Warren County, Tennessee facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Warren County
U.S. county
Warren County Courthouse in McMinnville
Location within the U.S. state of Tennessee
Tennessee's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Tennessee
Founded	1807
Named for	Joseph Warren
Seat	McMinnville
Largest city	McMinnville
Area
• Total	434 sq mi (1,120 km2)
• Land	433 sq mi (1,120 km2)
• Water	1.4 sq mi (4 km2)  3%%
Population  (2020)
• Total	40,953
• Density	92/sq mi (36/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	4th

Warren County is a county located on the Cumberland Plateau in Middle Tennessee, one of the three Grand Divisions of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2010 census, the population was 39,839. Its county seat is McMinnville. Warren County comprises the McMinnville, TN Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Warren County was created by European Americans in 1807 from a portion of White County, and named for Joseph Warren (1741–1775), a soldier in the American Revolution. The revised Tennessee State Constitution of 1834 stated that no new county could be within 12 miles (19 km) of the county seat of the county from which it was formed. The boundaries of five counties formed from Warren— Grundy, Van Buren, Cannon, Coffee and DeKalb— were exactly 12 miles from Warren's county seat, McMinnville, giving the county its distinctive round shape.

Warren County citizens remained loyal to the state of Tennessee during the War for Southern Independence. The county voted for independence from the union of States in February 1861 in a State referendum. Tennessee as a whole decided to remain in the union of states at that time. After Lincoln's call for invasion of neighboring states in April 1861, which was seen by Tennessee as a violation of Article 3 Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution, Warren County, along with now a majority of other Tennessee counties voted for independence in the following month of June 1861. Slavery was never mentioned as a cause in the declaration of Tennessee secession. Men from Warren county and surrounding upper Cumberland region formed and served in many units in Tennessee's defense including the 16th Tennessee Infantry [1] lead by McMinnville, TN resident Col. John Houston Savage. The Confederate monument [2] located next to the county courthouse is dedicated in the memory of the men who served and died in the 16th and list their names.

Historically dominated by yeomen farmers who owned few or no slaves, Warren County was the site of several saltpeter mines. Saltpeter is the main ingredient of gunpowder and was obtained by leaching the earth from several local caves. Hubbards Cave, near Camp Woodlee, was a major operation. Henshaw Cave on Cardwell Mountain (now part of Cumberland Caverns) and Solomon Saltpeter Cave on Ben Lomond Mountain were relatively small mining operations. Most saltpeter mining occurred during the War of 1812 and in the War Between the States.

Geography

Twin Falls at Rock Island State Park

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 434 square miles (1,120 km²), of which 433 square miles (1,120 km²) is land and 1.4 square miles (3.6 km²) (0.3%) is water. The county lies long the Eastern Highland Rim, near the Cumberland Plateau.

The Caney Fork forms part of the county's borders with White and DeKalb counties to the north. The Rocky River, a tributary of the Caney Fork, forms part of the county's western border with Van Buren County. The Collins River, also a tributary of the Caney Fork, flows through the county, and the Barren Fork, a tributary of the Collins, flows through McMinnville.

Cardwell Mountain is an imposing natural feature located five miles due east of McMinnville. It is an erosional remnant of the nearby Cumberland Plateau. Cardwell Mountain is noted for Cumberland Caverns, an exceptionally long cave which lies underneath the mountain.

Adjacent counties

• DeKalb County (north)
• White County (northeast)
• Van Buren County (east)
• Sequatchie County (southeast)
• Grundy County (south)
• Coffee County (southwest)
• Cannon County (northwest)

Major highways

• U.S. Route 70S
• State Route 8
• State Route 30
• State Route 55
• State Route 56
• State Route 108
• State Route 136

State protected areas

• Hubbard's Cave State Natural Area
• Morrison Meadow State Natural Area
• Rock Island State Park (part)

Demographics

Age pyramid Warren County

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 40,953 people, 15,727 households, and 10,167 families residing in the county.

Recreation

Rock Island State Park is located on the northeastern border with White County. This park is the site of the Tennessee Valley Authority's Great Falls Dam, includes many hiking trails, and offers whitewater rafting.

Cumberland Caverns, located east of McMinnville under Cardwell Mountain, is Tennessee’s largest show cave. It is the second longest mapped cave in Tennessee with 27.6 miles (44.4 km) of passages, and displays some of the largest underground cave rooms in eastern North America. Cumberland Caverns is the 15th longest cave in the United States.

Hubbard's Cave, the largest gray bat hibernaculum in Tennessee, with over 100,000 bats, is located in the county. The cave is owned by the Nature Conservancy and it is securely gated to protect the bats which are an Endangered Species.

Falcon Rest, an 1896 Victorian mansion in McMinnville, built by local manufacturer Clay Faulkner, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is open to the public as a historic house museum.

Communities

Railroad bridge over Barren Fork in McMinnville

City

• McMinnville (county seat)

Towns

• Centertown
• Morrison
• Viola

Unincorporated communities