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Bear Branch

Ghost town · DeKalb County, Tennessee

Dibrell quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1960, 1:24,000)
Dibrell quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1960, 1:24,000) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Bear Branch is a ghost town in DeKalb County, Tennessee. It is one of 6 former communities in DeKalb County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 43rd among the 86 Tennessee counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Bear Branch as a historical populated place on the Dibrell topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 35.8570° N, 85.7980° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleDibrell
Elevation971 ft
Nearest living townSmithville, TN
Distance to it7.1 miles
GNIS feature ID1314052
Coordinates35.85701, -85.79804

Open the location on a map

What's there now

Bear Branch is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Smithville, TN (population 5,158), about 7.1 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 971 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Bear Branch?

Bear Branch is in DeKalb County, Tennessee, at 35.8570, -85.7980.

How many ghost towns are in DeKalb County?

DeKalb County, Tennessee has 6 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.

Sources and licences

Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.