Newbern is a town in Dyer County, Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 3,349. The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway completed a line from Memphis, TN to Newbern in 1882. By 1895, the operation of the line and depot at Newbern was taken over by the Illinois Central Railroad.
In October 1902, Garfield Burley and Curtis Brown were lynched in downtown Newbern. Burley and Brown were tied together and hung from a telephone pole within sight of the town's train depot. The lynching is notable due to the efforts of several local community leaders to prevent it.
In 1930, a Works Progress Administration guidebook described the town as a "cotton trade center" with multiple cotton gins that handled much of the ginning work from Dyer County and the surrounding counties in northwest Tennessee.
In 1957, famed singer and performer Elvis Presley lived in Newbern and worked for the state highway department during the construction of Tennessee State Route 77, driving a gravel truck.
On April 2, 2006, sixteen people were killed in Newbern when it and its surrounding communities were directly hit by an F3 tornado. The storm caused nearly $15 million in damages.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all land.
Climate
The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Newbern has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Newbern had a population of 3,349. The median age was 35.7 years. 27.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 15.9% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 87.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 82.9 males age 18 and over. There were 762 families residing in the town.
0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 1,344 households in Newbern, of which 37.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 39.3% were married-couple households, 17.4% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 36.2% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 30.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. On February 2, 2011, a truck was hit by a train at the crossing west of the depot. The semi landed within ten feet of the depot but caused no building damage. No one was reported injured in this event and the train itself acquired little damage, stopping prior to blocking the crossing located to the west of the depot.
Every year, the town holds a celebration around the train depot called Depot Days.
Education
Dyer County School District is the area school district.
- Dyer County High School
Colleges and universities:
- Tennessee College of Applied Technology
Notable people
- William Flatt (1931–2026) - D.W. Brooks Distinguished Professor at the University of Georgia