Bell Buckle is a town in Bedford County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 410 at the 2020 census. The downtown area is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Bell Buckle Historic District.

History

The origin of the town's unusual name is not known. According to the local chamber of commerce, one story says that one of the first white men to travel through the area found a tree with carvings of a cowbell and a buckle, possibly carved by Indians to warn white settlers away, or possibly carved by surveyors to mark the area as good pasture. Another form of the legend holds that a bell and buckle were tied around a tree. In any case, the nearby creek was named Bell Buckle Creek, and the town later took the name of the creek.

The Bell Buckle area was settled in the early 19th century. A bustling town grew up after the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad came through the area in 1852. A railroad depot was built in 1853, and the town was incorporated in 1856. Bell Buckle had its period of greatest prosperity after about 1870, becoming the major stockyard between Nashville and Chattanooga and growing to a population of more than 1,000. and on the sign on an undated photo of the train station. It is not known exactly when the spelling was changed to Bell Buckle, but it was sometime before 1935 when Tennessee started issuing delayed birth certificates for residents who needed them to apply for Social Security.

In June 1940, US Army maneuvers centered on the area. A tank of General George S. Patton's Second Armored Division ran into the two-story town hall, bringing the building down.

Geography

Bell Buckle is located in northeastern Bedford County at (35.590749, -86.354047). Tennessee State Routes 82 and 269 cross at the town's center. TN 82 leads east to Beechgrove and Interstate 24, and west to U.S. Route 231 at a point north of Shelbyville, the county seat. TN 269 leads south to Wartrace and north to U.S. 231 near Christiana.

According to the United States Census Bureau, Bell Buckle has a total area of , all land.

As of the census and the Webb School Arts & Crafts Fair.

A member of Tennessee Backroads, Bell Buckle has the distinction of being the smallest town in Tennessee to be a Tree City USA. Bell Buckle is the home of The Webb School (which relocated from Culleoka in 1886), a college preparatory boarding and day school which plays an integral part in the ambience of the town.

Notable residents

  • Molly Bee, country music singer – On January 11, 1975, on Hee Haw, Molly Bee saluted her home town of Bell Buckle, population 393.
  • Keon Johnson, basketball player – Johnson was born in nearby Shelbyville and played basketball for The Webb School in Bell Buckle and played one season with the University of Tennessee Volunteers prior to being drafted by the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association with the 21st pick of the 2021 NBA draft. The Knicks subsequently traded Johnson to the Los Angeles Clippers, with whom he made his NBA debut during the 2021–22 season.
  • Gary "Lazarus Lake" Cantrell, designer and director of endurance races, including Barkley Marathons and Big's Backyard Ultra.
  • Holly Finley, professional disc golfer and model is from Bell Buckle.
  • Margaret Britton Vaughn, Poet Laureate of Tennessee and Bell Buckle resident.

References

  • Town of Bell Buckle official website
  • Bell Buckle Chamber of Commerce
  • Municipal Technical Advisory Service entry for Bell Buckle — information on local government, elections, and link to charter
  • The Webb School