Moore County, Tennessee

{{Infobox U.S. county

| county = Moore County

| state = Tennessee

| seal =

| founded = 1871

| named for = William Moore, state legislatorMegan Dobbs Eades, "[http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=938 Moore County]," Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture. Retrieved: March 11, 2013.

| seat wl = Lynchburg

| largest city wl = Lynchburg

| area_total_sq_mi = 130

| area_land_sq_mi = 129

| area_water_sq_mi = 1.2

| area percentage = 0.9%

| census yr = 2020

| pop = 6461 {{increase}}

| density_sq_mi = 49

| time zone = Central

| footnotes =

| website = [http://www.lynchburgtn.com/government---education-services.html Government & Education Services]

| ex image = Moore County Courthouse in Lynchburg Tennessee 4-8-2010.jpg

| ex image cap = Moore County Courthouse in Lynchburg

| district = 4th

|leader_title=Mayor|leader_name=Sloan Stewart (R){{Cite web |title=Sloan Andrew Stewart |url=https://ballotpedia.org/Sloan_Andrew_Stewart |access-date=2025-04-16 |website=Ballotpedia |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Moore County, TN |url=https://atvg.org/2015/01/moore-county-tn/ |access-date=2025-04-16 |language=en-US}}}}

Moore County is a county located in the south central part of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,461, making it the third-least populous county in Tennessee. It forms a consolidated city-county government with its county seat of Lynchburg.{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx|access-date=June 7, 2011|title=Find a County|publisher=National Association of Counties}} At {{convert|130|mi2|km2}}, it is the second-smallest county in Tennessee, behind only Trousdale. The county was created in 1871, during the Reconstruction era.{{cite web|url=http://www.state.tn.us/sos/bluebook/05-06/44-counties.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.state.tn.us/sos/bluebook/05-06/44-counties.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live|title=Origins Of Tennessee County Names|publisher=Tennessee Blue Book|page=512|date=2005–2006|access-date=April 18, 2015}} Moore County is part of the Tullahoma-Manchester, TN Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Moore County was established in 1871 from parts of Lincoln, Bedford and Franklin counties, and named in honor of General William Moore, an early settler and long-time member of the state legislature. The new county originally contained about 300 square miles, but Lincoln County sued and successfully reclaimed a portion of its land, reducing the new county's size.

Beginning in the 1820s, whiskey distilleries were developed in what is now Moore County. By 1875, fifteen distilleries were operating in the county. At the end of the 20th century, the Jack Daniel Distillery in Lynchburg was a major employer and the county's primary source of revenue.

Because of the small size of this county, in the late 20th century city and county officials began to discuss creating a consolidated government in order to lower costs and improve services. In 1988, the Metropolitan Government of Lynchburg, Moore County, Tennessee was voted into law as the governing body of Moore County, including Lynchburg.{{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|language=en}}{{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}}

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of {{convert|130|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|129|sqmi}} are land and {{convert|1.2|sqmi}} (0.9%) are water.{{cite web|url=http://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/counties_list_47.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=April 9, 2015|date=August 22, 2012|title=2010 Census Gazetteer Files}} It is the second-smallest county in Tennessee by area. The county is located partially on the rugged Highland Rim and partially in the flatter Nashville Basin.

=Adjacent counties=

Coffee County (northeast)
Franklin County (southeast)
Lincoln County (southwest)
Bedford County (northwest)

=Protected area=

Tims Ford Lake

Demographics

{{US Census population

|1880= 6233

|1890= 5975

|1900= 5706

|1910= 4800

|1920= 4491

|1930= 4037

|1940= 4093

|1950= 3948

|1960= 3454

|1970= 3568

|1980= 4510

|1990= 4721

|2000= 5740

|2010= 6362

|2020= 6461

|align-fn=center

|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=U.S. Decennial Census|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=April 9, 2015}}
1790-1960{{cite web|url=http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu|title=Historical Census Browser|publisher=University of Virginia Library|access-date=April 9, 2015}} 1900-1990{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/tn190090.txt|title=Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990|publisher=United States Census Bureau|editor-last=Forstall|editor-first=Richard L.|date=March 27, 1995|access-date=April 9, 2015}}
1990-2000{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live|title=Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000|publisher=United States Census Bureau|date=April 2, 2001|access-date=April 9, 2015}} 2010-2020{{cite web|title=State & County QuickFacts|url=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/47/47127.html|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=December 6, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607143837/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/47/47127.html|archive-date=June 7, 2011}} 2020{{cite web |title=2020 Census Data |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?g=0500000US47127 |website=data.census.gov}}

