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Beersheba Springs, Tennessee facts for kids

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Beersheba Springs, Tennessee
A view of Tarlton Valley from Beersheba Springs
A view of Tarlton Valley from Beersheba Springs
Location of Beersheba Springs in Grundy County, Tennessee.
Location of Beersheba Springs in Grundy County, Tennessee.
Country United States
State Tennessee
County Grundy
Incorporated 1835
Area
 • Total 4.81 sq mi (12.47 km2)
 • Land 4.81 sq mi (12.47 km2)
 • Water 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation
1,847 ft (563 m)
Population
 (2010)
 • Total 477
 • Estimate 
(2019)
460
 • Density 95.57/sq mi (36.90/km2)
Time zone UTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST) UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code
37305
Area code(s) 931
FIPS code 47-04240
GNIS feature ID 1305073

Beersheba Springs is a town in Grundy County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 477 at the 2010 census. A resort town in the 19th century, Beersheba Springs was the summer home of author Mary Noailles Murfree. It now serves as a major summer meeting center for the Tennessee United Methodist Church.

History

In 1833 Beersheba Porter Cain discovered a chalybeate spring. The spring and surrounding area, located above Collins River Valley, would be incorporated in 1839. Upon its incorporation, Beersheba Springs would serve as a summer resort with a small hotel and log cabins. The resort would be popular with stagecoach traffic that would travel between Chattanooga and McMinnville. It was notable for its mineral waters. Eventually Louisiana farmers also moved into the area, leaving behind the notoriously hot summers of their home state. Beersheba Springs served as the summer home for Tennessee Mary Noailles Murfree.

Beersheba Springs Hotel 1913
Beersheba Springs Hotel, 1913

Beersheba Springs resort

In 1854 Colonel John Armfield, a slave trader from Louisiana, acquired the property. Upwards of 100 slaves were brought to Beersheba Springs to work on Armfield's changes to the property: a new luxury hotel, cabins and grounds that would accommodate 400 guests. The resort would feature laundry facilities, ice houses, billiard rooms, and bowling alleys. French chefs were brought in to serve guests, as were musical acts from New Orleans.

A wooden observatory was built at the front of the hotel. From the observatory, guests could watch Confederate and Union armies battle during the Civil War. Eventually the threat of war, raids, and plundering would cause a decline in visitation to Beersheba Springs and the resort was handed over to Northern investors.

The resort would re-open in the 1870s but never returned to its former glory. In 1940, the Methodist Church purchased the resort and re-opened it for assembly and summer camps. Architecturally the resort remains unchanged besides, as of recently, parts of the hotel have been "modernized" or restored. The camp now serves as the home to the annual Beersheba Springs Arts and Craft Festival. In 1980 the resort area was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Geography

Beersheba Springs is located at 35°28′2″N 85°40′18″W / 35.46722°N 85.67167°W / 35.46722; -85.67167 (35.467209, -85.671700). According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 4.9 square miles (13 km2), all land.

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1880 138
1960 577
1970 560 −2.9%
1980 643 14.8%
1990 596 −7.3%
2000 553 −7.2%
2010 477 −13.7%
2019 (est.) 460 −3.6%
Sources:

2020 census

Beersheba Springs racial composition
Race Number Percentage
White (non-Hispanic) 397 91.47%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 1 0.23%
Native American 2 0.46%
Other/Mixed 27 6.22%
Hispanic or Latino 7 1.61%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 434 people, 198 households, and 144 families residing in the town.

Beersheba Springs today

The former resort serves as a retreat for the Tennessee branch of the United Methodist Church and the Arts and Craft festival. The Old Brown Museum, a former country store, now serves as a community museum documenting the history of Beersheba Springs. The town, with a population of 477, is the home to seven churches.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Beersheba Springs para niños

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