Bethel Springs, officially the Town of Bethel Springs, is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in McNairy County, Tennessee. The population was 742 at the 2020 census.

History

Bethel Springs was

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...

ted in 1860, when the railroad was extended to that point. A post office called Bethel Springs has been in operation since 1866. The community took its name from a nearby spring, which in turn was named after the Bethel Presbyterian Church. On March 31, 2023, a tornado hit the town, killing 9 people and injuring dozens.

Geography

Bethel Springs is located at (35.237378, -88.611429). Bethel Springs was named after a

Presbyterian church Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Christianity, Reformed Protestantism, Protestant tradition named for its form of ecclesiastical polity, church government by representative assemblies of Presbyterian polity#Elder, elders, known as ...

that was founded in the area. Beth-El in Hebrew literally means "house of God". According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

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 763 people, 317 households, and 219 families residing in the city. 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 345.2 people per square mile (133.3/km²). There were 347 housing units at an average density of 157.0 per square mile (60.6/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 85.58%

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 ...

, 13.50%

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 ...

, 0.13% Asian, 0.26% from other races, and 0.52% from two or more races.

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 were 1.31% of the population. There were 317 households, out of which 30.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.3% 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, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.6% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.96. In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.2% under the age of 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 22.9% from 25 to 44, 26.2% from 45 to 64, and 16.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.7 males. The median income for a household in the city was $27,500, and the median income for a family was $33,750. Males had a median income of $26,500 versus $19,792 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 town was $14,402. About 12.8% of families and 14.7% 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 21.1% of those under age 18 and 11.4% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

Albert Brewer Albert Preston Brewer (October 26, 1928 – January 2, 2017) was an American lawyer and Alabama Democratic Party, Democratic Party politician who served as the List of Governors of Alabama, 47th governor of Alabama from 1968 to 1971. He previ ...

, 47th governor of Alabama

References

External links