Fayette County, Tennessee

Fayette County, Tennessee
County Courthouse, Town of Somerville, seat of Fayette County
Location in the U.S. state of Tennessee
Tennessee's location in the U.S.
Founded	September 29, 1824
Named for	Marquis de Lafayette
Seat	Somerville
Largest town	Oakland
Area
• Total	706 sq mi (1,829 km2)
• Land	705 sq mi (1,826 km2)
• Water	1.5 sq mi (4 km2), 0.2%
Population
• (2010)	38,413
• Density	55/sq mi (21/km²)
Congressional district	8th
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	fayettetn.us

Fayette County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2010 census, the population was 38,413. Its county seat is Somerville. The county was named after the Marquis de la Fayette, French hero of the American Revolution.

Fayette County is part of the Memphis, TN–MS–AR Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is considered part of the Mississippi Delta and was a major area of cotton plantations dependent on slave labor in the nineteenth century.

Rhea "Skip" Taylor is currently the county mayor. Fayette County has a 19 person legislative body referred to as the Board of County Commissioners. All positions are elected every four (4) years along with the County Mayor.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 706 square miles (1,830 km²), of which 705 square miles (1,830 km²) is land and 1.5 square miles (3.9 km²) (0.2%) is water. It is the third-largest county in Tennessee by area.

As of the census of 2000, there were 28,806 people, 10,467 households, and 8,017 families residing in the county. The population density was 41 people per square mile (16/km²). There were 11,214 housing units at an average density of 16 per square mile (6/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 62.48% White, 35.95% Black or African American, 0.19% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.39% from other races, and 0.76% from two or more races. 1.03% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.