Hickory Withe, Tennessee facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Hickory Withe, Tennessee
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Location of Hickory Withe, Tennessee
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| Country | United States |
| State | Tennessee |
| County | Fayette |
| Area | |
| • Total | 28.4 sq mi (73.6 km2) |
| • Land | 28.3 sq mi (73.3 km2) |
| • Water | 0.1 sq mi (0.3 km2) |
| Elevation | 405 ft (123 m) |
| Population
(2000)
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| • Total | 2,574 |
| • Density | 91/sq mi (35.1/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| FIPS code | 47-33960 |
Hickory Withe is a small, unincorporated community in Fayette County, Tennessee, United States. It's located within the larger Memphis metropolitan area. For some years, Hickory Withe was officially an incorporated town. In the year 2000, about 2,574 people lived there.
Contents
Discovering Hickory Withe's Location
Hickory Withe is found in the western part of Fayette County. Its exact spot is 35°13′N 89°35′W / 35.217°N 89.583°W. The community shares a postal code with Eads, Tennessee, which is in eastern Shelby County, Tennessee.
Nearby Towns and Roads
To the south and east, Hickory Withe borders the town of Oakland, Tennessee. Tennessee State Route 196 runs through the community. This road goes north about 6.5 miles (10.5 km) to Gallaway, Tennessee and south about 1 mile (1.6 km) to U.S. Route 64 in Oakland. If you take US 64, downtown Memphis, Tennessee is about 31 miles (50 km) to the west.
How Big is Hickory Withe?
According to information from the year 2000, Hickory Withe covered a total area of about 28.4 square miles (73.6 km²). Most of this area, about 28.3 square miles (73.3 km²), was land. Only a small part, about 0.1 square miles (0.3 km²), was water.
Who Lives in Hickory Withe?
In 2000, there were 2,574 people living in Hickory Withe. These people lived in 980 households, and 803 of these were families. On average, about 2.63 people lived in each household.
A Look at the Population
The people living in Hickory Withe in 2000 were of different ages:
- About 20.5% were under 18 years old.
- About 6.8% were between 18 and 24 years old.
- About 27.5% were between 25 and 44 years old.
- About 33.8% were between 45 and 64 years old.
- About 11.5% were 65 years old or older.
The average age of people in Hickory Withe was 43 years old.
Hickory Withe's Past
The community of Hickory Withe was first settled in 1834. Families moved here from an area around Prosperity, South Carolina.
The First Church and Main Street
One of the first things these settlers did was to create a church. They formed the Prosperity Presbyterian Church in December 1834. Later, in 1907, this church joined with another one to become Hickory Withe Presbyterian Church. This church is still active today.
The church building, located on Donelson Drive, is a historic property. Donelson Drive used to be the "Main Street" of Hickory Withe. It had a post office, a general store, a cotton gin (a machine that separates cotton fibers from their seeds), and a two-room school house. Over time, the businesses and other buildings were removed, leaving only homes and the church. The school building was given to the church in 1974 and is still kept up today.
The "Tiny Towns Bill"
In the mid-1990s, some people wanted Hickory Withe to become an official town. However, the laws in Tennessee at the time made it hard for small areas to incorporate (become a town). Supporters of the idea talked to John S. Wilder, who was the Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee. He was from a nearby town and had been a state senator for a long time.
Wilder found that he couldn't just pass a law for Hickory Withe alone, as that would be against the state's constitution. So, he helped create a new law that would allow almost any small, previously unincorporated area in Tennessee to become a town. This new law became known as the "Tiny Towns Bill."
Many small areas tried to become towns under this new law. The main reason was often to prevent larger cities from taking over their land (called annexation) and charging property tax. However, the Tennessee Supreme Court decided that this new law was unconstitutional in November 1997, less than a year after it was passed.
New laws were put in place after that. Now, any new town that wants to form must set a property tax rate when it incorporates. Towns that formed under the "Tiny Towns Bill," like Hickory Withe, were not automatically dissolved, but some later chose to stop being incorporated towns.
Life in Hickory Withe Today
Hickory Withe is mostly a rural area with a lot of farms. The main crop grown here is cotton. Horse farming is also a common use of the land.
In recent years, more homes have been built in Hickory Withe. This is partly because the Memphis urban area has been growing eastward. Also, the completion of the Memphis outer beltway (now I-269) in nearby Shelby County has made it easier to get to Hickory Withe.
