Lynchburg, Tennessee

Settlers first arrived in the Lynchburg area around 1801. Main Street was originally the main road, and roughly followed the route of East Fork Mulberry Creek. Residences were generally located in the western half of Lynchburg, while industries were situated along the creek in the eastern half. One early settler, Thomas Roundtree, established a cotton mill along the creek in the vicinity of the modern Jack Daniel's Distillery. By the 1830s, another settler, William P. Long, was operating a gristmill and cotton gin. Early Lynchburg was also home to a large tannery.Carroll Van West, Megan Dobbs, and Brian Eades, [http://digital.mtsu.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15838coll4/id/2273/rec/94 National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form for Lynchburg Historic District], Southern Places Database (MTSU Center for Historic Preservation), 1995.

The origin of the city's name is unclear. An article in an 1876 issue of the Lynchburg Sentinel suggests an early settler named the city after his native Lynchburg, Virginia. The WPA Guide to Tennessee (1939) states the city was named after an early resident named Tom Lynch.Cathy Summerlin, [https://books.google.com/books?id=hJjBiE-DYQwC&dq=wpa+guide+lynchburg+tennessee+tom&pg=PT234 Traveling Tennessee: A Complete Tour Guide to the Volunteer State] (Thomas Nelson Inc., 1999), ch. 47. An article by Jeanne Ridgway Bigger in the spring 1972 issue of the Tennessee Historical Quarterly states that the city was named after a "Judge Lynch", who presided over a vigilante committee that met in the city sometime after the War of 1812.Jeanne Ridgway Bigger, "Jack Daniel's Distillery and Lynchburg: A Visit to Moore County, Tennessee", Tennessee Historical Quarterly, Vol. 31, No. 1 (Spring 1972), pp. 3-21.

During the Civil War, residents of Lynchburg generally supported the Confederacy. Company E of the Confederate Army's 1st Tennessee Cavalry consisted primarily of Lynchburg residents. A monument to the area's Confederate soldiers stands on the lawn of the Moore County Courthouse.

In 1871, Moore County was created from parts of Lincoln, Bedford, Coffee, and Franklin counties (Lynchburg had been part of Lincoln). In June 1873, Lynchburg was chosen as the county seat of Moore, due in part to its central location within the new county's boundaries. The county commissioners established a courthouse square along Main Street, the pattern of which was influenced by the square in nearby Shelbyville. Two schools, the Lynchburg Male and Female Institute and the Lynchburg Normal School, were established during this period, and several church congregations built elaborate new churches.

During the 1870s, Lynchburg was situated at the center of an agrarian economic triangle consisting of Tullahoma to the northeast, Shelbyville to the northwest, and Fayetteville to the south. As such, the city developed into an important mule trading center. The city also had a rising number of distilleries. By the 1880s, fifteen registered distilleries were operating in Moore County, with the most productive being Tom Eaton's Distillery, and the second-most productive being the now-famous Jack Daniel's. The distilleries provided a convenient market for local corn growers, and the leftover corn slop (after the alcohol was extracted) was used as feed for hogs and cattle."[http://digital.mtsu.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15838coll4/id/2312/rec/93 Historical Sketch of Moore County]", Lynchburg Sentinel, 1876, p. 6. Compiled by Joan C. Ferguson. Accessed at the MTSU Center for Historic Preservation's Southern Spaces database, March 20, 2014.

On December 4, 1883, a fire destroyed nearly half of Lynchburg, including the courthouse and much of the courthouse square. A new courthouse (the present building) was completed in 1885. A separate jail (now a museum) was erected across the street in 1893. The rise of automobile traffic and the establishment of a state highway system in the early 20th century led to a commercial boom in Lynchburg, and many of the buildings on the courthouse square were built during this period. By 1920, Lynchburg had several schools and churches, a weekly newspaper, two banks, and several "flourishing business establishments".

