Van Buren County, Tennessee

Van Buren County
County
Van Buren County Courthouse in Spencer
Flag
Location within the U.S. state of Tennessee
Tennessee's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 35°41′N85°28′W / 35.69°N 85.46°W / 35.69; -85.46
Country	United States
State	Tennessee
Founded	January 3, 1840
Named for	Martin Van Buren [1]
Seat	Spencer
Largest town	Spencer
Area
• Total	275 sq mi (710 km2)
• Land	273 sq mi (710 km2)
• Water	1.1 sq mi (3 km2)  0.4%
Population  (2020)
• Total	6,168
• Density	20/sq mi (8/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Area code	423, 931
Congressional district	6th
Website	vanburencountytn.com

Van Buren County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,168, making it the second-least populous county in Tennessee. ^[2] Its county seat is Spencer. ^[3]

History

Van Buren County was formed in 1840 from parts of White, Warren and Bledsoe counties. It was named for President Martin Van Buren. ^[1] The county seat, Spencer, was home to Burritt College, one of the South's first coeducational colleges, during the 19th and early 20th centuries. ^[1]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 275 square miles (710 km²), of which 273 square miles (710 km²) is land and 1.1 square miles (2.8 km²) (0.4%) is water. ^[4] The county straddles the western edge of the Cumberland Plateau, with the eastern portion of the county lying atop the Plateau, and the western portion lying on the lower Highland Rim. ^[1] The Caney Fork, the county's primary drainage, forms part of its northern border with White County. The Rocky River, a tributary of the Caney Fork, forms part of the county's western border with Warren. Cane Creek, another tributary of the Caney Fork, drains the Fall Creek Falls area.

Fall Creek Falls

Hills near Spencer

Big Bone Cave is located in the northwest corner of Van Buren County. It is one of the best-known and most historic caverns in Tennessee. It was mined by prehistoric Indians for gypsum and salts and was the site of the largest saltpeter mine in Tennessee during the War of 1812 and again during the American Civil War. The cave is named for the discovery of the skeleton of a Giant Ground Sloth (Megalonyx jeffersoni) by saltpeter miners in 1811. Many of the wooden saltpeter mining artifacts in the cave remain in a remarkable state of preservation, due to the extreme dryness of the cave. ^{[5] [6]}

Van Buren County boasts over 850 documented caves (over 3.09 caves per square mile), making it one of the most cave dense regions in the world (nearby White County has over 3.17 caves per square mile). ^[7]

Adjacent counties

• White County (north)
• Cumberland County (northeast)
• Bledsoe County (east)
• Sequatchie County (south)
• Warren County (west)

State protected areas

• Big Bone Cave State Natural Area
• Bledsoe State Forest (part)
• Fall Creek Falls State Natural Area (part)
• Fall Creek Falls State Resort Park (part)

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1850	2,674		—
1860	2,581		−3.5%
1870	2,725		5.6%
1880	2,933		7.6%
1890	2,863		−2.4%
1900	3,126		9.2%
1910	2,784		−10.9%
1920	2,624		−5.7%
1930	3,516		34.0%
1940	4,090		16.3%
1950	3,985		−2.6%
1960	3,671		−7.9%
1970	3,758		2.4%
1980	4,728		25.8%
1990	4,846		2.5%
2000	5,508		13.7%
2010	5,548		0.7%
2020	6,168		11.2%
U.S. Decennial Census [8] 1790-1960 [9] 1900-1990 [10] 1990-2000 [11] 2010-2020 [12] 2020 [2]

Age pyramid Van Buren County

2020 census

Van Buren County racial composition ^[14]

Race	Number	Percentage
White (non-Hispanic)	5,866	95.1%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	20	0.32%
Native American	7	0.11%
Asian	10	0.16%
Pacific Islander	1	0.02%
Other/Mixed	181	2.93%
Hispanic or Latino	83	1.35%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 6,168 people, 2,141 households, and 1,545 families residing in the county.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, ^[15] there were 5,548 people and 2,096 households in the county. The population density was 20.3 people per square mile (7.8 people/km²). There were 2,673 housing units at an average density of 9.8 units per square mile (3.8/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.5% White, 0.7% Black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.2% Asian, and 0.9% from two or more races. 0.9% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 2,096 households, out of which 29.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.9% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.0% were non-families. 24.3% of all households were made up of individuals, while 30.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43. 82.6% of occupied housing units were owner-occupied, meaning that 17.4% were renter-occupied.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.2% up to the age of 19, 8.8% from 20 to 29, 12.4% from 30 to 39, 13.4% from 40 to 49, 16.8% from 50 to 59, 14.7% from 60 to 69, and 10.7% who were 70 years of age or older. The median age was 44.5 years. Women make up 50.2% of the population.

