Beech Bluff

History

The area which is now Beech Bluff was first inhabited by the Chickasaw, from whom an earthwork remains. In 1852, a post office was established at Beech Bluff, which was then also known as Homer and used as a summer resort. After a section of the Tennessee Midland Railway was built through the area between 1888 and 1890, the name of the community was officially settled as Beech Bluff, deriving its appellation from a large grove of native beech trees near a local bluff. By 1897, the population had grown to approximately three hundred. The community was historically home to a high school, founded as a one-room schoolhouse in 1885 and closed during desegregation in 1977. It later became a grade school called Beech Bluff Elementary before it was converted into a recreation center in 2016.

Geography

Beech Bluff is built on deposits of loess which have developed brown or grayish brown silt loam soils. These are mapped as Grenada, Memphis or Lexington series where drainage is good, and Calloway in somewhat poorly drained areas.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  825
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  710
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  600
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  587
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  584
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  546
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  523
• Turkey Vulture

  Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  515

Largest nearby schools

• Liberty Technology Magnet High School
  High · Jackson · 549 students · 15.7:1 ratio
• Rose Hill School
  Elementary · Jackson · 497 students · 17.8:1 ratio
• Isaac Lane Technology Magnet Elementary
  Elementary · Jackson · 467 students · 16.7:1 ratio
• South Elementary
  Elementary · Pinson · 433 students · 17.3:1 ratio
• Lincoln Elementary School
  Elementary · Jackson · 389 students · 25.9:1 ratio
• Jackson Career Technology Magnet Elementary
  Middle · Jackson · 388 students · 22.8:1 ratio
• Nova Early Learning Center
  Other · Jackson · 326 students · 18.1:1 ratio
• West Tennessee School for the Deaf
  Elementary · Jackson · 28 students · 3.5:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.52 — 2025-12-30
  12 km WNW of Newbern, Tennessee
• M 2.73 — 2025-11-09
  7 km SE of Ridgely, Tennessee
• M 2.69 — 2025-04-04
  10 km SSE of Ridgely, Tennessee
• M 2.77 — 2025-03-20
  8 km WNW of Dyersburg, Tennessee
• M 2.75 — 2024-11-16
  8 km W of Henning, Tennessee
• M 2.53 — 2024-09-02
  6 km SE of Ridgely, Tennessee