The passage of a state law barring the manufacture of liquor in 1909 effectively shut down the city's distilleries. Although prohibition was repealed at the federal level in 1933, it remained in effect in Tennessee. Lem Motlow (1869–1947), a state senator and nephew of Jack Daniel, led efforts to repeal the state's prohibition laws. In 1937, the state repealed the law barring the manufacture of alcoholic beverages, and Motlow reopened the Jack Daniel's Distillery. In 1939, the state passed a "local option" law, allowing each county to choose (via referendum) whether or not to allow the sale of alcoholic beverages.W. Calvin Dickinson, "[http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=1302 Temperance]", Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture. Retrieved March 20, 2014.
- "[http://www.tn.gov/tsla/exhibits/prohibition/repeal.htm Repeal of Prohibition]", TN.gov. Retrieved March 20, 2014.

Motlow State Community College opened its campus in 1969 on 187 acres of land donated by Reagor Motlow and family in the northern part of Moore County in what is today part of Lynchburg.

Lynchburg is located at {{coord|35|17|3|N|86|21|27|W|}}.{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=April 23, 2011|date=February 12, 2011|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}}

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 130.4 square miles (337.7 km²), of which 129.2 square miles (334.6 km²) is land and 1.2 square miles (3.1 km²) (0.93%) is water. The city lies in a valley carved by East Fork Mulberry Creek (part of the Elk River watershed). State Route 55, known as Majors Boulevard in Lynchburg, is the city's main thoroughfare. Just south of Lynchburg, this highway intersects two other highways: State Route 50 (which continues southwest to Fayetteville) and State Route 129 (which continues westward to Petersburg).

{{Weather box

| single line = Y

| location = Lynchburg, Tennessee, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1999–present

