Hard to say. Country derives, in part, from fiddle tunes that, in some cases, date back to the time of Thomas Jefferson. Its lyrics derive from pop songs of the latter 19th century such as, "Where Is My Wandering Boy Tonight," "A Picture from Life's Other Side," "The Vacant Chair" (1861), "Father's a Drunkard and Mother Is Dead" (1866), "Life's Railway to Heaven," "My Mother's Bible," and so on. Plus, any number of ballads from the late 1800s and early 1900s re dying children, young mothers dying on trains ("In the Baggage Car Ahead"), murdered pregnant women, and similarly cheerful subjects.
And there's the cowboy-song aspect, which sort of went out with Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, and Eddie Dean.
And you have a connection to Sacred Harp, a.k.a shape-note, singing in the South during the Civil War and post-Civil-War period. Complicated!!
My theory is that what we call Country music was, in the not-too-distant past, simply pop music. It was part of the popular music environment of its time and, as such, didn't stand out. But that would have been quite some time ago, so who's to say?