Monterey, Tennessee

For other uses, see Monterey (disambiguation).

Monterey, Tennessee
Town
Town of Monterey
East Commercial Avenue
Motto(s):  "", [1] "Where Hilltops Kiss the Sky" [1]
Location of Monterey in Putnam County, Tennessee.
Coordinates: 36°8′43″N85°15′57″W / 36.14528°N 85.26583°W / 36.14528; -85.26583
Country	United States
State	Tennessee
County	Putnam
Incorporated	1893 [2]
Named for	Spanish for "King of the Mountain" [2]
Government [3]
• Type	Mayor-council
•  Mayor	Nathan Walker
•  Vice Mayor	Mark Farley
•  Town Council	Aldermen Charles Looper (also Vice Mayor) Mark Farley James Foster Alex Garcia Amy Martin James Whittaker Nathan Walker Charles Looper
Area [4]
• Total	3.03 sq mi (7.85 km2)
• Land	3.03 sq mi (7.84 km2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.01 km2)
Elevation [5]	1,880 ft (570 m)
Population  (2020) [6]
• Total	2,746
• Density	906.87/sq mi (350.18/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	38574
Area code	931
FIPS code	47-49760 [7]
GNIS feature ID	1294185 [5]
Website	www.exploremontereytn.com

Monterey is a town in Putnam County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 2,850 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Cookeville, Tennessee Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Monterey is rooted in a settlement that developed around a landmark known as the "Standing Stone" in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The stone was as a guidepost for travelers along Avery's Trace, and is believed to have earlier served as a boundary marker between the territories of the Cherokee and Shawnee. ^[2] By 1805, three families had settled permanently in area, and the Standing Stone Inn was established to cater to westward-bound migrants. ^[2]

The Standing Stone Monument

In the Spring of 1864, during the Civil War, 200 Union soldiers led by Colonel William B. Stokes entered the Monterey area with orders to root out Confederate guerrilla activity. On the morning of March 12 of that year, Stokes' men entered the home of William Alexander Officer near Monterey and killed six of his guests, having accused them of being Confederate guerrillas. ^[8] A Tennessee Historical Commission marker on Commercial Avenue in Monterey remembers the event.

With the progress of rail road coming up the mountain from Cookeville, the Cumberland Mountain Coal Company, a group of 10 investors, bought property that contained coal from T.J. Whittaker. The company was interested in building a new company town to provide housing and commercial ventures for the workers. They hired Maj. Robert John Moscrip to lay out the new town. A contest was held to name it. Moscrip won. The new town was to be named “Monterey”, which meant “King of the Mountains”, and coal was king. Moscrip continued engineering the railroad tracks out the Crawford Branch into Overton County. That line opened by 1894. He was also hired to open coal lands for the Alexander Crawford family up to 1904. A female contractor was hired, which was unheard of at the time, to build a portion of that line. ^[9]

On the evening of April 3, 2020, the National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for the watershed of the Calfkiller River due to the failure of the dam confining the town's municipal lake. ^[10]

Geography

Monterey is located at 36°8′43″N85°15′57″W / 36.14528°N 85.26583°W / 36.14528; -85.26583 (36.145291, -85.265757). ^[11] The town is situated at the western edge of the Cumberland Plateau in eastern Putnam County, just north of the point where the counties of Putnam, White, and Cumberland meet, and just southwest of the point where Putnam, Overton, and Fentress meet. It is located approximately 90 miles (140 km) east of Nashville and the same distance west of Knoxville, and is connected with these two cities by Interstate 40 (exits 300 and 301) and U.S. Route 70. State Route 84 connects Monterey with Livingston to the northwest and Sparta to the southwest. State Route 62 connects Monterey with Clarkrange along U.S. Route 127 to the east, and State Route 164 connects the town with Crawford and the rural areas of the western Plateau to the north.

The sources of the Calfkiller River and the Falling Water River are both located just west of Monterey, on opposite sides of I-40.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 3.0 square miles (7.8 km²), of which, 3.0 square miles (7.8 km²) is land and 0.34% is water.

