The story
History
The present site of Paris was selected by five commissioners appointed to the task of choosing a county seat at the December 1822 session of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions of Henry County. Their choice was a 50-acre (20 ha) site, of which 37.5 acres (15.2 ha) were owned by Joseph Blythe and 12.5 acres (5.1 ha) owned by Peter Ruff; both men donated the land to the county to have the seat there. A public square, streets, alleys, and 104 lots were laid off, and the lots were sold at auction over a two-day period in either March or April 1823.
Paris was incorporated on September 30, 1823. It was the first town incorporated in West Tennessee, followed by Lexington on October 9, 1824, and Memphis on December 19, 1826. The city was named after Paris, in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette, a hero of the American Revolutionary War.
As the county seat, Paris was a center of trade for the rural county, which was largely devoted to agriculture and particularly the cultivation of cotton as a commodity crop. The planters depended on a large workforce of enslaved African Americans. In 1927, a man named Joseph Upchurch was lynched in Paris.
Between about 1970 and 1990, Paris became the center of the Old Beachy Amish. Beachy Amish from different regions moved there to maintain their traditional ways. Because of internal conflicts, most Old Beachy Amish left the region in the early 1990s and had completely vacated it by 2000.
Since the American Civil War, Paris has had an African American community of around 15%. Prior to the early 1960s, young black children attended segregated schools. But beginning in the 1960s, the town of Paris worked in conjunction with Henry County to consolidate all schools, busing all children from the periphery of the county to consolidated, integrated schools in Paris. The process was largely peaceful. Also beginning in the 1960s, there was a gradual process of integration of the races in business around the town, also largely peaceful.
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Paris had a population of 10,316, with 4,467 households and 2,556 families residing in the city. The median age was 41.4 years; 22.9% of residents were under the age of 18 and 22.2% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females, there were 87.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 82.7 males age 18 and over.
There were 4,467 households in Paris, of which 27.8% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 33.9% were married-couple households, 20.3% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 39.2% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 37.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 5,018 housing units, of which 11.0% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.9% and the rental vacancy rate was 8.5%.
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96.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 4.0% lived in rural areas.
2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there was a population of 10,156, with 4,394 households and 2,605 families residing in the city. The population density was 897.4 inhabitants per square mile (346.5/km2). There were 4,965 housing units at an average density of 456.4 per square mile (176.2/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 76.99% White, 19.25% African American, 0.34% Native American, 0.64% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.42% from other races, and 2.34% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.63% of the population.
There were 4,394 households, out of which 24.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.5% were married couples living together, 16.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.7% were non-families. 36.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14 and the average family size was 2.77.
In the city, the ages of population were nearly equally distributed, with 22.94% under the age of 18, 55.89% from 18 to 64, and 21.7% who were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females, there were 81.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $25,261, and the median income for a family was $32,258. Males had a median income of $27,759 versus $20,198 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,572. About 14.1% of families and 19.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.6% of those under age 18 and 20.5% of those age 65 or over.
From Wikipedia’s article on Paris, Tennessee, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5