Overton County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,511. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

is Livingston. Overton County is part of the Cookeville, TN Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

On May 10, 1933, a half-mile wide F4

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...

struck the small community of Beatty Swamps (also referred to as Bethsadia). The tornado destroyed every structure in the town and either killed or injured nearly every inhabitant, with 33 of the 35 deaths occurring in the area. Much of the area was swept clean of debris, a

reaper-binder The reaper-binder, or binder, is a farm implement that improved upon the simple reaper. The binder was invented in 1872 by Charles Baxter Withington, a jeweler from Janesville, Wisconsin. In addition to cutting the small-grain crop, a binder also ...

was thrown , and cars were moved hundreds of feet.Assorted Historical Events in Middle Tennessee
Archived June 6, 2011.Grazulis, ''Significant'', pp. 850-851

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.3%) is water. Overton County straddles the Eastern Highland Rim, and generally consists of low, rolling hills divided by narrow creek valleys. The backwaters of Dale Hollow Lake, namely the Mitchell Creek and Big Eagle Creek sections, spill over into the northern part of the county. The County is located on the Cumberland Plateau.

Adjacent counties

* Pickett County (northeast) * Fentress County (east) * Putnam County (south) * Jackson County (west) * Clay County (northwest)

State protected areas

*Alpine Mountain Wildlife Management Area *Jackson Swamp Wildlife Management Area * Standing Stone State Forest (part) * Standing Stone State Park

Demographics

2020 census

As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...

, there were 22,511 people, 9,140 households, and 6,220 families residing in the county.

2000 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2000, there were 20,118 people, 8,110 households, and 5,920 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 46 people per square mile (18/km²). There were 9,168 housing units at an average density of 21 per square mile (8/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 94.59%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 0.28%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 2.28% Native American, 0.09% Asian, 0.05%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 0.22% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 0.49% from two or more races. 2.69% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

or Latino of any race. There were 8,110 households, out of which 29.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.20% were married couples living together, 9.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.00% were non-families. 24.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.90. In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.00% under the age of 18, 8.40% from 18 to 24, 27.70% from 25 to 44, 25.90% from 45 to 64, and 15.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.10 males. The median income for a household in the county was $26,915, and the median income for a family was $32,156. Males had a median income of $25,287 versus $19,674 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $13,910. About 12.30% of families and 16.00% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 20.40% of those under age 18 and 20.50% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Town

* Livingston (county seat)

Unincorporated communities

* Allons * Allred * Alpine * Crawford * Hardy's Chapel * Hilham *

Mineral Springs Mineral springs are naturally occurring springs that produces hard water, water that contains dissolved minerals. Salts, sulfur compounds, and gases are among the substances that can be dissolved in the spring water during its passage under ...

* Monroe * Rickman * Timothy

Notable people

* Lester Flatt, Bluegrass musician * Thomas D. Harp, California state senator born in Overton County * Albert H. Roberts, Governor of Tennessee * Roy Roberts, Blues singer * Catherine "Bonny Kate" Sevier, widow of

John Sevier John Sevier (September 23, 1745 September 24, 1815) was an American soldier, frontiersman, and politician, and one of the founding fathers of the State of Tennessee. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, he played a leading role in Tennes ...

* Cordell Hull United States Secretary of State * Josiah Gregg merchant, explorer, naturalist, and author of Commerce of the Prairies * Benoni Strivson Medal of Honor Recipient Indian Wars

Politics

References

External links

*
Official site

Overton County, TNGenWeb
- free genealogy resources for the county * {{authority control 1806 establishments in Tennessee Populated places established in 1806 Cookeville, Tennessee micropolitan area Counties of Appalachia Middle Tennessee