{"id":7761,"date":"2023-09-10T19:39:51","date_gmt":"2023-09-10T19:39:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/?p=7761"},"modified":"2026-08-08T15:49:23","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T15:49:23","slug":"van-buren-county-tennessee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/van-buren-county-tennessee\/","title":{"rendered":"Van Buren County, Tennessee"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Van Buren County is a county in Tennessee, United States, about 30 miles south of Cookeville<br \/>\non the western edge of the Cumberland Plateau. It had a population of 6,168 at the 2020 census,<br \/>\nan estimated 6,874 by 2025, and covers 275 square miles (710 km2) centred near 35\u00b041\u2032N 85\u00b028\u2032W.<\/p>\n<p>Spencer is the county seat and the county&#8217;s only incorporated town; its postal code is 38585.<br \/>\nThe county holds 1 incorporated town and 19 unincorporated communities across a single ZIP code<br \/>\narea, and it runs on Central Time. Its FIPS code is 47175.<\/p>\n<h2>Towns &amp; Villages in Van Buren County<\/h2>\n<p>Van Buren County has 20 named places on record: Spencer, the only incorporated town, and 19<br \/>\nunincorporated communities with no local government of their own. All 20 sit within the county&#8217;s<br \/>\nsingle ZIP code, so ZIP is listed only where a place has its own recognized post office town.<\/p>\n<div class=\"tv-table-scroll\">\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Place<\/th>\n<th>Type<\/th>\n<th>Pop.<\/th>\n<th>ZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Spencer<\/td>\n<td>Town &middot; seat<\/td>\n<td>1,462<\/td>\n<td>38585<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Bone Cave<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Cane Creek<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Cedar Grove<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Chalybeate<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Cummingsville<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Harmony<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Laurel Creek<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Laurelburg<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Lonewood<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>McElroy<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Mooneyham<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Phiferes<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Pine Creek<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Pine Grove<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Riverview<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Sparkman<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Sweetgum<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Welchland<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>White Hill<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<h2>ZIP Codes<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>38585 &mdash; Spencer, the only ZIP code assigned in Van Buren County<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>All 19 unincorporated communities &mdash; Bone Cave, Cane Creek, Cedar Grove, Chalybeate,<br \/>\nCummingsville, Harmony, Laurel Creek, Laurelburg, Lonewood, McElroy, Mooneyham, Phiferes, Pine<br \/>\nCreek, Pine Grove, Riverview, Sparkman, Sweetgum, Welchland and White Hill &mdash; use the 38585<br \/>\nZIP; none has ever had its own post office code, since Van Buren is small enough that a single<br \/>\nZIP covers its entire 275 square miles.<\/p>\n<h2>Geography<\/h2>\n<p>Van Buren County sits on the western edge of the Cumberland Plateau, a landscape of sandstone<br \/>\nridges, narrow gorges and hundreds of caves cut into the plateau&#8217;s limestone base. Of its 275<br \/>\nsquare miles, 273 are land and 1.1 are water, about 0.4 percent &mdash; the county has no large<br \/>\nnatural lake, and its surface water is limited to Cane Creek and other short plateau streams. The<br \/>\ncounty holds more than 850 documented caves, more than any other county in the eastern United<br \/>\nStates except Kentucky&#8217;s Mammoth Cave country, and Big Bone Cave, near the community of Bone<br \/>\nCave, was mined for saltpeter during both the War of 1812 and the Civil War. Fall Creek Falls<br \/>\nState Park, which the county shares with neighboring Bledsoe County, holds Fall Creek Falls<br \/>\nitself, a 256-foot drop that is among the tallest waterfalls in the eastern United States.<\/p>\n<p>White County lies to the north, Bledsoe County to the east, Sequatchie County to the south, and<br \/>\nWarren County to the west. <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/white-county-tennessee\/\">White<br \/>\nCounty<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/bledsoe-county\/\">Bledsoe County<\/a>, <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/sequatchie-county\/\">Sequatchie County<\/a> and <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/warren-county-tennessee\/\">Warren County<\/a> all border Van<br \/>\nBuren directly.<\/p>\n<h2>Demographics<\/h2>\n<p>Van Buren County had a population of 6,168 at the 2020 census, Tennessee&#8217;s second-smallest<br \/>\ncounty total, and the latest estimate puts the county near 6,874 residents by 2025. Spencer, the<br \/>\nonly incorporated town, holds roughly 1,462 people, less than a quarter of the county&#8217;s<br \/>\npopulation; nearly all other residents live scattered across the 19 unincorporated communities<br \/>\nand the rural land between them. Median household income runs $54,931, well below<br \/>\nTennessee&#8217;s statewide figure of $67,631 (2023 ACS). Population density works out to about 23<br \/>\npeople per square mile of land, among the lowest in Tennessee outside its far eastern mountain<br \/>\ncounties.