Grinder's Switch is a location just outside Centerville,

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, which consists of little more than the

railroad switch A railroad switch (), turnout, or ''set ofpoints () is a mechanical installation enabling railway trains to be guided from one track to another, such as at a railway junction or where a spur or siding branches off. The most common ty ...

for which it is named.

Significance to Minnie Pearl

Grinder's Switch was also the fictional hometown of the comic character

Minnie Pearl Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon (October 25, 1912 – March 4, 1996), known professionally as her stage character Minnie Pearl, was an American comedian who appeared at the Grand Ole Opry for more than 50 years (1940–1991) and on the television ...

, created and portrayed at the

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a divis ...

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or a ...

Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon, who grew up in the nearby Town of

Centerville, Tennessee Centerville is a town in Hickman County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 3,489 as of the 2020 Census. It is the county seat and the only incorporated town in Hickman County. It is best known for being the hometown of American comed ...

. Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon's father was a

lumberman Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...

who shipped logs from the Grinders depot on the Centerville branch of the

Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway The Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway was a railway company that operated in the U.S. states of Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia. It began as the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, chartered in Nashville on December 11, 1845, ...

. There was a

team track A siding, in rail terminology, is a low-speed track section distinct from a running line or through route such as a main line, branch line, or spur. It may connect to through track or to other sidings at either end. Sidings often have lighte ...

at the depot, necessitating the installation of a switch. Long after the depot disappeared, the team track and its switch remained, thus the name "Grinder's Switch". Grinders was still listed in the railroad

tariff A tariff is a tax imposed by the government of a country or by a supranational union on imports or exports of goods. Besides being a source of revenue for the government, import duties can also be a form of regulation of foreign trade and poli ...

book called "Official List of Open & Prepay Stations No. 82" dated November 15, 1967. Sarah Colley sometimes accompanied her father to the Grinders depot, where the local characters would hang out. This was part of her inspiration for her "Cousin Minnie Pearl" routine. Minnie Pearl closes her

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

People always ask me, "Where is Grinder's Switch?" As I grow older, the place is no longer a little, abandoned landing switch on a railroad in Hickman County. Grinder's Switch is a state of mind – a place where there is no illness, no war, no unhappiness, no political unrest, no tears. It's a place where there's only happiness – where all you worry about is what you are going to wear to the church social, and if your feller is going to kiss you in the moonlight on the way home. I wish for all you a Grinder's Switch.

So much unwarranted traffic to Grinder's Switch, looking for the hometown Pearl described, was generated by tourists following the road sign, that the Hickman County Highway Department was finally motivated to change the designation on the "Grinder's Switch" road sign to "Hickman Springs Road".

Tourism initiatives and special events

A "Grinder's Switch"

theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

was proposed for the area, with promoters going so far as to move the former railroad depot of

Slayden, Tennessee Slayden is a town in Dickson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 178 at the 2010 census. Geography Slayden is located in northwestern Dickson County at (36.294208, -87.470514). Tennessee State Route 235 passes through the town, ...

to the area to serve as one of its buildings, but little more seems to have been done in regard to developing the park to this point. The park failed and all investors lost their money. The railroad depot remains, though. Hickman County bought the land and now operates the Hickman County Agriculture Pavilion there. The Hickman County Fair is located at the Ag Pavilion. The annual Grinder's Switch Music & Arts Festival is held on the square in Centerville in September. There are crafts booths, a booth for the local theatre, and music lasting throughout the day and into the night. The National Banana Pudding Festival, one of Hickman County's more popular events, used to be held at the Hickman County Ag Pavilion and Fairgrounds, featuring live music concerts, many attractions, and many kinds of

banana pudding Banana pudding (sometimes banana cream pudding) is a pudding generally consisting of layers of sweet vanilla flavored custard, vanilla wafers and/or ladyfingers and sliced fresh bananas placed in a dish and served, topped with whipped cream or m ...

s.National Banana Pudding Festival
Retrieved 21 Feb 2012., but has now been relocated to Patton's River Park, a location closer to the rest of Centerville.

In popular culture

Charlie Daniels Charles Edward Daniels (October 28, 1936 – July 6, 2020) was an American singer, musician, and songwriter. His music fused rock, country, blues and jazz, pioneering Southern rock. He was best known for his number-one country hit "The Dev ...

mentions southern rock band

Grinderswitch Grinderswitch was a southern rock band formed near Macon, Georgia in 1973. Formed from a collaboration of musicians through word of mouth and connections to already established bands and musicians, Grinderswitch became a known act during the pea ...

in his 1975 song "

The South's Gonna Do It "The South's Gonna Do It (Again)", is a song written and performed by the Charlie Daniels Band and released on their 1974 album '' Fire on the Mountain''. Content The lyrics refer to several Southern rock bands and musicians: * Grinderswitch * T ...

", with the lyric that is also a play on the name of the town, "Well, the train to Grinder's Switch is runnin' right on time and them Tucker Boys are cookin' down in Caroline".

Tyler Farr Tyler Lynn Farr (born February 5, 1984) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Originally signed to BNA Records Farr released two singles for the label before it closed. He transferred to Columbia Records Nashville, releasing two alb ...

mentions Grinder's Switch in his 2015 song " C.O.U.N.T.R.Y.", written by Chris Tompkins, Craig Wiseman, and Rodney Clawson.

References

External links

Images of Grinder's Switch
{{authority control Geography of Hickman County, Tennessee Unincorporated communities in Tennessee