| County: | Lauderdale County |
| State: | Tennessee |
| Founded: | 1835 |
| Named For: | James Lauderdale[1] |
| Seat Wl: | Ripley |
| Largest City Wl: | Ripley |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 508 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 472 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 36 |
| Area Percentage: | 7.0% |
| Census Yr: | 2020 |
| Pop: | 25143 |
| Density Sq Mi: | 59 |
| Time Zone: | Central |
| Ex Image: | Lauderdale County court house Ripley TN 2013-09-14 008.jpg |
| Ex Image Cap: | Lauderdale County Courthouse in Ripley |
| Web: | https://lauderdalecountytn.org/ |
| District: | 8th |
Lauderdale County is a county located on the western edge of the U.S. state of Tennessee, with its border the Mississippi River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,143. Its county seat is Ripley.[2] Since the antebellum years, it has been developed for cotton as a major commodity crop.
Lauderdale County was created in 1835 from parts of Tipton, Dyer and Haywood counties. It was named for Lieutenant Colonel James Lauderdale, who was killed at the Battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812. Planters developed large cotton plantations along the waterways, and used enslaved African Americans in gangs to work and process this commodity crop. After the American Civil War, many freedmen initially stayed in the area, working the land as sharecroppers or tenant farmers. Whites used violence to enforce white supremacy after the war, continuing after Reconstruction. In the period after Reconstruction and into the early 20th century, whites in Lauderdale County committed eight lynchings of blacks. This was the fifth-highest total of any county in the state, but three other counties also had eight lynchings each in this period.[3]
See main article: Battle of Fort Pillow. In 1861, the Confederate States Army built extensive defensive fortifications in Lauderdale County along the Mississippi River and named the site for General Gideon J. Pillow. Because of its strategic location, the fort was taken over by the Union Army in 1864, which had occupied the state since 1862.
In 1864, Confederates attacked and overran the fort's Union defenders, who were about evenly split between white and black soldiers. They were reported to have refused to surrender, but historians have disputed this account. The Confederates gave the soldiers no quarter, and killed black soldiers in twice the proportion of white ones. After the Union Army established the United States Colored Troops (USCT), made up of numerous recruits who were escaped slaves, Southern military officials vowed to kill them rather than take them prisoner.[4] People in the North considered this event to be a massacre, and blacks in the Union Army used the cry, "Remember Fort Pillow!" to rally during the remainder of the war.
Fort Pillow State Park has a museum to interpret the battle and also has reconstructed fortifications on the original site of the fort.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and (7.0%) is water.[5] The county's western boundary is formed by the Mississippi River, its northern boundary with Dyer County is formed by the Forked Deer River, and its southern boundary with Haywood County is formed by the Hatchie River.
Lauderdale County is situated on the southeastern edge of the New Madrid Seismic Zone, an area with a high earthquake risk.
| White (non-Hispanic) | 15,016 | 59.72% | |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 8,385 | 33.35% | |
| Native American | 133 | 0.53% | |
| Asian | 53 | 0.21% | |
| Other/Mixed | 969 | 3.85% | |
| Hispanic or Latino | 587 | 2.33% |
As of the census[7] of 2000, there were 27,101 people, 9,567 households, and 6,811 families residing in the county. The population density was 58/mi2. There were 10,563 housing units at an average density of 22adj=preNaNadj=pre. The racial makeup of the county was 63.82% White, 34.08% Black or African American, 0.62% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.52% from other races, and 0.78% from two or more races. 1.16% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 9,567 households, out of which 32.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.70% were married couples living together, 17.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.80% were non-families. 25.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.06.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.80% under the age of 18, 10.30% from 18 to 24, 31.20% from 25 to 44, 21.70% from 45 to 64, and 12.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 108.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 109.00 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $29,751, and the median income for a family was $36,841. Males had a median income of $28,325 versus $21,238 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,682. About 16.20% of families and 19.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.70% of those under age 18 and 26.50% of those age 65 or over.
Sleepy John Estes was a U.S. blues guitarist, songwriter and vocalist, born in Ripley, Tennessee.[8] He died on June 5, 1977, in his home of 17 years in Brownsville, Haywood County, Tennessee.[9] [10] [11] Sleepy John is buried at Elam Baptist Church Cemetery in Durhamville, Lauderdale County.[11]
See main article: Arnold Field (Tennessee).
The Veterans' Museum on the grounds of the former Dyersburg Army Air Base in Halls is dedicated to the preservation and documentation of materials related to military activities from World War I to the present day wars and conflicts, as well as documenting the history of the air base itself.
The Tennessee Department of Corrections operates the West Tennessee State Penitentiary in unincorporated Lauderdale County, near Henning.[12] Previously the Cold Creek Correctional Facility was located in the area.[13]
All parts of the county are in the Lauderdale County School District.[14]