<\/p>\n<h2>Economy &amp; Local Life<\/h2>\n<p>Manufacturing employs the most workers in the county, about 677 people, followed by public<br \/>\nadministration at 272 and health care and social assistance at 267. Fall Creek Falls State Park,<br \/>\nwith its 85-room inn, restaurant, 18-hole golf course and campgrounds, is one of the county&#8217;s<br \/>\nlargest employers outside government and manufacturing, and the loss of lodging and sales tax<br \/>\nrevenue during the inn&#8217;s long closure for renovation was significant enough that both Van<br \/>\nBuren and Bledsoe counties objected publicly. Van Buren County Schools operates the county&#8217;s<br \/>\npublic school system. Spencer was once home to Burritt College, a coeducational institution that<br \/>\nran from 1848 until 1939, one of the first schools in the South to teach men and women together.<\/p>\n<h2>History<\/h2>\n<p>The Tennessee General Assembly formed Van Buren County on 3 January 1840, combining parts of<br \/>\nWhite, Warren and Bledsoe counties. It was named for Martin Van Buren, the eighth President of<br \/>\nthe United States and the sitting president at the time. Spencer was incorporated as the county<br \/>\nseat in 1909. Burritt College opened in Spencer in 1848 and admitted women alongside men from<br \/>\n1850, decades ahead of most Southern colleges, before it closed in 1939 as state normal schools<br \/>\ndrew away its students and funding.<\/p>\n<h2>Getting There<\/h2>\n<p>No interstate crosses Van Buren County. State Route 30 runs west to east through the county,<br \/>\nclimbing the Cumberland Plateau from Warren County to reach Spencer before descending toward<br \/>\nBledsoe County and Pikeville. State Route 111 runs north from Spencer toward Cookeville.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Cookeville &mdash; about 30 miles north<\/li>\n<li>Pikeville &mdash; about 25 miles east<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Nashville International Airport, reached via Cookeville and Interstate 40, is the nearest<br \/>\ncommercial airport. Tennessee has no Amtrak passenger rail service, so the nearest passenger<br \/>\ntrains run in neighboring states.<\/p>\n<h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where is Van Buren County located?<\/strong><br \/>\nIt sits on the western edge of the Cumberland Plateau in Middle Tennessee, about 30 miles south<br \/>\nof Cookeville, bordered by White, Bledsoe, Sequatchie and Warren counties.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the population of Van Buren County?<\/strong><br \/>\n6,168 at the 2020 census, with an estimate near 6,874 by 2025 &mdash; Tennessee&#8217;s<br \/>\nsecond-smallest county.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How big is Van Buren County?<\/strong><br \/>\n275 square miles (710 km2), of which 273 square miles are land.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the county seat of Van Buren County?<\/strong><br \/>\nSpencer, incorporated in 1909, is the county seat and the county&#8217;s only incorporated town.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How many towns and villages are in Van Buren County?<\/strong><br \/>\nOne incorporated town, Spencer, plus 19 unincorporated communities: Bone Cave, Cane Creek, Cedar<br \/>\nGrove, Chalybeate, Cummingsville, Harmony, Laurel Creek, Laurelburg, Lonewood, McElroy, Mooneyham,<br \/>\nPhiferes, Pine Creek, Pine Grove, Riverview, Sparkman, Sweetgum, Welchland and White Hill.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What ZIP code does Van Buren County use?<\/strong><br \/>\n38585, assigned to Spencer &mdash; the only ZIP code in the county.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is Van Buren County known for?<\/strong><br \/>\nFall Creek Falls State Park, home to a 256-foot waterfall, and more than 850 documented caves,<br \/>\nincluding Big Bone Cave, once mined for saltpeter.<\/p>\n<p>More counties in this state: <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/category\/tennessee\/\">Towns and villages in Tennessee<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Van Buren County is a county in Tennessee, United States, about 30 miles south of Cookeville on the western edge of the Cumberland Plateau. It had a population of 6,168 at the 2020 census, an estimated 6,874 by 2025, and covers 275 square miles (710 km2) centred near 35\u00b041\u2032N 85\u00b028\u2032W. Spencer is the county seat [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"Towns & Villages in Van Buren County, Tennessee","_seopress_titles_desc":"All 20 places in Van Buren County, Tennessee: type and ZIP for each, plus Fall Creek Falls, 850+ caves and the county's single 38585 ZIP code.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[6],"class_list":["post-7761","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-tennessee","tag-towns-and-cities","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7761","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7761"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7761\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9539,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7761\/revisions\/9539"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7761"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7761"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7761"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}