|Jan record high F = 77

|Feb record high F = 83

|Mar record high F = 85

|Apr record high F = 90

|May record high F = 93

|Jun record high F = 108

|Jul record high F = 107

|Aug record high F = 102

|Sep record high F = 99

|Oct record high F = 96

|Nov record high F = 87

|Dec record high F = 76

|Jan avg record high F = 68.4

|Feb avg record high F = 72.2

|Mar avg record high F = 79.6

|Apr avg record high F = 85.9

|May avg record high F = 90.1

|Jun avg record high F = 95.6

|Jul avg record high F = 96.2

|Aug avg record high F = 95.9

|Sep avg record high F = 92.8

|Oct avg record high F = 86.9

|Nov avg record high F = 77.3

|Dec avg record high F = 69.8

|year avg record high F = 97.5

| Jan high F =48.5

| Feb high F =52.9

| Mar high F =61.8

| Apr high F =71.3

| May high F =79.4

| Jun high F =86.1

| Jul high F =89.3

| Aug high F =88.6

| Sep high F =83.2

| Oct high F =73.3

| Nov high F =61.1

| Dec high F =51.5

| Jan mean F =37.8

| Feb mean F =40.9

| Mar mean F =48.8

| Apr mean F =57.2

| May mean F =66.3

| Jun mean F =74.2

| Jul mean F =77.7

| Aug mean F =76.4

| Sep mean F =70.4

| Oct mean F =58.9

| Nov mean F =47.8

| Dec mean F =40.4

| Jan low F =27.0

| Feb low F =29.0

| Mar low F =35.8

| Apr low F =43.2

| May low F =53.1

| Jun low F =62.3

| Jul low F =66.0

| Aug low F =64.3

| Sep low F =57.5

| Oct low F =44.6

| Nov low F =34.5

| Dec low F =29.3

|Jan avg record low F = 8.4

|Feb avg record low F = 12.9

|Mar avg record low F = 19.5

|Apr avg record low F = 28.6

|May avg record low F = 36.6

|Jun avg record low F = 51.0

|Jul avg record low F = 55.9

|Aug avg record low F = 54.6

|Sep avg record low F = 44.1

|Oct avg record low F = 28.4

|Nov avg record low F = 18.4

|Dec avg record low F = 15.1

|year avg record low F = 6.7

|Jan record low F = -1

|Feb record low F = 1

|Mar record low F = 12

|Apr record low F = 25

|May record low F = 31

|Jun record low F = 45

|Jul record low F = 50

|Aug record low F = 47

|Sep record low F = 35

|Oct record low F = 21

|Nov record low F = 13

|Dec record low F = 0

| precipitation colour = green

| Jan precipitation inch =5.45

| Feb precipitation inch =5.21

| Mar precipitation inch =6.14

| Apr precipitation inch =5.59

| May precipitation inch =5.25

| Jun precipitation inch =5.55

| Jul precipitation inch =4.74

| Aug precipitation inch =4.63

| Sep precipitation inch =4.61

| Oct precipitation inch =3.55

| Nov precipitation inch =4.77

| Dec precipitation inch =6.76

|unit precipitation days = 0.01 in

|Jan precipitation days = 10.9

|Feb precipitation days = 11.7

|Mar precipitation days = 12.0

|Apr precipitation days = 11.0

|May precipitation days = 12.3

|Jun precipitation days = 11.1

|Jul precipitation days = 11.6

|Aug precipitation days = 10.0

|Sep precipitation days = 7.8

|Oct precipitation days = 9.0

|Nov precipitation days = 9.9

|Dec precipitation days = 12.1

| Jan snow inch =0.3

| Feb snow inch =0.6

| Mar snow inch =0.5

| Apr snow inch =0.0

| May snow inch =0.0

| Jun snow inch =0.0

| Jul snow inch =0.0

| Aug snow inch =0.0

| Sep snow inch =0.0

| Oct snow inch =0.0

| Nov snow inch =0.0

| Dec snow inch =0.1

|unit snow days = 0.1 in

|Jan snow days = 0.4

|Feb snow days = 0.5

|Mar snow days = 0.3

|Apr snow days = 0.0

|May snow days = 0.0

|Jun snow days = 0.0

|Jul snow days = 0.0

|Aug snow days = 0.0

|Sep snow days = 0.0

|Oct snow days = 0.0

|Nov snow days = 0.0

|Dec snow days = 0.2

|source 1 = NOAA

{{cite web

|url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&stations=USC00405525&format=pdf&dataTypes=MLY-TMAX-NORMAL,MLY-TMIN-NORMAL,MLY-TAVG-NORMAL,MLY-PRCP-NORMAL,MLY-SNOW-NORMAL

|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

|title = U.S. Climate Normals Quick Access – Station: Lynchburg, TN

|access-date = May 22, 2023

}}

|source 2 = National Weather Service (mean maxim/minima 2006–2020)

{{cite web

|url = https://www.weather.gov/wrh/climate?wfo=hun

|publisher = National Weather Service

|title = NOAA Online Weather Data – NWS Huntsville

|access-date = May 22, 2023

}}

}}

{{US Census population

| 1880 = 345

| 1890 = 500

| 1900 = 417

| 1910 = 408

| 1920 = 365

| 1930 = 380

| 1940 = 390

| 1950 = 401

| 1960 = 396

| 1970 = 538

| 1980 = 668

| 1990 = 4721

| 2000 = 5740

| 2010 = 6319

| 2020 = 6461

| footnote = Sources:{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=March 4, 2012|title=Census of Population and Housing: Decennial Censuses}}{{cite web|title=Incorporated Places and Minor Civil Divisions Datasets: Subcounty Resident Population Estimates: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2012|url=https://www.census.gov/popest/data/cities/totals/2012/SUB-EST2012.html|work=Population Estimates|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|access-date=December 11, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130602093844/http://www.census.gov/popest/data/cities/totals/2012/SUB-EST2012.html|archive-date=June 2, 2013}}

}}

The 2020 census showed 6,461 people in Lynchburg. At the 2000 census, there were 5,740 people, 2,211 households and 1,686 families residing in Lynchburg-Moore County. The population density was {{convert|44.4|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 2,515 housing units at an average density of 19.5 per square mile (7.5/km²). The racial makeup was 95.84% White, 2.72% African American, 0.19% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 0.51% from other races, and 0.61% from two or more races. Hispanics and Latinos of any race were 0.78% of the population.

File:Main-street-lynchburg-tn1.jpg

There were 2,211 households, of which 30.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.1% were married couples living together, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.7% were non-families. 21.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 2.95.

The age distribution was 23.3% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 26.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.8 males.

The median household income in Lynchburg-Moore County was $36,591 and the median family income was $41,484. Males had a median income of $31,559 and females $20,987. The per capita income was $19,040. About 7.8% of families and 9.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.7% of those under the age of 18 and 12.1% ages 65 or older.

