Carthage, Tennessee
Smith County Courthouse in Carthage
Location of Carthage, Tennessee
Coordinates: 36°15′18″N 85°56′57″W / 36.255, -85.94917
Country	United States
State	Tennessee
County	Smith
Area
- Total	2.9 sq mi (7.4 km²)
- Land	2.9 sq mi (7.4 km²)
- Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km²)
Elevation	515 ft (157 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	2,251
- Density	784.5/sq mi (302.9/km²)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
- Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	37030
Area code(s)	615
FIPS code	47-11280[1]
GNIS feature ID	1279827[2]

Carthage is a town in Smith County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 2,251 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Smith County^[3], and perhaps best-known as the hometown of former Vice President Al Gore, and his father, Senator Albert Gore, Sr. The younger Gore announced his 1988 and 2000 presidential bids, as well as his 1992 vice-presidential bid, from the steps of the Smith County Courthouse.

Geography

Carthage is located at 36°15′18″N, 85°56′57″W (36.254960, -85.949211)^[4]. The town is situated amidst a series of low hills at the confluence of the Cumberland River and the Caney Fork River, and just southwest of the former's Cordell Hull Lake impoundment. South Carthage is located along the opposite bank of the Cumberland to the south.

U.S. Route 70 passes east-to-west through South Carthage, connecting the area with Nashville to the west and Cookeville to the east. State Route 53 connects US-70 with Gordonsville and Interstate 40 to the south. State Route 25 connects Carthage with Trousdale County and north-central Tennessee to the northwest, and State Route 80 connects the town with Macon County to the north.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 2.9 square miles (7.4 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 2,251 people, 952 households, and 560 families residing in the town. The population density was 784.5 people per square mile (302.8/km²). There were 1,050 housing units at an average density of 365.9/sq mi (141.3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 90.67% White, 6.53% African American, 0.27% Native American, 0.53% Asian, 0.76% from other races, and 1.24% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.16% of the population.

The Carthage business district

There were 952 households out of which 25.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.2% were married couples living together, 16.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.1% were non-families. 38.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 21.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the town the population was spread out with 21.9% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 23.9% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 22.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 80.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 72.6 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $24,375, and the median income for a family was $32,159. Males had a median income of $30,531 versus $20,417 for females. The per capita income for the town was $18,709. About 18.6% of families and 20.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.0% of those under age 18 and 19.2% of those age 65 or over.

History

The earliest known Euro-American settler in what is now Carthage was William Walton (1760-1816), who arrived in the late 1780s.^[5] Around 1800, Walton directed the construction of the Walton Road (Cumberland Turnpike), an early stage coach route connecting the Knoxville area with Middle Tennessee. The road, which roughly paralleled what is now US-70, would prove influential in the early settlement of the Cumberland region.^[6] Walton operated a ferry and tavern along the road, around which a small community developed. In 1804, Walton's community was chosen as the county seat of the newly-formed Smith County after a heated election, and the town of Carthage was laid out shortly thereafter.^[7]

Carthage's situation at the confluence of the Cumberland and Caney Fork rivers made it an important shipping and steamboat port throughout the first half of the 19th-century. The emergence of railroads later in the century, however, made steamboat and river travel largely obsolete, and the area's industrial focus shifted to South Carthage and Gordonsville.^[8]

Notable residents

• Albert Gore, Sr. — U.S. Senator
• Albert Gore, Jr. — U.S. Senator and Vice President
• Simon Pollard Hughes, Jr. — Governor of Arkansas, 1885-1889
• Cordell Hull — U.S. Secretary of State; practiced law in Carthage
• Brandon Maggart — actor
• Benton McMillin — Governor of Tennessee, 1899-1903
• Ron Meredith — President/Owner WYSH TV & Radio

References

External links

• Carthage, Tennessee is at coordinates 36°15′18″N 85°56′57″W / 36.25496, -85.949211 (Carthage, Tennessee)Coordinates: 36°15′18″N 85°56′57″W / 36.25496, -85.949211 (Carthage, Tennessee)
• Smith County, Tennessee — official site

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