Bedford County is a
county
A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
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 so ...
of
Tennessee
Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
. As of the
2020 census, the population was 50,237.
Its
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
is
Shelbyville.
Bedford County comprises the Shelbyville, TN
Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the
Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro, TN Combined Statistical Area.
History
The county was created in 1807 when the citizens of
Rutherford County living south of the
Duck River and the
Stones River successfully petitioned the governor to split Rutherford County in two. The new county was named after
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
officer and large landowner in the area,
Thomas Bedford.
Once the state's largest and most populous county, Bedford County's size (in terms of area) has been steadily reduced since 1809 to form
Coffee County,
Moore County,
Lincoln County, and
Marshall County.
The county was pro-Confederate during the
Civil War
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
, but Shelbyville was mostly loyal to the Union.
Texas pioneer
William Whitaker Reed was born in Bedford County in 1816.
Geography
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...
, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.2%) is water.
Adjacent counties
*
Rutherford County (north)
*
Coffee County (east)
*
Moore County (southeast)
*
Lincoln County (south)
*
Marshall County (west)
State protected areas
*Normandy Wildlife Management Area (part)
Demographics
2020 census
As of the
2020 United States census, there were 50,237 people, 17,029 households, and 12,704 families residing in the county.
2000 census
As of the
census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2000, there were 37,586 people, 13,905 households, and 10,345 families residing in the county. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...
was . There were 14,990 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 86.84%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 11.48%
Black
Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
or
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.28%
Native American, 0.45%
Asian, 0.05%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 2.73% from
other races, and 1.16% from two or more races. 7.48% of the population were
Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or
Latino of any race.
There were 13,905 households, out of which 34.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.30% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 11.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.60% were non-families. 21.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.06.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.80% under the age of 18, 9.90% from 18 to 24, 29.70% from 25 to 44, 22.00% from 45 to 64, and 12.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 98.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.00 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $36,729, and the median income for a family was $33,691. Males had a median income of $25,485 versus $15,673 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year.
In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the county was $13,698. About 12.70% of families and 25.10% 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 ...
, including 15.90% of those under age 18 and 17.80% of those age 65 or over.
Communities
City
*
Shelbyville (county seat)
Towns
*
Bell Buckle
*
Normandy
Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy.
Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...
*
Wartrace
Census-designated place
*
Unionville
Unincorporated communities
*
Branchville
*
Bugscuffe
*
Center Grove
*
Corner's Station
*
Fairfield
*
Fall Creek
*
Flat Creek
*
Haley's Station
*
Hawthorne
*
Mount Hermon
Mount Hermon ( / ALA-LC: ('Mountain of the Sheikh', ), , ) is a mountain, mountain cluster constituting the southern end of the Anti-Lebanon mountain range. Its summit straddles the Lebanon–Syria border, border between Syria and Lebanon a ...
*
Palmetto
*
Pleasant Grove
*
Poplin's Crossroads
*
Raus
*
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, a city in the United States
* Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...
*
Roseville
*
Rover
Rover may refer to:
People Name
* Constance Rover (1910–2005), English historian
* Jolanda de Rover (born 1963), Dutch swimmer
* Rover Thomas (c. 1920–1998), Indigenous Australian artist
Stage name
* Rover (musician), French singer-songw ...
*
Wheel
A wheel is a rotating component (typically circular in shape) that is intended to turn on an axle Bearing (mechanical), bearing. The wheel is one of the key components of the wheel and axle which is one of the Simple machine, six simple machin ...
*
Royal
Royal may refer to:
People
* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
* A member of a royal family or Royalty (disambiguation), royalty
Places United States
* Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Royal, Ill ...
Major highways
*
Interstate 24
Interstate 24 (I-24) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It runs diagonally from I-57, south of Marion, Illinois, to Chattanooga, Tennessee, at I-75. It travels through Illinois, Kentucky, Tennesse ...
*
U.S. Route 41A
*
U.S. Route 231
U.S. Route 231 (US 231) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway System, U.S highway that is a parallel route of U.S. Route 31, US 31. It runs for from St. John, Indiana, St. John, Indiana, at U.S. Route 41 in Indiana, US&nbs ...
*
State Route 16
*
State Route 64
*
State Route 82
*
State Route 130
*
State Route 269
*
State Route 270
*
State Route 276
*
State Route 437
Politics
Education
Bedford County School District .
See also
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Bedford County, Tennessee
*
List of counties in Tennessee
There are 95 County (United States), counties in the U.S. State of Tennessee. As of 2024, Shelby County, Tennessee, Shelby County was both Tennessee's most populous county, with 910,530 residents, and the largest county in area, covering an ar ...
References
External links
*
*
Bedford County, TNGenWeb- free genealogy resources for the county
Shelbyville Mainstreet
{{authority control
1807 establishments in Tennessee
Populated places established in 1807
Middle Tennessee