Dyer County, Tennessee facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Dyer County
U.S. county
Dyer County Courthouse in Dyersburg in 2022
Location within the U.S. state of Tennessee
Tennessee's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Tennessee
Founded	1823
Named for	Robert Henry Dyer, state legislator
Seat	Dyersburg
Largest city	Dyersburg
Area
• Total	527 sq mi (1,360 km2)
• Land	512 sq mi (1,330 km2)
• Water	14 sq mi (40 km2)  2.7%%
Population  (2020)
• Total	36,801
• Density	75/sq mi (29/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	8th

Dyer County is a county located in the westernmost part of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 36,801. The county seat is Dyersburg. Dyer County comprises the Dyersburg, TN Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Dyer County was founded by a Private Act of Tennessee, passed on October 16, 1823. The area was part of the territory in Tennessee that was previously legally occupied by Chickasaw Native American people ("Indian Lands").

The county was named for Robert Henry Dyer (circa 1774—1826). Dyer had been an army officer in the Creek War and War of 1812, and a cavalry colonel in the First Seminole War of 1818 before becoming a state senator. He was instrumental in the formation of the counties of Dyer and Madison County, Tennessee.

On April 2, 2006 a severe weather system passed through Dyer County, producing tornadoes that killed 16 in the county and 24 in Tennessee.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 527 square miles (1,360 km²), of which 512 square miles (1,330 km²) is land and 14 square miles (36 km²) (2.7%) is water.

The county is drained by the Mississippi River, which forms its western boundary. It is in the part of Tennessee called the "Mississippi bottomland".

Dyer County is bisected by U.S. Route 51, the older major highway connecting Memphis with Chicago from south to north. When upgraded to interstate standards, this road will become Interstate 69. To the west, Dyer County is connected to Missouri by Interstate 155 over the Mississippi River, providing the only highway connection, other than those at Memphis, between Tennessee and the states to the west of the river.

Adjacent counties

• Lake County (north)
• Obion County (northeast)
• Gibson County (east)
• Crockett County (southeast)
• Lauderdale County (south)
• Mississippi County, Arkansas (southwest)
• Pemiscot County, Missouri (northwest)

State protected areas

• Bogota Wildlife Management Area
• Moss Island Wildlife Management Area
• Ernest Rice Wildlife Management Area
• Thorny Cypress Wildlife Management Area
• Tigrett Wildlife Management Area (part)
• Tumbleweed Wildlife Management Area (part)
• White Lake Refuge

Major Highways

• I-155
• US 51
• US 412
• SR 78
• SR 104
• SR 210
• SR 211

Demographics

Age pyramid Dyer County

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 36,801 people, 15,120 households, and 10,566 families residing in the county.

Education

• Dyersburg State Community College - established 1969.
• Tennessee College of Applied Technology - Northwest - located in Newbern, established 1965.

There are two K-12 school districts in the county: Dyer County School District and Dyersburg City School District.

Media

Newspapers

State Gazette – 3 days/week (Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday); general news. The paper has served Dyersburg and Northwest Tennessee since 1865.

Radio

Burks Broadcasting - 100 Jack-FM / Eagle 97.3 / WTRO

Transportation

US Interstate and Highways

Interstate 155 (Missouri–Tennessee) connects Dyersburg and the communities of Lenox and Big Boy Junction with the Missouri Bootheel via the Caruthersville Bridge, which crosses the Mississippi River at Boothspoint. This is also how U.S. Route 412 enters Tennessee from Missouri. The highway diverts south and travels through Bonicord before moving into Crockett County.

Tennessee State Highways

Tennessee State Route 78 connects Dyersburg with Nauvoo and Bogota before moving north to Lake County. U.S. Route 51 bisects Dyer County, connecting Trimble, Newbern, Dyersburg, Fowlkes, and Bonicord with Obion county to the north and Lauderdale county to the south. A bypass in Dyersburg, constructed in the 1970s, diverts traffic around the downtown core.

Railroad

The Canadian National Railway's Gulf Division runs through Trimble, Newbern, and Dyersburg to connect with Memphis to the south and the wider CN rail network to the north. The TennKen Railroad connects Dyersburg with the communities in the western part of the county, like Lenox and Miston, and travels through Lake County to the north to terminate at Hickman, KY on the Mississippi River.

Dyer County holds one of two active passenger stations in Tennessee (the other being in Memphis). Amtrak's City of New Orleans stops at the historic Illinois Central Railroad depot in Newbern twice a day.

Communities

City

Dyersburg (county seat)

• Bruce
• Edinburgh
• Gardner Heights
• Lakewood
• Lattawoods
• Milltown
• Pioneer
• Southtown
• The Farms
• Twin Oaks
• Pill Hill

Towns

Newbern

• Crowne Point
• Flower Valley
• Oakview

Unincorporated communities

Civil Districts from 1920 Census

Notable People

• Emmet Kelly - American Clown born in Dyersburg in 1898
• Noah Lewis - American Blues musician who worked in Minglewood in the 1920s
• Julius Morgan - First person executed by electric chair in Tennessee

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Dyer para niños