Shelbyville, Tennessee

Geography

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.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 48.2 km2, all land.

Climate

|Jan record high F = 78 |Feb record high F = 82 |Mar record high F = 85 |Apr record high F = 92 |May record high F = 96 |Jun record high F = 108 |Jul record high F = 107 |Aug record high F = 105 |Sep record high F = 105 |Oct record high F = 98 |Nov record high F = 87 |Dec record high F = 77 |year record high F = 108

|Jan avg record high F = 67.5 |Feb avg record high F = 71.2 |Mar avg record high F = 78.8 |Apr avg record high F = 84.1 |May avg record high F = 89.1 |Jun avg record high F = 94.0 |Jul avg record high F = 95.9 |Aug avg record high F = 95.7 |Sep avg record high F = 93.1 |Oct avg record high F = 85.7 |Nov avg record high F = 77.5 |Dec avg record high F = 69.0 |year avg record high F = 97.5

|Jan avg record low F = 9.7 |Feb avg record low F = 14.9 |Mar avg record low F = 21.3 |Apr avg record low F = 30.1 |May avg record low F = 40.4 |Jun avg record low F = 52.9 |Jul avg record low F = 59.4 |Aug avg record low F = 57.4 |Sep avg record low F = 44.6 |Oct avg record low F = 31.6 |Nov avg record low F = 21.7 |Dec avg record low F = 16.0 |year avg record low F = 7.7

|Jan record low F = -20 |Feb record low F = -7 |Mar record low F = 3 |Apr record low F = 21 |May record low F = 30 |Jun record low F = 38 |Jul record low F = 49 |Aug record low F = 47 |Sep record low F = 32 |Oct record low F = 18 |Nov record low F = 9 |Dec record low F = −9 |year record low F = -20 | access-date = October 2, 2021}} | access-date = October 2, 2021}}

Demographics

2020 census

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

As of the census of 2000, there were 16,105 people, 6,066 households, and 4,155 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,041.3 PD/sqmi. There were 6,550 housing units at an average density of 423.5 /sqmi. 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. Hispanic or Latino residents 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, 25.2% of the population was under the age of 18, 11.9% was from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 18.8% from 45 to 64, and 15.2% was 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

Shelbyville is known as "The Pencil City" because of its historical importance as a center of wood-cased pencil manufacturing. 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. Sanford Corporation produced the Sharpie, the world's top-selling writing instrument, in the city.

One of last four pencil manufacturers in the United States, Musgrave Pencil Company, is located in Shelbyville.

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.

Transportation

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), located along what is now known as Railroad Avenue, connecting with what was once known as the Saint Louis, Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad.

Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration

The Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration 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.

Education

K-12 education

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.

Higher education

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. Located in two brick buildings, between 1920 and 1924 the institution had 385 students. Apparently the fiscal support for the school didn't continue though, and in the late 1920s the "starving little school" was permanently closed.

Local government

The City of Shelbyville, Tennessee Government consists of an elected mayor, six member elected city council, and appointed city manager.

• Mayor – Randy Carroll
• Council Members:
  • Henry Feldhaus
  • Marilyn Ewing
  • Betsy Noel
  • William Christie
  • Josh Blevins
  • Bobby Turnbow
• City Manager – Scott Collins
• City Recorder – Lisa Smith

Public media and news outlets

The Bedford County Post launched in August 2023 when the Shelbyville Times-Gazette closed its doors.

Shelbyville has three news media outlets, Bedford County Post, Shelbyville Times-Gazette and Shelbyville Now.

Notable people

• Gordon Anderson (born 1944), sculptor
• Democratic Congressman Jim Cooper (born 1954). In Shelbyville, his family owns the historic River Side Farmhouse, built for his great-great-grandfather, Jacob Morton Shofner, in 1890, and the Gov. Prentice Cooper House in Shelbyville, built in 1904 for his grandfather, William Prentice Cooper, who served as the mayor of Shelbyville. His father, Prentice Cooper, who was born in the River Side Farmhouse, was the Governor of Tennessee from 1939 to 1945.
• Sumner Archibald Cunningham (1843–1913), founding editor of the Confederate Veteran, buried in Shelbyville's Willow Mount Cemetery.
• Dickie Gardner, horse trainer
• Daryl Holton Convicted Murderer
• Joe Jenkins, Major League Baseball player
• Harold A. Katz (1921–2012), Illinois state representative and lawyer
• Sondra Locke (1944–2018), actress/director
• Judy and Joe Martin, a married couple who trained horses together
• Joyce Paul (1937–2016), country music singer
• 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

In popular culture

Shelbyville was featured in Miranda Lambert's video "Famous in a Small Town".

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), 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.

References

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