Climate

Climate data for Monterey, Tennessee (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1904–present)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °F (°C)	75 (24)	78 (26)	82 (28)	86 (30)	90 (32)	103 (39)	102 (39)	99 (37)	99 (37)	93 (34)	82 (28)	73 (23)	103 (39)
Mean maximum °F (°C)	64.2 (17.9)	67.6 (19.8)	74.4 (23.6)	81.2 (27.3)	84.8 (29.3)	89.5 (31.9)	90.8 (32.7)	90.3 (32.4)	87.8 (31.0)	81.3 (27.4)	73.4 (23.0)	64.7 (18.2)	92.3 (33.5)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C)	43.1 (6.2)	47.4 (8.6)	56.2 (13.4)	66.5 (19.2)	74.5 (23.6)	81.1 (27.3)	84.2 (29.0)	83.3 (28.5)	78.0 (25.6)	67.6 (19.8)	55.7 (13.2)	46.6 (8.1)	65.4 (18.5)
Daily mean °F (°C)	35.2 (1.8)	38.8 (3.8)	46.7 (8.2)	56.4 (13.6)	65.0 (18.3)	72.1 (22.3)	75.4 (24.1)	74.4 (23.6)	68.7 (20.4)	57.7 (14.3)	46.9 (8.3)	39.0 (3.9)	56.4 (13.6)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C)	27.2 (−2.7)	30.1 (−1.1)	37.3 (2.9)	46.3 (7.9)	55.6 (13.1)	63.2 (17.3)	66.6 (19.2)	65.6 (18.7)	59.4 (15.2)	47.8 (8.8)	38.2 (3.4)	31.4 (−0.3)	47.4 (8.5)
Mean minimum °F (°C)	5.2 (−14.9)	11.5 (−11.4)	18.6 (−7.4)	29.5 (−1.4)	38.7 (3.7)	50.5 (10.3)	57.1 (13.9)	56.2 (13.4)	44.2 (6.8)	31.3 (−0.4)	20.8 (−6.2)	13.0 (−10.6)	3.3 (−15.9)
Record low °F (°C)	−6 (−21)	−11 (−24)	2 (−17)	18 (−8)	31 (−1)	42 (6)	51 (11)	49 (9)	35 (2)	22 (−6)	−7 (−22)	−6 (−21)	−11 (−24)
Average precipitation inches (mm)	5.72 (145)	5.75 (146)	6.00 (152)	5.82 (148)	5.42 (138)	5.48 (139)	5.63 (143)	4.51 (115)	4.79 (122)	3.80 (97)	4.73 (120)	6.69 (170)	64.34 (1,635)
Average snowfall inches (cm)	4.8 (12)	5.0 (13)	2.8 (7.1)	0.3 (0.76)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.0 (0.0)	0.2 (0.51)	2.9 (7.4)	16.0 (41)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in)	15.1	13.5	14.2	12.5	13.0	12.6	12.4	10.8	9.5	10.1	10.8	14.1	148.6
Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in)	3.3	3.0	1.6	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	1.7	10.1
Source 1: NOAA [12]
Source 2: National Weather Service [13]

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1910	1,107		—
1920	1,445		30.5%
1930	1,731		19.8%
1940	1,742		0.6%
1950	2,043		17.3%
1960	2,069		1.3%
1970	2,351		13.6%
1980	2,610		11.0%
1990	2,559		−2.0%
2000	2,717		6.2%
2010	2,850		4.9%
2020	2,746		−3.6%
Sources: [14] [15] [6]

2020 census

Monterey racial composition ^[16]

Race	Number	Percentage
White (non-Hispanic)	1,863	67.84%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	10	0.36%
Native American	2	0.07%
Other/Mixed	89	3.24%
Hispanic or Latino	782	28.48%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,746 people, 877 households, and 616 families residing in the town.

2000 census

As of the census ^[7] of 2000, there were 2,717 people, 1,029 households, and 697 families residing in the town. The population density was 920.9 inhabitants per square mile (355.6/km²). There were 1,141 housing units at an average density of 386.7 per square mile (149.3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 88.81% White, 0.92% African American, 0.04% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 9.09% from other races, and 0.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 16.34% of the population.

Railroad cars at the Monterey Depot

There were 1,029 households, out of which 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.0% were married couples living together, 12.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.2% were non-families. 28.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 24.7% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 16.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.1 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $23,550, and the median income for a family was $28,603. Males had a median income of $21,772 versus $18,895 for females. The per capita income for the town was $12,265. About 22.1% of families and 27.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 38.4% of those under age 18 and 16.5% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

• Charlotte Burks, former Tennessee State Senator.
• Tommy Burks, former Tennessee State Senator
• Harvie June Van, country music singer

References

1. "Welcome Page". Town of Monterey. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
2. Monterey, Tennessee - History. Retrieved: January 23, 2013. Accessed at Archive.org July 17, 2016.
3. "Monterey". Municipal Technical Advisory Service. University of Tennessee . Retrieved October 22, 2020.
4. "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
5. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Monterey, Tennessee
6. "Census Population API". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
7. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 31, 2008.
8. Op Walker, "Union Forces Massacred Several at Officer House 150 Years Ago," AJLambert.com. Originally published in the Cookville Herald-Citizen, April 13, 2014.
9. "Moscrip made mark on Upper Cumberland". Overton County News. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
10. WTVF-DT, Newschannel 5 at 6 PM, April 3, 2020
11. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
12. "U.S. Climate Normals Quick Access – Station: Monterey, TN". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
13. "NOAA Online Weather Data – NWS Nashville". National Weather Service. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
14. "Census of Population and Housing: Decennial Censuses". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved March 4, 2012.
15. "Incorporated Places and Minor Civil Divisions Datasets: Subcounty Resident Population Estimates: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2012". Population Estimates. U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 11, 2013. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
16. "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 27, 2021.

External links

• Official site
• Monterey High School
• Burks Elementary School
• Municipal Technical Advisory Service entry for Monterey — information on local government, elections, and link to charter