Maury County, Tennessee

Maury County, Tennessee
Maury County Courthouse in Columbia
Seal
Location in the U.S. state of Tennessee
Tennessee's location in the U.S.
Founded	1807
Named for	Abram Poindexter Maury
Seat	Columbia
Largest city	Columbia
Area
• Total	616 sq mi (1,595 km2)
• Land	613 sq mi (1,588 km2)
• Water	2.4 sq mi (6 km2), 0.4%
Population
• (2016)	89,981
• Density	147/sq mi (57/km²)
Congressional districts	4th, 7th
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.maurycounty-tn.gov
Footnotes: Estimate

Maury County (/ˈmʌri/ MUHR-ee) is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee, in the Middle Tennessee region. As of the 2010 census, the population was 80,956. Its county seat is Columbia.

Maury County is part of the Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area.

The county was formed in 1807 from Williamson County and Indian lands. Maury County was named in honor of Major Abram Poindexter Maury of Williamson County, who was a member of the Tennessee legislature, and an uncle of Commodore Matthew Fontaine Maury.

The rich soil of Maury County led to a thriving agricultural sector, starting in the 19th century. The county was part of a 41-county region that became known and legally defined as Middle Tennessee. The area contains the majority of population in the state. Planters in Maury County formerly relied on the labor of African-American slaves to raise and process cotton, tobacco, and livestock (especially dairy cattle).

With the mechanization of agriculture, particularly from the 1930s, the need for farm labor in the county was reduced. Also, many African Americans moved to northern and midwestern industrial cities in the 20th century for the employment opportunities, particularly during the Great Migration. This movement out of the county continued after World War II. Other changes have led to increased population since the late 20th century, and the county has led the state in beef cattle production.