Coffee 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 central part of the
state
State most commonly refers to:
* State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory
**Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country
**Nation state, a ...
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 ...
, in the United States. As of the
2020 census, the county's population was 57,889. 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
Manchester
Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
.
Coffee County is part of the
Tullahoma-
Manchester
Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
, TN
Micropolitan Statistical Area. It is also part of
Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee that composes roughly the central portion of the state. It is delineated according to state law as 41 of the state's 95 counties. Middle Tennessee contains the state's capital an ...
, one of the three
Grand Divisions of the state.
History
Coffee County was formed in 1836 from parts of
Bedford
Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district.
Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...
,
Warren, and
Franklin counties.
[ It was named for ]John Coffee
John R. Coffee (June 2, 1772 – July 7, 1833) was an American planter of English descent, and a state militia brigadier general in Tennessee. He commanded troops under General Andrew Jackson during the Creek Wars (1813–14) and the Battle ...
, a prominent planter, land speculator, and militia officer.[Carroll Van West,]
Coffee County
" ''Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture''. Retrieved: June 25, 2013.
In the period after the Reconstruction era
The Reconstruction era was a period in History of the United States, US history that followed the American Civil War (1861-65) and was dominated by the legal, social, and political challenges of the Abolitionism in the United States, abol ...
ended (1877) and into the early 20th century, whites in Coffee County committed eight lynching
Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged or convicted transgressor or to intimidate others. It can also be an extreme form of i ...
s of blacks. This was the fifth-highest total of any county in the state, but three other counties also had eight lynchings each.
Century Farms
Coffee County has twelve Century Farms, the classification for farms that have been operating for more than 100 years. The oldest Century Farm is Shamrock Acres, founded in 1818. Other Century Farms include:
* Beckman Farm
* Brown Dairy Farm
* Carden Farm
* Crouch-Ramsey Farm
* Freeze Farm
* The Homestead Farm
* Jacobs Farm
* Long Farm
* Shamrock Acres
* Sunrise View Farm
* Thomas Farm, site of the Farrar Distillery
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.3%) is water.
Adjacent counties
*Cannon County
Cannon County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,506. Its county seat is Woodbury. Cannon County is part of the Nashville–Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN Metropolitan S ...
(north)
* Warren County (northeast)
* Grundy County (east)
* Franklin County (south)
* Moore County (southwest)
* Bedford County (west)
* Rutherford County (northwest)
Major highways
* Interstate 24
* U.S. Route 41
* U.S. Route 41A
State protected areas
*Arnold Engineering Development Complex Wildlife Management Area (jointly managed by TWRA and USAF
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
)
*Bark Camp Barrens Wildlife Management Area
*Hickory Flats Wildlife Management Area
*Maple Hill Wildlife Management Area
*May Prairie State Natural Area
*Normandy Wildlife Management Area (part)
* Old Stone Fort State Archaeological Park
*Short Springs State Natural Area
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 57,889 people, 21,646 households, and 14,777 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 48,014 people, 18,885 households, and 13,597 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 20,746 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 93.43% 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 ...
, 3.59% 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 ...
, 0.30% Native American, 0.74% Asian, 0.03% 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 ...
, 0.91% from other races, and 1.00% from two or more races. 2.19% 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 18,885 households, out of which 32.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.90% 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, 11.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.00% were non-families. 24.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 2.96.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.10% under the age of 18, 8.30% from 18 to 24, 28.40% from 25 to 44, 23.60% from 45 to 64, and 14.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.30 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $34,898, and the median income for a family was $40,228. Males had a median income of $32,732 versus $21,014 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 $18,137. About 10.90% of families and 14.30% 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 17.80% of those under age 18 and 15.20% of those age 65 or over.
Events
The Bonnaroo Music Festival
Bonnaroo (or Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival) is an American annual four-day music festival developed and founded by Superfly Presents and AC Entertainment.
Bonnaroo has taken place at what is now Great Stage Park, a 700-acre (280 ha) fa ...
has been held annually in the county since 2002.
Notable people
* Dustin Lynch, country singer.
* DJ Qualls
Donald Joseph Qualls (born June 10, 1978) is an American actor. He is best known for his television roles as Citizen Z on the Syfy horror series ''Z Nation'' (2014–2018) and Ed McCarthy on the Amazon Prime Video series ''The Man in the High Ca ...
, film actor.
* Betty Sain, horse trainer and breeder.
* J. Stanley Rogers, Tennessee House of Representatives majority leader.
* Ally Walker, actress.
Points of interest
*Arnold Engineering Development Complex
The Arnold Engineering Development Complex (AEDC), Arnold Engineering Development Center before July 2012, is an Air Force Materiel Command facility under the control of the Air Force Test Center (AFTC). Named for General Henry "Hap" Arnold ...
* George Dickel Tennessee whiskey
Tennessee Whiskey is straight whiskey produced in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Although it has been legally defined as a bourbon whiskey in some international trade agreements, most current producers of Tennessee Whiskey disclaim references to ...
distillery
Distillation, also classical distillation, is the process of separating the component substances of a liquid mixture of two or more chemically discrete substances; the separation process is realized by way of the selective boiling of the mixt ...
* Old Stone Fort — part of Old Stone Fort State Archaeological Park, just west of Manchester
*Short Springs State Natural AreaShort Springs State Natural Area
Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation website. Retrieved: June 25, 2013.
*
Farrar Distillery – on the U.S.
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
Communities
Cities

*
Manchester
Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
(county seat)
*
Tullahoma
Census-designated places
*
Hillsboro
*
Lakewood Park
*
New Union
Unincorporated communities
*
Beech Grove
*
Belmont
* Blanton's Chapel
*
Farrar Hill
* Fredonia
*
Fudgearound
*
Noah
Noah (; , also Noach) appears as the last of the Antediluvian Patriarchs (Bible), patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5–9), the Quran and Baháʼí literature, ...
*
Pocahontas
Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, also known as Matoaka and Rebecca Rolfe; 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. S ...
*
Shady Grove
*
Summitville
Politics
Coffee County is a Republican stronghold. The last Democrat to carry this county was Bill Clinton in 1996.
See also
*
*
The Saturday Independent
References
External links
Official siteIndustrial Board of Coffee CountyCoffee County SchoolsCoffee County, TNGenWeb– genealogy resources
Bonnaroo Music Festival site
{{authority control
1836 establishments in Tennessee
Populated places established in 1836
Tullahoma, Tennessee micropolitan area
Middle Tennessee