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Office: Bedford County Emergency Management & Homeland Security – 1618 Railroad Ave, Shelbyville, TN 37160 | (931) 735-6927 | Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 AM-4:30 PM; a Residential Storm Shelter Registry is available via bedfordtnema.com to help responders locate shelters during severe weather.
911: Bedford County Emergency Communications Center – 843 Union Street, Shelbyville, TN 37162 | (931) 684-3411 | Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 AM-4 PM (administration).
Notes: BCEMA was originally established in the late 1960s as a Civil Defense agency during the Cold War, focused on nuclear-attack preparedness; its mission has since broadened to cover natural, man-made, and WMD-related disasters including hazardous chemical spills and severe weather. For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-231 and US-41A serve Shelbyville, the county seat, about 60 miles southeast of Nashville
Transit: No dedicated county-wide public transit system was found in this search – confirm directly with the county or your city
Notes: Bedford County’s economy and identity are closely tied to the Tennessee Walking Horse breed.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: City of Shelbyville Building/Permits – confirm current contact via bedfordcountytn.gov; for unincorporated Bedford County, contact the County Mayor’s office to confirm current requirements.
Notes: Shelbyville is genuinely the home of the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration, “The World’s Largest Walking Horse Show” – a real, continuously running event founded in 1939 by horse trainer Henry Davis after pitching the idea to the Shelbyville Lions Club and Rotary Club. The first show in September 1939 drew 218 horses; today the Celebration spans roughly 10 nights ending the Saturday before Labor Day, drawing an estimated 2,000 horse entries and up to 250,000 spectators annually, with a total purse around $650,000 – genuinely one of Tennessee’s most significant annual events and a real economic and cultural cornerstone of the county.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Bedford County Veterans Service Office – Pam Roberson, Administrator | 1 Public Square, Basement, Shelbyville, TN 37160 | confirm current phone via bedfordcountytn.gov; wheelchair access and dedicated veteran parking available at the southeast corner of the courthouse.
Resource: Bedford County Veterans Memorial Plaza – on the courthouse lawn, comprised of memorial pavers honoring local veterans (contact American Legion Post 23 at [email protected] for paver purchases, not the VSO office).
State: Tennessee Department of Veterans Services – tn.gov/veteran
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Bedford County Public Library (Shelbyville-Bedford County) – maintains local history resources including the Shelbyville Times-Gazette archive, Bedford County Archives, and Tennessee Walking Horse historical materials; confirm current address/phone via sbcplibrary.org.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Celebration Grounds (renovated and renamed “The Celebration®” in 2024), a 90-acre event facility, hosts the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration (see above) plus rodeos, expos, concerts, and other year-round events – a genuine cornerstone of Tennessee’s equestrian heritage. Nearby communities including Wartrace and Bell Buckle offer additional Walking Horse-themed lodging, tack shops, and horse farms.
Notes: The real, deep Tennessee Walking Horse heritage is among the most distinctive and well-documented local identities covered in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Bedford County Assessor of Property – confirm current phone via bedfordcountytn.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Bedford County Animal Control (BCAC) – 205 Lane Parkway, Shelbyville, TN 37160 | (931) 685-1130 | [email protected] | Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 10 AM-5 PM, Saturday 10 AM-2 PM; serves Bedford County outside Shelbyville city limits. Adoption fees: dogs $65, cats $45 (cash/check only), including spay/neuter, rabies vaccine, and other initial vaccinations; adopters must be 18+ with valid ID.
City resource: City of Shelbyville Animal Control – 716 Industrial Pkwy, Shelbyville, TN 37160 | (931) 684-6552; serves residents within Shelbyville city limits.
Nonprofit: Shelbyville-Bedford County Humane Association (SBCHA) – founded May 1978, a volunteer-driven animal welfare nonprofit; confirm current contact via shelbyvillebedfordhumane.org.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Bedford County Solid Waste – confirm current contact via bedfordcountytn.gov.
