, and a state senator, who was often called the "Father of Middle Tennessee." Robertson County is a component of the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

This was part of the Miro District (also spelled Mero), named after the Spanish Governor Esteban Rodríguez Miró of what was then Louisiana on the west side of the Mississippi River. Miró had served with Spanish troops that assisted the Americans during their war for independence. James Robertson, the explorer for whom this county was named, was trying to create an alliance with Miró that would allow free movement on the Mississippi River (which Spain controlled) to settlers on the Cumberland frontier. Before statehood, this territory was known as Tennessee County.

It was organized as Robertson County in 1796, at the same time as Montgomery County, which had also been part of the Miro district. The county seat, Springfield, Tennessee, was laid out in 1798. Although initially, most settlers did not hold slaves, by the 1820s planters began to cultivate tobacco, a commodity crop that was labor-intensive and depended on enslaved African Americans. The planters bought slaves to work their plantations, as well as to care for the livestock they bred - thoroughbred horses and cattle.

By the time of the Civil War, African Americans comprised about one-quarter of the area's population, typical for Middle Tennessee, where tobacco and hemp were commodity crops. During the Civil War, Tennessee was occupied by the Union from 1862, which led to a breakdown in social organization in Middle Tennessee.^[3]

By 1910 the county's population was 25,466, including 6,492 black citizens, who continued to make up one-quarter of the total. Most of the residents were still involved in farm work, and tobacco was the primary commodity crop, but agricultural mechanization was reducing the need for laborers. White conservative Democrats had tried to restrict black voting; other southern states had excluded blacks from the political process. Many African Americans left rural Robertson County and other parts of Tennessee in the Great Migration to northern and midwestern cities for employment and social freedom. Combined with the later in-migration of whites to the county, by the early 21st century, African Americans comprised less than 10 percent of the county population. They live chiefly in its larger towns.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 476 square miles (1,230 km²), of which 476 square miles (1,230 km²) is land and 0.2 square miles (0.52 km²) (0.04%) is water.^[4]

Demographics

Age pyramid Robertson County^[10]

Communities

Transportation

Highways

Interstate Highways

• Interstate 65
• Interstate 24

United States Numbered Highways

• U.S. Route 31W
• U.S. Route 41
• U.S. Route 41 Alternate
• U.S. Route 431

Tennessee State Routes

• Tennessee State Route 11^{[lower-alpha 1]}
• Tennessee State Route 25
• Tennessee State Route 41^{[lower-alpha 2]}
• Tennessee State Route 49
• Tennessee State Route 52
• Tennessee State Route 65^{[lower-alpha 3]}
• / Tennessee State Route 76^{[lower-alpha 4]}
• Tennessee State Route 109
• Tennessee State Route 112^{[lower-alpha 5]}
• Tennessee State Route 161
• Tennessee State Route 256
• Tennessee State Route 257

Interstate 65 runs along the eastern border of the county for about 20 miles (32 km), and Interstate 24 runs along the southwestern border of the county for about 10 miles (16 km). U.S. Routes 41 and 431 run through the county, intersecting and briefly forming a concurrency in Springfield. US 31W forms the eastern border with Sumner County and runs through White House and Cross Plains. Major state routes include 25, 49, 52, 76, and 109. Secondary state routes in Robertson County include 161, 256, and 257.^[13]

Politics

Like many other rural southern counties, Robertson County has been historically a Democratic stronghold. Since the 2004 presidential election, however, the county (and the state as a whole) has sped rapidly toward the Republican Party. The last time Robertson County voted for a Democratic candidate in a statewide race was for Phil Bredesen in 2006, and the last time it voted for a Democratic candidate on a presidential level, was in 2000 when it voted for Democrat Al Gore.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Robertson County, Tennessee
• List of counties in Tennessee

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Robertson County, Tennessee.

• Official site
• Robertson County History in state encyclopedia
• Robertson County, Tenn GenWeb - free genealogy resources for the county
• Robertson County at Curlie
• Robertson County Chamber of Commerce Archived November 25, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
• Robertson County Schools

36°32′N 86°52′W / 36.53°N 86.87°W / 36.53; -86.87