Formed January 3, 1840 (73rd county)
Van Buren County (5,548), Spencer (1,601)
The red/brown brick Federalist courthouse was erected in 1906. It is located in Veterans Square at Spring and Sparta streets. Tennessee State Highway 30 is one block to the south of the site. L. E. Hawthorne and J. H. Ray combined on the designs. The courthouse sits on a hill with veterans’ memorials on the grounds. A new 2018 courthouse has replaced the 1906 version. Van Buren County was established on January 3, 1840 from parts of Warren and White counties as the 73rd county with Spencer as the only county seat. The county is named for United States President Martin Van Buren. The county seat is named for frontiersman Thomas Sharpe Spencer.
Van Buren County government consists of a sheriff, a County Mayor, and 10 Commissioners. One Circuit Court Judge, One General Court Judge, and One Juvenile Court Judge serve Van Buren and Warren counties. Van Buren County is in the central part of Tennessee. Chattanooga, Tennessee is south and Nashville, Tennessee is northwest of the county. The county center is 3.6 miles South of Spencer. The county is surrounded clockwise by White, Cumberland, Bledsoe, Sequatchie, and Warren counties.
The area of the county is 275 square miles. It is 80 out of 95 in the state. It ranks 94 out of 95 in population in the state. It has a density of 20.17 persons per square mile making it 94 out of 95 in the state. Van Buren County has 28.9% of its population in its incorporated areas. United States Highway 70 South clips the northwest corner of the county from White County, north, to Warren County, west. The county looks like a flower vase. Spencer is located in the northern quarter of the county. Spencer is the county seat and, as the only incorporated city, it is the largest city. It is 28.9% of the county population.
Spencer
