Smithville, Tennessee

Geography

Smithville is located in central DeKalb County at (35.957191, -85.820756). U.S. Route 70 passes through the town as Broad Street, leading east 21 mi to Sparta and northwest 36 mi to Lebanon. Tennessee State Route 56 (Congress Boulevard) crosses US 70 a few blocks southeast of the center of town and leads north 13 mi to Interstate 40 at Silver Point and 19 mi south to McMinnville. Cookeville is 28 mi to the northeast, Murfreesboro is 40 mi to the west-southwest, and Nashville is 66 mi to the west-northwest.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 15.3 km2, all land.

Climate

|Jan record high F = 76 |Feb record high F = 78 |Mar record high F = 85 |Apr record high F = 90 |May record high F = 92 |Jun record high F = 105 |Jul record high F = 104 |Aug record high F = 102 |Sep record high F = 99 |Oct record high F = 95 |Nov record high F = 85 |Dec record high F = 76 |year record high F = 105 |Jan record low F = -24 |Feb record low F = -17 |Mar record low F = 0 |Apr record low F = 18 |May record low F = 27 |Jun record low F = 38 |Jul record low F = 46 |Aug record low F = 44 |Sep record low F = 29 |Oct record low F = 21 |Nov record low F = 9 |Dec record low F = −7 |year record low F = -24 | access-date = October 2, 2021}} | access-date = October 2, 2021}}

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 5,004 people, 1,631 households, and 1,090 families residing in the city.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 3,994 people, 1,675 households, and 1,065 families residing in the city. The population density was 679.4 PD/sqmi. There were 1,837 housing units at an average density of 312.5 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 94.34% White, 2.73% African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.10% Asian, 1.65% from other races, and 1.03% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.06% of the population.

There were 1,675 households, out of which 27.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.0% were married couples living together, 16.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.4% were non-families. 33.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.85.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 22.9% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 19.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $22,482, and the median income for a family was $30,179. Males had a median income of $29,231 versus $20,705 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,854. About 15.4% of families and 22.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.3% of those under age 18 and 25.8% of those age 65 or over.

In popular culture

Smithville is referred to by a local-boy Marine talking to a girl and pointing to labels on a map during a dance hall scene, 17 minutes into the 1949 World War II John Wayne film, Sands of Iwo Jima, where it is mentioned, apart from everybody in his family being related to much of Tennessee, as being famous for "corn tobacco" and "more fertilizer than any other place in the world".

Fiddler's Jamboree

Joe L. Evins helped start the world-famous Smithville Fiddler's Jamboree & Crafts Festival. The first Jamboree was held in July 1972 on a stage built on the steps of the DeKalb County Courthouse, and has been held there annually on the weekend nearest to July 4. The first Jamboree attracted 714 musicians from 16 states, and was attended by an estimated audience of 8,000. Present day audiences are estimated to be well over 100,000 from all over the U.S., and many from abroad. Information paraphrased from: http://www.smithvilletn.com/jamboree/ . See also: http://www.smithvilletn.com/jamboree/congress.htm and http://www.smithvilletn.com/jamboree/2006.htm

Notable people

• Bob Allen — Major League Baseball pitcher
• John Anderson — country music singer
• Dan Evins — Founder of Cracker Barrel
• James Edgar Evins — Tennessee state senator, mayor of Smithville for 16 years
• Joe L. Evins — U.S. representative
• Alan Jackson — country music singer; former resident
• Greg Tubbs — Major League Baseball Player, Cincinnati Reds, 1993
• Lonnie Mack — pioneering blues-rock guitar soloist lived close by for many years and died here
• Aaron Tippin — country music singer
• Dottie West —American country music singer and songwriter

Gallery

Image:Dekalb county tennessee courthouse.jpg|Dekalb County Courthouse in Smithville, Tennessee Image:Smithville tn city hall.jpg|Smithville City Hall

References

References

1. Thomas Gray Webb, "[http://smithvillecityhall.com/history.php City of Smithville - History], 1995. Retrieved: February 7, 2013.
2. ''[http://www.state.tn.us/sos/bluebook/05-06/48-data.pdf Tennessee Blue Book]'', 2005-2006, pp. 618-625.
3. "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau.
4. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
5. (October 25, 2007). "US Board on Geographic Names". [[United States Geological Survey]].
6. "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Smithville city, Tennessee". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder.
7. "Find a County". National Association of Counties.
8. smithvillejamboree.com
9. (February 12, 2011). "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". [[United States Census Bureau]].
10. "Smithville to Cookeville".
11. "Smithville to Murfreesboro".
12. "Smithville to Nashville".
13. "Census of Population and Housing: Decennial Censuses". [[United States Census Bureau]].
14. "Incorporated Places and Minor Civil Divisions Datasets: Subcounty Resident Population Estimates: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2012". U.S. Census Bureau.
15. "Census Population API". United States Census Bureau.
16. "Explore Census Data".
17. (March 23, 1954). "James Edgar Evins". The Jackson Sun.
18. (February 7, 2013). "Singer Alan Jackson Lists a Tennessee Home for $5 Million". Wall Street Journal.