Spencer is a town in Van Buren County, Tennessee, United States. As of the 2020 census, Spencer had a population of 1,462. It is the county seat of Van Buren County. It is home to Fall Creek Falls State Park.

History

Spencer is named after Thomas Sharp Spencer (d. 1794), a long hunter who passed through the Van Buren County area in the mid-18th century. The town was established in 1850 and incorporated in 1909.

In 1942, Spencer elected a full slate of women officials.

Burritt College was located in Spencer from 1848 until its closure in 1939. The town is situated at the western edge of the Cumberland Plateau, just above the Caney Fork valley. The river forms Van Buren's boundary with White County several miles north of Spencer.

thumb|left|US Post Office - Spencer, Tennessee

Spencer is topographically isolated by the Cumberland Plateau's escarpment to the north and west, the Cane Creek Valley to the east, and the Dry Fork Gulf to the south. Cane Creek, along with its tributary, Dry Fork, slices a narrow valley as it spills down northward toward its confluence with the Caney Fork, effectively dividing the Spencer area from the rest of the plateau. Cane Creek's upper watershed, known for its scenic waterfalls and geological formations, comprises the bulk of Fall Creek Falls State Park.

Spencer is concentrated along State Route 30, which connects Spencer with Pikeville in the Sequatchie Valley to the east, and McMinnville to the west. State Route 111, which traverses the eastern part of Spencer, connects the town with Sparta and Cookeville to the north, and Dunlap in the Sequatchie Valley to the south. Spencer is approximately 30 miles south of Cookeville and 25 miles west of Pikeville.

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

Demographics

2020 census

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right"

|+Spencer racial composition

!scope="col"| Race

!scope="col"| Number

!scope="col"| Percentage

|-

!scope="row"| White (non-Hispanic)

| 1,396

| 95.49%

|-

!scope="row"| Black or African American (non-Hispanic)

| 6

| 0.41%

|-

!scope="row"| Native American

| 4

| 0.27%

|-

!scope="row"| Asian

| 2

| 0.14%

|-

!scope="row"| Other/Mixed

| 31

| 2.12%

|-

!scope="row"| Hispanic or Latino

| 23

| 1.57%

|}

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,462 people, 561 households, and 363 families residing in the town.

2010 census

As of the census

  • Camps Gulf Cave is another large cave located in the park that contains very large chambers.
  • Lost Creek Cave has five entrances, contains a waterfall and 7 miles (11.3 km) of passageways.

Education

Van Buren County Schools operates public schools.

In The Arts

Artist Gilbert Gaul, who gained national acclaim for his Civil War illustrations, operated from a studio south of Spencer on land currently owned by the park. The Gaul's Gallery restaurant at the inn was named for him.

Fall Creek Falls State Park was used as one of the primary filming locations for 20th Century Fox's fantasy adventure film Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie, Disney's live action film adaptation of The Jungle Book and the comic science fiction film Dr. Otto and the Riddle of the Gloom Beam, starring Jim Varney. Scenes from the 1986 movie King Kong Lives, starring Linda Hamilton, were filmed in the area of Cane Creek Cascades and Cane Creek Falls.

Notable people

  • H. Leo Boles, preacher and academic administrator
  • Foster V. Brown, U.S. congressman
  • Charles Dickens Clark, U.S. district court judge
  • Andrew Jackson Clements, U.S. congressman
  • Joe H. Eagle, U.S. congressman
  • Thomas A. Kercheval, state legislator and Nashville mayor
  • John W. Preston, California state supreme court justice
  • Thomas M. Shackleford, Florida state supreme court justice

References

  • Municipal Technical Advisory Service entry for Spencer — information on local government, elections, and link to charter