Chester County, Tennessee | |
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Chester County Courthouse in Henderson, 2003
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![]() Location in the U.S. state of Tennessee |
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![]() Tennessee's location in the U.S. |
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Founded | 1882 |
Named for | Robert Chester |
Seat | Henderson |
Largest city | Henderson |
Area | |
• Total | 286 sq mi (741 km2) |
• Land | 286 sq mi (741 km2) |
• Water | 0.2 sq mi (1 km2), 0.08% |
Population | |
• (2010) | 17,131 |
• Density | 60/sq mi (23/km²) |
Congressional district | 7th |
Time zone | Central: UTC-6/-5 |
Website | chestercountytn |
Chester County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2010 census, the population was 17,131. Its county seat is Henderson. The county was created in 1879 and organized in 1882.
Chester County is included in the Jackson, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Chester County was the last county formed in Tennessee, created by the General Assembly in 1875 from adjacent parts of neighboring Hardeman, Henderson, McNairy, and Madison counties. This land was used to create a county named Wisdom County, but "Wisdom County" was never organized, and in March 1879 the Assembly repealed this and created Chester County out of the same land. Lawsuits by opponents of the creation of the new county delayed actual organization until 1882. Chester County was named for Colonel Robert I. Chester, a quartermaster in the War of 1812, an early postmaster in Jackson, and a federal marshal.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 286 square miles (740 km2), of which 286 square miles (740 km2) is land and 0.2 square miles (0.52 km2) (0.08%) is water.
As of the census of 2000, there were 15,540 people, 5,660 households, and 4,199 families residing in the county. The population density was 54 people per square mile (21/km²). There were 6,178 housing units at an average density of 21 per square mile (8/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 88.13% White(non-Hispanic), 10.03% Black or African American, 0.23% Native American, 0.23% Asian, 0.31% from other races, and 1.07% from two or more races. 0.97% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.