Shelbyville, Tennessee: Difference between revisions
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Latest revision as of 02:03, 9 February 2025
Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox settlement Shelbyville is a city in and the county seat of Bedford County, Tennessee.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> The town was laid out in 1810 and incorporated in 1819.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Shelbyville had a population of 20,335 residents at the 2010 census.<ref name="Census 2010">Template:Cite web</ref> The town is a hub of the Tennessee Walking Horse industry and has been nicknamed "The Walking Horse Capital of the World".
Geography
[edit]Shelbyville is in Middle Tennessee on a Highland Rim limestone bluff upon the banks of Duck River, which flows around the southern and eastern sides of town.<ref name="gpo1875">Template:Cite book</ref>
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of Template:Convert, all land.<ref name="Census 2010"/>
Climate
[edit]Demographics
[edit]2020 census
[edit]| Race | Number | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| White (non-Hispanic) | 13,156 | 55.85% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 2,942 | 12.49% |
| Native American | 65 | 0.28% |
| Asian | 173 | 0.73% |
| Pacific Islander | 10 | 0.04% |
| Other/Mixed | 1,045 | 4.44% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 6,166 | 26.17% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 23,557 people, 7,257 households, and 5,025 families residing in the city.
2000 census
[edit]As of the census<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 16,105 people, 6,066 households, and 4,155 families residing in the city. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 6,550 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the city was 77.14% White, 14.98% African American, 0.70% Asian, 0.35% Native American, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 5.02% from other races, and 1.78% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race made up 14.55% of the population.
Of the 6,066 households, 31.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.0% were married couples living together, 16.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.5% were non-families. A total of 26.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.05.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.2% under the age of 18, 11.9% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 18.8% from 45 to 64, and 15.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $27,593, and the median income for a family was $30,465. Males had a median income of $23,754 versus $16,065 for females. The per capita income for the city was $11,260. About 14.4% of families and 25.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.4% of those under age 18 and 22.1% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
[edit]
Shelbyville is known as "The Pencil City" because of its historical importance as a center of wood-cased pencil manufacturing.<ref>Musgrave Pencil Company History, Musgrave Pencil Company website, accessed April 23, 2008</ref><ref name=city>Template:Cite web</ref> It is still a site for manufacture of writing instruments. In 1982, National Pen Corporation purchased its largest competitor, U.S. Pencil and Stationery Company.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Sanford Corporation produced the Sharpie, the world's top-selling writing instrument, in the city.<ref name=city/> It was in Shelbyville in 1991 that the world's longest pencil was produced, a plastic-cased pencil Template:Convert long, weighing Template:Convert.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
One of last four pencil manufacturers in the United States, Musgrave Pencil Company, is located in Shelbyville.<ref>Danny Freedman, "Inside One of America’s Last Pencil Factories". Smithsonian Magazine. 2023.</ref>
Other major business operations in Shelbyville include manufacturers Calsonic Kansei, Newell Rubbermaid, Cebal America, and Jostens; it is also home to a Tyson Foods facility and a distribution center for Wal-Mart, as well as several nationwide trucking businesses.<ref name=city/><ref>A Economic Development Guide Template:Webarchive, Shelbyville-Bedford County Chamber of Commerce, 2003</ref>
Transportation
[edit]Shelbyville is at the intersection of U.S. Route 231 and U.S. Route 41A. It was the terminus of a branch line (from Wartrace<ref>Template:Cite news, with a link to an April 1863 Shelbyville area map Template:Webarchive</ref>), located along what is now known as Railroad Avenue, connecting with what was once known as the Saint Louis, Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad.<ref name="gpo1875"/>
Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration
[edit]The Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> takes place each year during the 11 days and nights prior to Labor Day. It is the largest show for the Tennessee Walking Horse, during which the breed's World Grand Champion and over 20 World Champions are named. The Celebration is a festival event where more than $650,000 in prizes and awards are given. The Celebration began in 1939, and the first winner was Strolling Jim.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Education
[edit]K-12 education
[edit]Bedford County School District operates primary and secondary schools. Shelbyville Central High School is the local public high school.
After the end of non-penal slavery in the United States the AME Church opened a school for African-American children. The public school system graduated its first black class in 1890. The schools for African-American children operated by the district were East Bedford School and Bedford County Training School for Negroes (a.k.a. John McAdams High School and also Harris High School for Negroes). Schools racially integrated after 1964.<ref name=Lovettp77>Lovett, Bobby L. The Civil Rights Movement in Tennessee: A Narrative History. Univ. of Tennessee Press, 2005. Template:ISBN, 9781572334434. p. 77.</ref>
Higher education
[edit]The Tennessee College of Applied Technology - Shelbyville is one of 46 institutions in the Tennessee Board of Regents System, the seventh largest system of higher education in the nation. This system comprises six universities, fourteen community colleges, and twenty-six technology centers. More than 80 percent of all Tennessee students attending public institutions are enrolled in a Tennessee Board of Regents institution.
