Dyersburg, Tennessee
Encyclopedia
Dyersburg is a city in and the county seat
of Dyer County, Tennessee
, United States
, 77 miles (123.9 km) north-northeast of Memphis
on the Forked Deer River
. The population was 17,145 at the 2010 census
.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 15.1 square miles (39.1 km²), of which, 15.1 square miles (39.1 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) of it (0.53%) is water.
of 2000, there were 17,452 people, 7,036 households, and 4,517 families residing in the city. The population density
was 1,158.7 people per square mile (447.4/km²). There were 7,885 housing units at an average density of 523.5 per square mile (202.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 75.68% White, 22.02% African American, 0.21% Native American, 0.54% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.53% from other races
, and 0.99% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.36% of the population.
There were 7,036 households out of which 31.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.4% were married couples
living together, 17.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.8% were non-families. 30.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.99.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.3% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 15.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 86.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $28,232, and the median income for a family was $34,754. Males had a median income of $30,898 versus $21,337 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $16,388. About 17.4% of families and 20.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.5% of those under age 18 and 19.0% of those age 65 or over.
tribe. The final treaty by which they relinquished all of West Tennessee
was signed in 1818.
In 1823 the General Assembly of Tennessee
passed an act to establish two new counties immediately west of the Tennessee River
, Dyer County being one of them. John McIver and Joel H. Dyer donated 60 acres (242,811.6 m²) for the new county seat, named Dyersburg, at a central location within the county known as McIver's Bluff. In 1825, Dyer surveyed the town site into eighty-six lots. The first courthouse was built on the square in 1827. The current Classical Revival-style courthouse, designed by Asa Biggs in 1911, centers a downtown historic district listed in the National Register of Historic Places
.
Situated as the hub of steamboat navigation on the Forked Deer River, Dyersburg grew as a river town, especially once the Grey Eagle made the first successful steamboat trip in 1836. The county's first industrial boom dates to 1879, when the steamboat Alf Stevens shipped timber from A. M. Stevens Lumber Company of Dyersburg to St. Louis markets. The Stevens company established a large sawmill in 1880 and opened a planing mill
in 1885. The Bank of Dyersburg opened in 1880, while another timber industry, Nichols & Co. Wooden Bowl Factory, began operations in 1881.
The arrival of the Newport News and Mississippi Valley Railroad in 1884 further expanded market possibilities; a branch line, the Dyersburg Northern, soon linked the county seat to Tiptonville
. The new railroad links encouraged the creation of new industries and businesses. In 1884, for example, investors established the Dyersburg Oil Company, a cottonseed factory. This company remained locally important through the twentieth century.
.
During World War II
, an emergency landing strip was built in Dyersburg. Industry continued to expand and Dyer County became a regional medical, educational, retail and distribution center. The establishment of Dyersburg State Community College
in 1969 enhanced educational and cultural opportunities in the county. In the last two decades, two major projects have modernized the city's transportation system: Interstate 155
links Dyersburg with Missouri
, via the only highway bridge over the Mississippi River
between Cairo, Illinois
, and Memphis
, and the four-lane expansion of U.S. 412
connects Dyersburg to I-40
at Jackson
.
On March 5, 1963 a Piper Comanche plane carrying country singers Patsy Cline, Hawkshaw Hawkins, Cowboy Copas, pilot and Miss Cline's manager Randy Hughes stopped for gas. The plane crashed just 20 minutes later in inclement weather near Camden, Tennessee
.
. Kilpatrick suffered from a severe case of schizophrenia and paranoia. Since he had been without health insurance for some time, he was not on the appropriate medications and his mental disabilities are believed to be the cause of his actions. Upon locking himself and his hostages in an upper story classroom, his only demands were a pizza and some water. Police would not let any of his family members near the facility, though his sister tried desperately to convince the police that she could help and that her brother needed mental medical attention urgently. After nine hours or more, a single gunshot sounded from inside the classroom, which caused the Dyersburg police to take action. They forcibly entered the room and opened fire, killing Kilpatrick and wounding two students. Hostages from that day have described Kilpatrick as being rather friendly, though nervous, and that he had dropped his gun causing an accidental discharge (the shot the police heard).
Home of former Murray State and NBA player, Popeye Jones
. Jones dominated the Ohio Valley Conference and was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks
and played for many NBA teams. He is currently an assistant coach with the Mavericks organization.
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of Dyer County, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, 77 miles (123.9 km) north-northeast of Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
on the Forked Deer River
Forked Deer River
The Forked Deer River system is the main drainage of the central portion of West Tennessee. Locals pronounce the first word of the river's name with two syllables, .The Forked Deer consists of various streams designated "Forked Deer" and their tributaries...
