Decherd is a city in Franklin County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 2,379 at the 2020 census and 2,361 at the 2010 census.

History

Peter Decherd came to the area in 1831 from Franklin County, Virginia and set up a plantation in Winchester TN that came to be known as Hundred Oaks. In the 1850s he granted right-of-way to the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad from property he owned.

On February 14, 1856, the thirty-first General Assembly of the state of Tennessee incorporated the town of Decherd with all the rights and privileges as the town of Cookeville, which was also incorporated at that time.

After the Civil War, Decherd was again incorporated as a town on January 30, 1868. It was unincorporated in 1885 to avoid application of the "Four Mile Law", which permitted liquor sales within four miles of schools located in incorporated communities. The town was chartered once again by the General Assembly on April 22, 1901.

The Haynes House in Decherd is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

A violent F4 tornado heavily damaged the northern part of the town on February 13, 1952.

The historic Asia School is located in Decherd.

Geography

Decherd is located at (35.215767, -86.079183).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and 0.21% is water which is part of Tims Ford Lake.

Decherd is immediately adjacent to the county seat of Winchester.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Decherd had a population of 2,379. The median age was 40.9 years; 22.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 18.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 90.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 85.6 males age 18 and over.

{| class="wikitable"

|+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census

! Race !! Number !! Percent

|-

| White || 1,804 || 75.8%

|-

| Black or African American || 236 || 9.9%

|-

| American Indian and Alaska Native || 19 || 0.8%

|-

| Asian || 41 || 1.7%

|-

| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 0 || 0.0%

|-

| Some other race || 62 || 2.6%

|-

| Two or more races || 217 || 9.1%

|-

| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 148 || 6.2%

|}

93.8% of residents lived in urban areas, while 6.2% lived in rural areas.

There were 1,026 households in Decherd, of which 28.8% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 35.8% were married-couple households, 20.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 34.7% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 34.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. In 2014 a second plant on the same property was launched to produce engines for Infiniti and Daimler.

Notable people

  • Benjamin Baker Moeur, governor of Arizona from 1933–1937.
  • Ed Murray, speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives.

References

  • Chamber of Commerce page
  • City charter