}}

{{Stack|Image:USA Moore County, Tennessee.csv age pyramid.svg data]]}}

=2020 census=

class="wikitable" style="text-align:right" \|+Moore County racial composition{{Cite web\|title=Explore Census Data\|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=0500000US47127&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2\|access-date=December 24, 2021\|website=data.census.gov}} !scope="col"\| Race !scope="col"\| Number !scope="col"\| Percentage
scope="row"\| White (non-Hispanic) \| 5,999 \| 92.85%
scope="row"\| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) \| 103 \| 1.59%
scope="row"\| Native American \| 17 \| 0.26%
scope="row"\| Asian \| 29 \| 0.45%
scope="row"\| Pacific Islander \| 1 \| 0.02%
scope="row"\| Other/Mixed \| 211 \| 3.27%
scope="row"\| Hispanic or Latino \| 101 \| 1.56%

class="wikitable" style="text-align:right"

|+Moore County racial composition{{Cite web|title=Explore Census Data|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=0500000US47127&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|access-date=December 24, 2021|website=data.census.gov}}

!scope="col"| Race

!scope="col"| Number

!scope="col"| Percentage

scope="row"| White (non-Hispanic)

| 5,999

| 92.85%

scope="row"| Black or African American (non-Hispanic)

| 103

| 1.59%

scope="row"| Native American

| 17

| 0.26%

scope="row"| Asian

| 29

| 0.45%

scope="row"| Pacific Islander

| 1

| 0.02%

scope="row"| Other/Mixed

| 211

| 3.27%

scope="row"| Hispanic or Latino

| 101

| 1.56%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 6,461 people, 2,592 households, and 1,862 families residing in the county.

=2010 census=

As of the census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=May 14, 2011|title=U.S. Census website}} of 2010, there were 6,362 people, 2,492 households, and 1,841 families residing in the county. There were 2,492 occupied housing units. The racial makeup of the county was 95.4% White, 2.3% Black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.5% from other races, and 1.1% from two or more races. 1.1% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 2,492 households, out of which 27% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.8% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.1% were non-families. 22.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, male or female. The average household size was 2.51, and the average family size was 2.93.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.2% under the age of 20, 14.8% from 20 to 34, 20.5% from 35 to 49, 22.1% from 50 to 64, and 18.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43.3 years.

Per 2000 Census data, the median income for a household in the county was $36,591, and the median income for a family was $41,484. Males had a median income of $31,559 versus $20,987 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,040. 9.6% of the population, and 7.8% of families were below the poverty line. 11.7% were under the age of 18, and 12.1% were 65 or older.

Economy

Moore County is the location of the Jack Daniel Distillery, whose famous brand of Tennessee whiskey is marketed worldwide. Despite the distillery, Moore is a dry county.{{cite web | url=https://news.yahoo.com/states-unhappy-idea-happy-hours-204634473.html | title=Some states unhappy about the idea of happy hours | publisher=Yahoo! News | date=January 9, 2013 | access-date=April 7, 2014 | author=Locke, Michelle}} This status dates to the passage of state prohibition laws in the early 20th century.

While federal prohibition ended in 1933 with the repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment, state prohibition laws remain in effect. All Tennessee counties are dry by default, though any county can become "wet" by passing a county-wide "local option" referendum. Moore County has yet to pass such a referendum."[http://www.themoorecountynews.com/?page_id=589 Jack Daniel Distillery]," Moore County News. Retrieved: October 28, 2013.

Education

Schools in Moore County are a part of Moore County Schools, overseen by The Moore County Department of Education:{{cite web|title=Board of Education - Moore County Department of Education|url=http://www.moorecountyschools.net/board-of-education|website=www.moorecountyschools.net|access-date=November 16, 2017}}

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

Motlow State Community College is located in northern part of Moore County.

Politics

{{PresHead|place=Moore County, Tennessee|source={{Cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|last=Leip|first=David|website=uselectionatlas.org|access-date=March 11, 2018}}}}