. The population was 17,145 at the 2010 census
United States Census, 2010
The Twenty-third United States Census, known as Census 2010 or the 2010 Census, is the current national census of the United States. National Census Day was April 1, 2010 and is the reference date used in enumerating individuals...
.
Geography
Dyersburg is located at 36°2′22"N 89°22′58"W (36.039440, -89.382766). The city's proximity to the New Madrid Fault Zone makes it a place at risk for future earthquakes.According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 15.1 square miles (39.1 km²), of which, 15.1 square miles (39.1 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) of it (0.53%) is water.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 17,452 people, 7,036 households, and 4,517 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 1,158.7 people per square mile (447.4/km²). There were 7,885 housing units at an average density of 523.5 per square mile (202.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 75.68% White, 22.02% African American, 0.21% Native American, 0.54% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.53% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.99% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.36% of the population.
There were 7,036 households out of which 31.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.4% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 17.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.8% were non-families. 30.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.99.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.3% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 15.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 86.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $28,232, and the median income for a family was $34,754. Males had a median income of $30,898 versus $21,337 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $16,388. About 17.4% of families and 20.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.5% of those under age 18 and 19.0% of those age 65 or over.
Newspapers
- State Gazette - 6 days/week (Sunday-Friday); general news. The paper has served Dyersburg and Northwest Tennessee since 1865.
19th century
The lands that make up Dyer County once belonged to the ChickasawChickasaw
The Chickasaw are Native American people originally from the region that would become the Southeastern United States...
tribe. The final treaty by which they relinquished all of West Tennessee
West Tennessee
West Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of the State of Tennessee. Of the three, it is the one that is most sharply defined geographically. Its boundaries are the Mississippi River on the west and the Tennessee River on the east...
was signed in 1818.
In 1823 the General Assembly of Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
passed an act to establish two new counties immediately west of the Tennessee River
Tennessee River
The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately 652 miles long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names...
, Dyer County being one of them. John McIver and Joel H. Dyer donated 60 acres (242,811.6 m²) for the new county seat, named Dyersburg, at a central location within the county known as McIver's Bluff. In 1825, Dyer surveyed the town site into eighty-six lots. The first courthouse was built on the square in 1827. The current Classical Revival-style courthouse, designed by Asa Biggs in 1911, centers a downtown historic district listed in the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
Situated as the hub of steamboat navigation on the Forked Deer River, Dyersburg grew as a river town, especially once the Grey Eagle made the first successful steamboat trip in 1836. The county's first industrial boom dates to 1879, when the steamboat Alf Stevens shipped timber from A. M. Stevens Lumber Company of Dyersburg to St. Louis markets. The Stevens company established a large sawmill in 1880 and opened a planing mill
Planing mill
A planing mill is a facility that takes cut and seasoned boards from a sawmill and turns them into finished dimensional lumber. Machines used in the mill include the planer and matcher, the molding machines, and varieties of saws...
in 1885. The Bank of Dyersburg opened in 1880, while another timber industry, Nichols & Co. Wooden Bowl Factory, began operations in 1881.
The arrival of the Newport News and Mississippi Valley Railroad in 1884 further expanded market possibilities; a branch line, the Dyersburg Northern, soon linked the county seat to Tiptonville
Tiptonville, Tennessee
Tiptonville is a town in and the county seat of Lake County, Tennessee, United States. Its population was 2,439 as of the 2000 census. It is also home to the Northwest Correctional Complex, a maximum security prison, known for once housing mass murderer Jessie Dotson, Jr.-History:According to the...
. The new railroad links encouraged the creation of new industries and businesses. In 1884, for example, investors established the Dyersburg Oil Company, a cottonseed factory. This company remained locally important through the twentieth century.
20th century
Between 1909 and 1914, Dyersburg emerged as a regional railroad hub as it became the junction point for three different lines, led by the Illinois Central RailroadIllinois Central Railroad
The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois with New Orleans, Louisiana and Birmingham, Alabama. A line also connected Chicago with Sioux City, Iowa...
.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, an emergency landing strip was built in Dyersburg. Industry continued to expand and Dyer County became a regional medical, educational, retail and distribution center. The establishment of Dyersburg State Community College
Dyersburg State Community College
Dyersburg State Community College is a Tennessee Board of Regents-operated community college located in Dyersburg, Tennessee. Dyersburg State was founded in 1969. Classes are held on the campus in Dyersburg and at centers in Covington and Trenton...
in 1969 enhanced educational and cultural opportunities in the county. In the last two decades, two major projects have modernized the city's transportation system: Interstate 155
Interstate 155 (Missouri-Tennessee)
Interstate 155 is an east–west spur beginning in far southeast Missouri. The western terminus is south of Hayti, Missouri at Interstate 55, exits 17A and exit 17B . The route proceeds east to the Tennessee border, where it crosses over the Mississippi River...
links Dyersburg with Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, via the only highway bridge over the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
between Cairo, Illinois
Cairo, Illinois
Cairo is the southernmost city in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is the county seat of Alexander County. Cairo is located at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. The rivers converge at Fort Defiance State Park, an American Civil War fort that was commanded by General Ulysses S. Grant...
