Dyersburg, Tennessee
Seal
Location within the U.S. State of Tennessee
Coordinates: 36°2′22″N 89°22′58″W / 36.03944, -89.38278
Country	United States
State	Tennessee
County	Dyer
Government
- Mayor	John Holden
Area
- City	sq mi (km²)
- Land	sq mi ( km²)
- Water	sq mi ( km²)
Elevation	ft ( m)
Population (2000)
- City
- Density	/sq mi (/km²)
Time zone	CST (UTC-6)
- Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP codes	38024-38025
Area code(s)	731
FIPS code	47-222002
GNIS feature ID	12832673
Website: www.dyersburgtn.gov

Dyersburg is a city in Dyer County, Tennessee, 77 miles (124 km) north-northeast of Memphis on the Forked Deer River. The population was 17,452 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Dyer County⁶.

Geography

Dyersburg is located at 36°2′22″N, 89°22′58″W (36.039440, -89.382766)¹.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 39.2 km² (15.1 mi²). 39.0 km² (15.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.53%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 17,452 people, 7,036 households, and 4,517 families residing in the city. The population density was 447.4/km² (1,158.7/mi²). There were 7,885 housing units at an average density of 202.2/km² (523.5/mi²). 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.

Media

Newspapers

• State Gazette - 6 days/week (Sunday-Friday); general news. The paper has served Dyersburg and Northwest Tennessee since 1865.

Radio Stations

• WASL-FM 100.1 - "All Hits - SL 100"
• WTRO-AM 1450 - "The Greatest Hits of All Time"
• WCMT-AM 1410 - "Your Best Friend"
• WCMT-FM 101.3 - "The Best Mix"
• WCDZ-FM 95.1 - "Good Times Great Oldies"
• WQAK-FM 105.7 - "The Cool Duck / Glenn Beck Program"
• KYTN-FM 104.9 - "Today's Best Country"
• WTNV-FM 97.3 - "The Eagle" (Country)

History

The lands that make up Dyer County belonged to the Chickasaw. The final treaty by which they relinquished all of West Tennessee was signed in 1818.

In 1823^[1] 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 sixty acres for the new county seat, named Dyersburg, at a central location within the county known as McIver's Bluff. In 1825^[1], Joel 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. 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 Railroad.

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 in 1976 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 September 17, 2003, Harold Kilpatrick Jr. (claiming to be a part of al-Qaeda, however authorities discount that) of Memphis took 18 people hostage in a classroom at Dyersburg State Community College. His only demands were a pizza and some water. Two students were injured, and after a nine hour hostage situation Kilpatrick was killed by Dyersburg police. The gunman left a note saying he "wanted to kill some people and die today." Thankfully he didn't succeed. The only fatality was his own.

Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• Ohio-born Dyersburg attorney Otho F. Strahl raised a local Confederate infantry company in 1861 and then steadily advanced to the rank of brigadier general in the Army of Tennessee. On November 30, 1864, Strahl was killed at the Battle of Franklin.
• In 1904 and 1907, Dyersburg hosted two huge revivals conducted by evangelist George C. Gates. The 1907 revival alone converted seven hundred people.
• Dyersburg is mentioned in Arrested Development's song Tennessee:

Outta the country and into more country

Past Dyersburg into Ripley

Where the ghost of childhood haunts me

Walk the roads my forefathers walked

Climbed the trees my forefathers hung from

• First Citizens National Bank is based out of Dyersburg.

• Renewed Gospel Ministries or RGM, INC. is based out of Dyersburg.

• A small local airstrip was the last place Patsy Cline walked the earth before dying in a plane crash in March 1963.

• Is featured on a fake ID discovered by Bart and Lisa used by Homer's mother Mona on The Simpsons

• Is home to Boss Hoss Motorcycle Co.

External links

• State Gazette
• Dyersburg/Dyer County Chamber of Commerce
• Dyersburg State Community College

References

1. ^ ^{a b} DYER COUNTY

Coordinates: 36.03944° N 89.382766° W

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