On May 10, 1933, a half-mile wide F4 tornado struck the small community of Beatty Swamps. The tornado destroyed every structure in the town and either killed or injured nearly every inhabitant, with 33 of the 35 deaths occurring in the area. Much of the area was swept clean of debris, a reaper-binder was thrown, and cars were moved hundreds of feet.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water. Overton County straddles the Eastern Highland Rim, and generally consists of low, rolling hills divided by narrow creek valleys. The backwaters of Dale Hollow Lake, namely the Mitchell Creek and Big Eagle Creek sections, spill over into the northern part of the county. The Southeast part of the county is on the Cumberland Plateau.
As of the census of 2000, there were 20,118 people, 8,110 households, and 5,920 families residing in the county. The population density was 46 people per square mile. There were 9,168 housing units at an average density of 21 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 94.59% White, 0.28% Black or African American, 2.28% Native American, 0.09% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.22% from other races, and 0.49% from two or more races. 2.69% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 8,110 households out of which 29.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.20% were married couplesliving together, 9.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.00% were non-families. 24.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.90. In the county, the population was spread out with 23.00% under the age of 18, 8.40% from 18 to 24, 27.70% from 25 to 44, 25.90% from 45 to 64, and 15.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.10 males. The median income for a household in the county was $26,915, and the median income for a family was $32,156. Males had a median income of $25,287 versus $19,674 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,910. About 12.30% of families and 16.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.40% of those under age 18 and 20.50% of those age 65 or over.
