Lexington is a city in
Henderson County, Tennessee, United States. It is midway between
Memphis and
Nashville
Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
, lying south of
Interstate 40
Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west transcontinental Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the Southeastern United States, southeastern and Southwestern United States, southwestern portions of the United States. At a leng ...
, which connects the two cities. Its population was 7,956 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 Henderson County.
History
Shortly after the 1821 creation of Henderson County, a site near its center was chosen as a
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 ...
, and was named in honor of
Lexington, Massachusetts
Lexington is a suburban town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, located 10 miles (16 km) from Downtown Boston. The population was 34,454 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The area was originally inhabited by ...
, site of the first battle of the
American Revolution
The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...
. Land grant holder Samuel Wilson gave the land for the town, retaining a lot on the square where his house was already situated. The square is oriented so the corners point to the cardinal points on the compass. The first
county courthouse
A courthouse or court house is a structure which houses judicial functions for a governmental entity such as a state, region, province, county, prefecture, regency, or similar governmental unit. A courthouse is home to one or more courtrooms, ...
was built in 1823; Lexington was incorporated in 1824 and by 1830 had a population of 260.
As the lead-up to 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 ...
began, Henderson County voted against
secession
Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a Polity, political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal i ...
. As the war progressed, both
Union and
Confederate regiments were recruited in the county. The area in and around Lexington was the site of a skirmish on December 18, 1862. Union Colonel Robert Ingersoll sent his troops to destroy a bridge over
Beech Creek to disallow the
Confederate army moving into the area. Ingersoll's troops did not destroy the bridge, and General
Nathan Bedford Forrest
Nathan Bedford Forrest (July 13, 1821October 29, 1877) was an List of slave traders of the United States, American slave trader, active in the lower Mississippi River valley, who served as a General officers in the Confederate States Army, Con ...
's troops headed into Lexington. Forrest's troops overtook the Union soldiers, taking over 140 men, including Colonel Ingersoll, and collected artillery and supplies left behind by Union soldiers who escaped.
In 1918, an African-American man called Berry Noyse, who was accused of killing the sheriff, was
lynched by a mob in the courthouse square and burned in the street.
Geography
Lexington is in central Henderson County.
U.S. Route 412 (Church Street) is the main road through the city, leading east to
Columbia and west to
Jackson.
Tennessee State Route 22
State Route 22 (SR 22) is a south-to-north State highway#United States), state highway in the West Tennessee, western part of Tennessee, United States. It begins at the Mississippi state line in McNairy County, Tennessee, McNairy County, where ...
(Broad Street) crosses US 412 in the center of Lexington, leading north to
Interstate 40
Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west transcontinental Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the Southeastern United States, southeastern and Southwestern United States, southwestern portions of the United States. At a leng ...
at
Parkers Crossroads and south to
Milledgeville.
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 ...
, Lexington has a total area of , of which are land and , or 1.34%, is covered by water.
The
Beech River, an east-flowing tributary of 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 ...
, runs through the southwestern part of the city.
Lexington is southwest of
Natchez Trace State Park.
Climate
Demographics
2020 census
As of the
2020 United States census, 7,956 people, 3,150 households, and 1,915 families resided in the city.
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, the population density was . The 3,371 housing units had an average density of . The
racial makeup of the city was 84.50% White, 13.07% African American, 0.14% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.42% from other races, and 1.60% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 1.18% of the population.
Of the 3,039 households, 31.2% had children under 18 living with them, 48.8% were married couples living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.0% were not families. About 30.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.88.
In the city, the age distribution was 24.0% under 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 17.0% who were 65 or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.7 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 80.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $29,725, and for a family was $41,429. Males had a median income of $31,558 versus $23,212 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 city was $18,368. About 10.2% of families and 13.2% 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 14.9% of those under 18 and 12.8% of those 65 or over.
Education
Public schools in Lexington are operated by the Henderson County School System and the Lexington City School System. The three schools are Paul G. Caywood Elementary School, Lexington Middle School, and Lexington High School. Lexington High School is in the Henderson County School System, while Paul G. Caywood Elementary School and Lexington Middle School are both in the Lexington City School System.
Lexington is home to the Lexington-Henderson County Center of
Jackson State Community College, which opened in 1999.
The center offers all courses required to earn an associate's degree in general studies, and offers other courses that may be credited towards additional degrees from the main campus in
Jackson, Tennessee
Jackson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Tennessee, United States. Located east of Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis and 130 Miles Southwest of Nashville, it is a regional center of trade for West Tennessee. Its total population wa ...
, or may be transferred to other universities.
It has become a popular choice of graduates from Lexington High School, Scotts Hill High School, and other area high schools as a means of continuing their education. The center has become more popular since the introduction of the Tennessee Promise, a state program that provides two years of tuition-free attendance at community colleges and technical colleges in Tennessee.
Newspapers
*''The Lexington Progress'', since 1884
*Tennessee Magnet Publications
Arts and culture
The Lexington-Henderson County Everett Horn Public Library serves the city.
Lexington is home to the very popular Beech Lake. Lexington's Beech River Heritage Museum holds a variety of historical artifacts of Lexington and Henderson County.
Lexington was the setting of a 1994 episode of ''The X-Files'' called "E.B.E."
Lexington claims to be the barbecue capital of the country; it supposedly has more barbecue restaurants per capita than any other city in the United States.
Infrastructure
Henderson County Community Hospital is located in and serves the Lexington area.
Sports
From 1935 to 1938, Lexington was home to a
Minor League Baseball
Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...
team that played in the
Kentucky–Illinois–Tennessee League. Known as the
Lexington Giants from 1935 to 1938, the team was renamed the
Lexington Bees when it became a
farm club of the
National League
National League often refers to:
*National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada
*National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...
's
Boston Bees in 1938.
Notable people
*
Dick Barry (1926–2013) – lawyer and politician
*
Buddy Cannon (born 1947) – singer-songwriter and record producer
*
Mills Darden (1799–1857) – alleged largest man in history, retired, died, and was buried here
*
Doug Gilbert (born 1969) – professional wrestler
*
Eddie Gilbert (1961–1995) – professional wrestler
*
Loyd Jowers (1926–2000) – restaurateur and alleged conspirator in the
assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
*
John McAfee
John David McAfee ( ; 18 September 1945 – 23 June 2021) was a British and American computer programmer, businessman, and two-time presidential candidate who unsuccessfully sought the Libertarian Party (United States), Libertarian Party nominat ...
(1945–2021) – founder of
McAfee Associates and politician, former resident
*
Sam Taylor (1916–1990) – saxophonist
References
External links
Official website
{{authority control
Cities in Tennessee
Cities in Henderson County, Tennessee
County seats in Tennessee
1821 establishments in Tennessee