Lake County, Tennessee

Lake County, Tennessee
Lake County Courthouse in Tiptonville
Location in the U.S. state of Tennessee
Tennessee's location in the U.S.
Founded	1870
Named for	Reelfoot Lake
Seat	Tiptonville
Largest town	Tiptonville
Area
• Total	194 sq mi (502 km2)
• Land	166 sq mi (430 km2)
• Water	28 sq mi (73 km2), 14%
Population
• (2010)	7,832
• Density	47/sq mi (18/km²)
Congressional district	8th
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.lakecountytn.com

Lake County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2010 census, the population was 7,832, making it the fifth-least populous county in Tennessee. Its county seat is Tiptonville. It is the state's northwesternmost county, sharing a border with Kentucky and separated from Missouri to the west by the Mississippi River. Reelfoot Lake occupies much of the northern part of the county.

From 1877-1950, there were 13 lynchings of blacks in the county, the third highest number in the state. Neighboring Obion County had 18 lynchings. These two counties have had small overall populations compared to Shelby County, where there were 20 lynchings in that period. Most occurred around the turn of the century.

The history of Lake County has been largely defined by Reelfoot Lake, a natural lake created by the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811 and 1812. It is surrounded by wetlands. This territory was originally included in Obion County.

In 1862, during the Civil War, the Battle of Island Number Ten took place in the Mississippi River, just off the shores of Obion County, in territory now part of Lake County.

The county was organized in 1870, during the Reconstruction era. its residents had long complained about the difficulty of having to traverse swampy areas around Reelfoot Lake to reach the county seat, then Troy, Tennessee. After the new Lake County was established, Tiptonville was designated as the seat of government.

In 1907, a violent conflict took place in Lake and Obion counties when a private company, the West Tennessee Land Company, gained control of Reelfoot Lake and announced plans to drain it. A band of local renegades, known as the "Night Riders of Reelfoot Lake," harassed the company's employees, eventually kidnapping and killing one. Governor Malcolm Patterson personally led the Tennessee National Guard into the area, and arrested hundreds of suspected Night Riders.