Bells is a city in Crockett County, Tennessee. The population was 2,463 at the 2020 census.
History
Bells was established in the late 1820s on land acquired by brothers John and William Bell. When a city was founded on this land in 1855, it was given the name "Bells Depot." The city was incorporated in 1868, and the "Depot" was dropped from the name in 1880.
Bells was the home of the now-defunct West Tennessee Okra Festival. The festival included a horse show, beauty pageant, street carnival and other activities and shows. The Festival was always held during August, the peak of the okra season.
Geography
Bells is located at (35.718423, -89.085385). The city is concentrated around the intersection of a congruent stretch of U.S. Route 70A and U.S. Route 79, which approaches from Brownsville to the southwest and continues northeastwardly to Humboldt, and State Route 88, which connects the city to Alamo to the northwest and Jackson to the southeast. The South Fork of the Forked Deer River passes just south of Bells.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and 0.44% is water.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, there was a population of 2,463, with 920 households and 640 families residing in the city.
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census
! Race !! Number !! Percent
|-
| White || 1,358 || 55.1%
|-
| Black or African American || 588 || 23.9%
|-
| American Indian and Alaska Native || 13 || 0.5%
|-
| Asian || 19 || 0.8%
|-
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 0 || 0.0%
|-
| Some other race || 283 || 11.5%
|-
| Two or more races || 202 || 8.2%
|-
| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 461 || 18.7%
|}
The median age was 33.7 years. 29.1% of residents were under the age of 18 and 12.5% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 88.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 85.3 males age 18 and over.
2000 census
As of the census