Shelbyville was the home of Turner College, a HBCU established in October 1885 with support from the Kentucky Annual Conference AME Church. Bishop Henry M. Turner was its founding leader, and eventually the school was renamed for him. A private school supported by local people, there was a high school, a normal school, an "industrial institute," and a Bible study institute included in the institution.<ref>Gomez-Jefferson, Annetta L. (2002) The Sage of Tanawa: Reverdy Cassius Ransom, 1861-1969. Kent, OH: The Kent State University. p. 176.</ref><ref>Baxter, D. M. (1923). Bishop Richard Allen and His Spirit. United States: A.M.E. Book Concern. p. 43.</ref> Located in two brick buildings, between 1920 and 1924 the institution had 385 students.<ref>Dickerson, D. C. (2010). African American Preachers and Politics: The Careys of Chicago. United States: University Press of Mississippi. p. 112.</ref> Apparently the fiscal support for the school didn't continue though, and in the late 1920s the "starving little school" was permanently closed.<ref>Dickerson, D. C. (2020). The African Methodist Episcopal Church: A History. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. p. 167.</ref>
Local government
[edit]
The City of Shelbyville, Tennessee Government consists of an elected mayor, six member elected city council, and appointed city manager.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Mayor – Randy Carroll
- Council Members:
- Henry Feldhaus
- Marilyn Ewing
- Gary Haile
- William Christie
- Stephanie Isaacs
- Bobby Turnbow
- City Manager – Scott Collins
- City Recorder – Lisa Smith
Public media and news outlets
[edit]The Bedford County Post launched in August 2023 when the Shelbyville Times-Gazette closed its doors.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Shelbyville has two news media outlets, "Bedford County Post" www.bedfordcountypost.com & Shelbyville Times-Gazette.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Notable people
[edit]
- Democratic Congressman Jim Cooper (born 1954).<ref name="nashscenejimcooperrunsagain">Template:Cite news</ref> In Shelbyville, his family owns the historic River Side Farmhouse, built for his great-great-grandfather, Jacob Morton Shofner, in 1890,<ref name="npsformriverside">Template:Cite web</ref> and the Gov. Prentice Cooper House in Shelbyville, built in 1904 for his grandfather, William Prentice Cooper, who served as the mayor of Shelbyville.<ref name="npsform">Template:Cite web</ref> His father, Prentice Cooper, who was born in the River Side Farmhouse, was the Governor of Tennessee from 1939 to 1945.<ref name="npsformriverside"/>
- Robert Galbraith Allison (1897-1952), State of Tennessee budget department director.<ref name="TennesseeBlue">Tennessee Blue Book 1949-1950, Rich Printing Company, Nashville, 1950. Page 31</ref>
- Sumner Archibald Cunningham (1843-1913), founding editor of the Confederate Veteran, buried in Shelbyville's Willow Mount Cemetery.<ref name="simpson32">Template:Cite book</ref>
- Dickie Gardner, horse trainer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Daryl Holton Convicted Murderer
- Joe Jenkins, Major League Baseball player<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Harold A. Katz (1921-2012), Illinois state representative and lawyer<ref>'Illinois Blue Book 1981-1982,' Biographical Sketch of Harold A. Katz, pg. 71</ref>
- Sondra Locke (1944–2018), actress/director<ref name="independentthegoodthebad">Template:Cite news</ref>
- Judy and Joe Martin, a married couple who trained horses together<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- Joyce Paul (1937–2016), country music singerTemplate:Citation needed
- Ernest A. Pickup (1887-1970), printmaker
- Samuel Escue Tillman (1847–1942), U.S. Army officer and superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York<ref name=Plantation>Template:Cite news</ref>
In popular culture
[edit]Template:Multiple issues Shelbyville was featured in Miranda Lambert's video "Famous in a Small Town".Template:Citation needed
The city was also profiled in the film Welcome to Shelbyville, as part of the PBS documentary film series Independent Lens. The film spotlights recent demographic changes in the community, with a focus on the growing number of immigrants from Latin America and Somalia (both Somalis and people from the Bantu minority ethnic group).
Shelbyville was also featured in GADA film's Our Very Own (2005 Film), directed by Cameron Watson. The film, dubbed "a love story to Shelbyville", highlighted some of the peculiar and humorous memories of Shelbyville in the 1970s. The film follows five teenagers who are determined to meet Shelbyville's own Sondra Locke. Filmed in 2004, it highlights the square, Capri Theater, Pope's Cafe, Central High School, Duck River Dam, TWHNC, and many other landmarks.
Shelbyville was mentioned in the lyrics of Nashville country duo Birdcloud's song "Saving Myself For Jesus"
References
[edit]External links
[edit]Template:Bedford County, Tennessee Template:Tennessee county seats