The median income for a household in the county was $29,087. The per capita income for the county was $17,160. 24.6% of the population were below the poverty line.

Recreation

Van Buren County is home to a portion of Fall Creek Falls State Resort Park.

Communities

Town

• Spencer (county seat)

Unincorporated communities

• Bone Cave
• Cedar Grove

Education

Van Buren County Schools operates public schools.

Politics

For many decades, Van Buren county was a reliably Democratic county at the presidential level, voting for the Democratic candidate for president in all but two elections from 1880 to 2004. This trend has reversed dramatically in recent years, with Republican candidates winning the county in each of the past four elections. In 2020, Republican Donald Trump won the highest share of the vote for a Republican presidential candidate ever in Van Buren County, earning 80.2% of the vote.

United States presidential election results for Van Buren County, Tennessee ^[16]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	2,718	83.25%	524	16.05%	23	0.70%
2020	2,342	80.18%	544	18.62%	35	1.20%
2016	1,820	75.24%	539	22.28%	60	2.48%
2012	1,386	60.26%	875	38.04%	39	1.70%
2008	1,294	58.66%	849	38.49%	63	2.86%
2004	1,120	47.72%	1,209	51.51%	18	0.77%
2000	845	39.65%	1,255	58.89%	31	1.45%
1996	504	30.31%	1,010	60.73%	149	8.96%
1992	555	26.68%	1,329	63.89%	196	9.42%
1988	780	49.37%	796	50.38%	4	0.25%
1984	718	46.78%	810	52.77%	7	0.46%
1980	499	35.54%	886	63.11%	19	1.35%
1976	346	23.99%	1,085	75.24%	11	0.76%
1972	629	61.61%	364	35.65%	28	2.74%
1968	327	29.30%	282	25.27%	507	45.43%
1964	293	25.30%	865	74.70%	0	0.00%
1960	401	40.30%	577	57.99%	17	1.71%
1956	381	38.45%	602	60.75%	8	0.81%
1952	393	36.12%	674	61.95%	21	1.93%
1948	298	30.47%	636	65.03%	44	4.50%
1944	291	35.49%	526	64.15%	3	0.37%
1940	318	30.20%	732	69.52%	3	0.28%
1936	251	26.67%	690	73.33%	0	0.00%
1932	196	23.53%	613	73.59%	24	2.88%
1928	257	49.71%	260	50.29%	0	0.00%
1924	123	25.47%	357	73.91%	3	0.62%
1920	223	38.32%	351	60.31%	8	1.37%
1916	151	26.58%	405	71.30%	12	2.11%
1912	106	27.53%	225	58.44%	54	14.03%

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Van Buren County, Tennessee

References

1. Margaret Binnicker, "Van Buren County," Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture. Retrieved: April 19, 2013.
2. "2020 Census Data". data.census.gov.
3. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
4. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
5. Thomas C. Barr, Jr., Caves of Tennessee, Tennessee Division of Geology, Bulletin 64, 1961.
6. Larry E. Matthews, Big Bone Cave, National Speleological Society, 220 pp, 2006. ISBN   978-1-879961-24-1
7. "Tennessee Cave Survey". www.subworks.com. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
8. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
9. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
10. Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
11. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
12. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved December 7, 2013.
13. Based on 2000 census data
14. "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
15. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved May 14, 2011.
16. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 12, 2018.

External links

• UT Extension office Archived February 22, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
• Van Buren County Chamber of Commerce
• Van Buren County Schools
• TNGenWeb

35°41′N85°28′W / 35.69°N 85.46°W / 35.69; -85.46