, and Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, and the four-lane expansion of U.S. 412
U.S. Route 412
U.S. Route 412 is an east–west United States highway, first commissioned in 1982. Its route number is a "violation" of the usual AASHTO numbering scheme, as it comes nowhere near its implied "parent", US 12. U.S...
connects Dyersburg to I-40
Interstate 40
Interstate 40 is the third-longest major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States, after I-90 and I-80. Its western end is at Interstate 15 in Barstow, California; its eastern end is at a concurrency of U.S. Route 117 and North Carolina Highway 132 in Wilmington, North Carolina...
at Jackson
Jackson, Tennessee
Jackson is a city in Madison County, Tennessee, United States. The total population was 65,211 at the 2010 census. Jackson is the primary city of the Jackson, Tennessee metropolitan area, which is included in the Jackson-Humboldt, Tennessee Combined Statistical Area...
.
On March 5, 1963 a Piper Comanche plane carrying country singers Patsy Cline, Hawkshaw Hawkins, Cowboy Copas, pilot and Miss Cline's manager Randy Hughes stopped for gas. The plane crashed just 20 minutes later in inclement weather near Camden, Tennessee
Camden, Tennessee
Camden is a city in Benton County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 3,828 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Benton County.-Geography:Camden is positioned at...
.
Recent history
On September 17, 2003, Harold Kilpatrick Jr. took 18 people hostage in a classroom at Dyersburg State Community College. He wrote a note saying he "wanted to kill some people and die today" and claimed to be a part of al-QaedaAl-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
. Kilpatrick suffered from a severe case of schizophrenia and paranoia. Since he had been without health insurance for some time, he was not on the appropriate medications and his mental disabilities are believed to be the cause of his actions. Upon locking himself and his hostages in an upper story classroom, his only demands were a pizza and some water. Police would not let any of his family members near the facility, though his sister tried desperately to convince the police that she could help and that her brother needed mental medical attention urgently. After nine hours or more, a single gunshot sounded from inside the classroom, which caused the Dyersburg police to take action. They forcibly entered the room and opened fire, killing Kilpatrick and wounding two students. Hostages from that day have described Kilpatrick as being rather friendly, though nervous, and that he had dropped his gun causing an accidental discharge (the shot the police heard).
Home of former Murray State and NBA player, Popeye Jones
Popeye Jones
Ronald Jerome "Popeye" Jones is a retired American professional basketball player in the NBA. He is now an assistant coach for the New Jersey Nets....
. Jones dominated the Ohio Valley Conference and was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks
Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks are a professional basketball team based in Dallas, Texas. They are members of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association , and the reigning NBA champions, having defeated the Miami Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals.According to a 2011...
and played for many NBA teams. He is currently an assistant coach with the Mavericks organization.
Notable natives
- Emmett Kelly, Jr.Emmett Kelly, Jr.Emmett Leo Kelly, Jr. was one of the "World's Most Famous Clowns". He was the son of Emmett Kelly, Sr., who was also a legendary circus clown. Emmett, Jr. successfully carried on his father's character "Weary Willie," famous for sweeping away the spotlight.- Early life :Emmett Kelly, Jr...
- "The World's Most Famous Clown" - George "Two Ton" Harris - professional wrestler NWANWA-Nwa:*Nwa, Kale, a village in Burma*Nwa, Cameroon, a commune in the Nord-Ouest region of Cameroon-Groups or organizations:* Northwest Airlines, a defunct U.S...
- Robert FullerRobert FullerRobert Welch is a professional wrestler and manager better known by his ring names Robert Fuller and Col. Robert Parker. Robert and his brother Ron co-owned Continental Championship Wrestling for a time.-Career:...
- professional wrestler; better known as a manager in WCWWorld Championship WrestlingWorld Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
and WWF. - Ed Wright - Major League BaseballMajor League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
pitcher, 1945–48, 1952. - Jerry WoodsJerry Woods-Career:Woods was drafted in the seventh round of the 1989 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions and spent that season with the team. He spent the next season with the Green Bay Packers.He played at the collegiate level at Northern Michigan University.-References:...
- National Football LeagueNational Football LeagueThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
defensive back, 1989-1990.