In 1988, the Metropolitan Government of Lynchburg, Moore County, Tennessee was voted into law as the governing body of Moore County, including Lynchburg. This helped reduce costs and duplicate roles.{{cite book|last1=Leland|first1=Suzanne M.|last2=Thurmaier|first2=Kurt|title=City–County Consolidation: Promises Made, Promises Kept?|date=2010|publisher=Georgetown University Press|isbn=978-1589016224|page=180|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ksV6dg8YlE8C&q=Moore+County+Tennessee+1988+consolidation&pg=PA180|access-date=November 16, 2017}}
- {{cite web|title=Charter of the Lynchburg, Moore County Metropolitan Government|url=http://mtas-notes.ips.utk.edu/public/CHARTERS.nsf/0/DFCDD73FAC37B3B8852568CC0061DB40/$File/Lynchburg%20Charter.pdf|website=University of Tennessee Municipal Technical Advisory Service|access-date=November 16, 2017}}

Schools in Lynchburg are a part of Lynchburg-Moore County Schools:

• Lynchburg Elementary - grades PreK–6
• Moore County High School - grades 7–12

• Jimmy Bedford (1940–2009), sixth master distiller at Jack Daniel's.Hevesi, Dennis. [https://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/11/business/11bedford.html "Jimmy Bedford, Guardian of Jack Daniel’s, Dies at 69"], The New York Times, August 10, 2009. Accessed August 11, 2009.
• Davy Crockett (1786–1836), American frontiersman, who lived in what is now Lynchburg from 1811 to 1813.
• Bill Dance (born 1940), angler and host of Bill Dance Outdoors, who resided in Lynchburg during the summers of his childhood and learned to fish in Lynchburg's Mulberry Creek.
• Jasper Newton Daniel, aka Jack Daniel (1846–1911), founder of Jack Daniel's Distillery. {{Cite web |date=January 5, 2023 |title=The History of Jack Daniels |url=https://www.timsford411.com/blog/jack-daniels-distillery-the-legacy-of-an-american-icon |access-date=January 20, 2024}}
• Nathan "Nearest" Green (c.1820–?), former slave, a distiller who trained and worked with Jack Daniel's.{{Cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/nation-now/2017/07/21/ex-slave-who-trained-jack-daniel-gets-new-recognition/498391001/|title=Ex-slave who trained Jack Daniel gets new recognition|work=USA TODAY|access-date=August 15, 2017}}
• Little Richard (1932–2020), American rock and roll artist, resided in Lynchburg.Paulson, Dave. [https://www.tennessean.com/story/entertainment/music/2020/05/09/little-richard-dies-87-rock-and-roll-legend-called-nashville-home-years/3102234001/ "Little Richard dies at 87: Rock and roll legend called Tennessee home"], The Tennessean, May 9, 2020. Accessed February 4, 2021.
• Bobby Majors (born 1949), Tennessee Volunteers and NFL football player
• Johnny Majors (born 1935), College Football Hall of Fame, All-American tailback at the University of Tennessee and head coach of the Iowa State Cyclones from 1968 to 1972, Pittsburgh Panthers 1973–76, 1993–96, and the Tennessee Volunteers 1977–1992.
• Shirley Majors (1913–1981), patriarch of the Majors football family and former head coach at Sewanee: The University of the South from 1957 to 1977.
• Lem Motlow (1869–1947), nephew of Jack Daniel and second owner of Jack Daniel's Distillery, who also served in the Tennessee House of Representatives and the Tennessee Senate.
• Reagor Motlow (1898–1978), great-nephew of Jack Daniel and co-owner with his siblings of Jack Daniel's Distillery. Motlow also served in the Tennessee House of Representatives and the Tennessee Senate.
• F. E. Riddle (born 1870), American attorney born in Lynchburg and studied law under Judge Samuel A. Billingsley, moved to Oklahoma and became a Justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court.

{{reflist}}

{{Commons category}}

{{Wikivoyage|Lynchburg (Tennessee)}}

• [https://www.timsford411.com/blog/your-questions-answered-about-lynchburg-tn Lynchburg History]
• [http://www.lynchburgtn.com/ Lynchburg-Moore County Chamber of Commerce]

{{Moore County, Tennessee}}

{{Tennessee county seats}}

{{authority control}}

Category:Cities in Moore County, Tennessee

Category:Cities in Tennessee

Category:Consolidated city-counties

Category:County seats in Tennessee

Category:Tullahoma, Tennessee micropolitan area

Category:1841 establishments in Tennessee