Decatur ( ) is a town in Meigs County,

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 ...

, United States. The population was 1,563 at the 2020 census. It is the

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 ...

of Meigs County.

History

Decatur was founded in May 1836 as a county seat for Meigs County, which had been formed that same year. The initial for the town were donated by James Lillard and Leonard Brooks. Decatur is named after Commodore Stephen Decatur Jr., an early 19th-century American naval officer renowned for his exploits in the

First Barbary War The First Barbary War (1801–1805), also known as the Tripolitan War and the Barbary Coast War, was a conflict during the 1801–1815 Barbary Wars, in which the United States fought against Ottoman Tripolitania. Tripolitania had declared war ...

, the Second Barbary War, and the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

.Ann Toplovich,
Meigs County
" ''The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture'', 2002. Retrieved: April 1, 2008.

Geography

Decatur is located at (35.518871, -84.793201). The town is situated at the western base of No Pone Ridge, an elongate ridge characteristic of the Appalachian Ridge-and-Valley Province. Just west of Decatur, the

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is a long river located in the Southern United States, southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. Flowing through the states of Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, it begins at the confluence of Fren ...

flows around a blunt peninsula known as Armstrong Bend. This section of the river is part of Chickamauga Lake. Decatur is situated around the junction of Tennessee State Route 30, which connects the town to

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

to the east and

Dayton Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

to the west, and Tennessee State Route 58, which connects Decatur to Kingston to the north and

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the south. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, it is Tennessee ...

to the south. Interstate 75 passes approximately east of Decatur. 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 of it land.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,563 people, 586 households, and 416 families residing in the town.

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 1,395 people, 560 households, and 366 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 598 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.14%

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 ...

, 0.93%

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 ...

, 0.14% Native American, 0.29% Asian, 0.07% from other races, and 0.43% 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 0.29% of the population. Decatur-Main-Street-tn1

There were 560 households, out of which 28.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.1% 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, 12.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.5% were non-families. 30.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.83. In the town, the population was spread out, with 21.5% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 29.2% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 17.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.5 males. The median income for a household in the town was $29,402, and the median income for a family was $38,375. Males had a median income of $29,327 versus $22,647 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 $18,784. About 12.9% of families and 15.1% 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 16.8% of those under age 18 and 12.5% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

Official site

Municipal Technical Advisory Service entry for Decatur
— information on local government, elections, and link to charter
Meigs County Historical Museum
{{authority control Towns in Meigs County, Tennessee Towns in Tennessee County seats in Tennessee Tennessee populated places on the Tennessee River