NOTES: Bedford County is the second county in this batch (Anderson, Bedford, Benton, Bledsoe, Blount, Bradley, Campbell) of the Tennessee v2 redo. The genuine, extensively documented Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration heritage is a distinctive, checkable local fact – one of the state’s most significant annual events. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Bedford County County
Bedford County is Middle Tennessee’s Walking Horse capital – the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration that transforms Shelbyville each August and the county’s deep equine farming traditions define a community whose horse culture is as central to its identity as the limestone pastures and cedar glades that make the land ideal for raising the breed.
Shelbyville (the county seat, population ~22,000) is Bedford County’s governmental and commercial hub, a Middle Tennessee city whose Walking Horse heritage, Duck River access, and position on US 231 between Nashville and Huntsville anchor its regional identity.
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Bedford County Assessor of Property at 100 N. Side Square, Shelbyville, TN 37160, phone 931-684-5001. TN assessed at a percentage of appraised value.
Courts & Legal
Bedford County Circuit Court at 1 Public Square, Shelbyville, TN 37160, phone 931-684-1921, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
1 Public Sq, Shelbyville, TN 37160
(931) 684-1921
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Bedford County Clerk and Master, Shelbyville (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Bedford County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Clerk and Master, Bedford County 108 Northcreek Drive, Suite 155, Shelbyville, TN 37160 (931) 684-1672
Bedford County is in Middle Tennessee, seated in Shelbyville. The Chancery Court for Tennessee’s 17th Judicial District, which includes Bedford, Lincoln, Marshall, and Moore Counties, is based here.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Tennessee has NOT adopted the Uniform Probate Code. Instead, Tennessee uses its own common form and solemn form probate framework, governed by Title 30 of the Tennessee Code Annotated. In Bedford County, the Clerk and Master (part of Chancery Court) administers probate.
Small Estate Affidavit (T.C.A. §§ 30-4-101 through 30-4-103) – available when the value of the probate estate does not exceed $50,000 (personal property; real property is generally excluded). The affidavit can be filed no sooner than 45 days after death. A bond payable to the state is commonly required to protect creditors and other heirs, though it is often waived when the person filing is the estate’s sole heir/beneficiary, or when all heirs consent in writing.
Common Form Probate – the standard, uncontested path: the will (if any) is admitted to probate without formal notice to all interested parties, and the personal representative is appointed and issued Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (without a will).
Solemn Form Probate – used when formal proof of the will’s validity is needed, typically because of an anticipated will contest; requires notice to all interested parties and a hearing.
Muniment of Title – used to transfer real estate when there is a valid will but no other assets requiring administration.
Step 2: filing for administration
The personal representative (or an interested party) files the original will (if one exists) and a Petition for Probate of Will or Petition for Letters of Administration with the Bedford County Clerk and Master.
The court issues Letters Testamentary (testate) or Letters of Administration (intestate), giving the personal representative authority to act.
The personal representative publishes notice to creditors in a local newspaper; creditors generally have a limited window (commonly around 4 months from the notice) to file claims.
The personal representative inventories and appraises the estate’s assets (may be waived by the will or by all beneficiaries).
The personal representative pays valid debts, expenses, and taxes.
The estate is closed with a final accounting (unless waived) and distribution to beneficiaries or heirs.
What it costs
Filing fees vary by county; confirm current fees with Bedford County directly.
Tennessee has no statutory fee schedule for attorneys or executors – fees must be “reasonable” and are subject to court approval if contested.
Tennessee does NOT impose a state estate tax or a state inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax may apply, and only to very large estates.
Typical timeline for a simple, uncontested estate: roughly 6-9 months.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
200 Dover St, Shelbyville, TN 37160
(931) 684-7481
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTION COMMISSION
100 New Tompkins Ln, Shelbyville, TN 37160
(931) 684-2439
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
1602 Union St, Shelbyville, TN 37160
(931) 684-3427
DHS Office
1780 North Main St, Shelbyville, TN 37160
(931) 685-5006
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Bedford County Health Department – confirm current contact via bedfordcountytn.gov.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Shelbyville
Population: 50,000
Public Records
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