McNairy County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located in the U.S. state of

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,866. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

and largest city is Selmer. McNairy County is located along Tennessee's border with the state of

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

. Sheriff Buford Pusser, whose story was told in the '' Walking Tall'' series of movies, was the sheriff of McNairy County from 1964 to 1970.Buford Pusser, the Man, his Career, and Tragedies
, Buford Pusser Museum website; retrieved October 23, 2013. McNairy County is the location of the Coon Creek Science Center, a notable

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

site that preserves

Late Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the more recent of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''cre ...

marine shells and

vertebrate Vertebrates () are animals with a vertebral column (backbone or spine), and a cranium, or skull. The vertebral column surrounds and protects the spinal cord, while the cranium protects the brain. The vertebrates make up the subphylum Vertebra ...

remains (such as

mosasaur Mosasaurs (from Latin ''Mosa'' meaning the 'Meuse', and Ancient Greek, Greek ' meaning 'lizard') are an extinct group of large aquatic reptiles within the family Mosasauridae that lived during the Late Cretaceous. Their first fossil remains wer ...

s). The postwar musical environment of the county played a pivotal role in the development of popular music. Influential disc jockey Dewey Phillips hailed from Adamsville, Tennessee. Carl Perkins made the first recordings of his career in the home studio of Stanton Littlejohn at Eastview, Tennessee. Perkins and

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

had their first meeting at one of Presley's earliest road performances in Bethel Springs, Tennessee.

History

McNairy County was formed in 1823 from parts of Hardin County, and was named for Judge John McNairy. Purdy was the county seat of McNairy County until 1890.The Death Song of Purdy
by Nancy Wardlow Kennedy Since then, Selmer has been the county seat. During the Civil War, McNairy County was among the most divided counties in Tennessee. In Tennessee's Ordinance of Secession referendum on June 8, 1861, McNairy County voted to secede by a margin of 1,318 to 586. However, earlier on February 9, 1861, McNairy County voters had voted against holding a secession convention by a margin of 916 to 811. Despite the strong overall support for secession, there was a strong Unionist minority in the northern half adjacent to solidly pro-Union Henderson County. The history of McNairy County also includes a very small, almost-unheard-of school. The Trantham School, listed on the 1940 census, operated from 1922 through 1948, with a single teacher serving grades 1 through 8.

Sheriff Buford Pusser

Buford Pusser served as the sheriff of McNairy County from 1964 to 1970. The courthouse and jail in Selmer were his base of operations. He gained prominence for his fight against illegal distilleries, bootleggers, gambling establishments, and corruption in the county. His story has been made famous in the '' Walking Tall'' series of movies starring Joe Don Baker, Bo Svenson, Brian Dennehy, and

Dwayne Johnson Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor and professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on a part-time basis. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional w ...

, and in numerous documentaries and books.

Newspapers

The oldest existing business in McNairy County is its newspaper, the ''Independent Appeal'', which was founded as the ''McNairy County Independent'' in 1902. It is located in Selmer. In 2008, Tom Evans, a former reporter and photographer for the ''Independent Appeal'', formed his own weekly newspaper, ''The McNairy County News''.

School District

The schools fall under the McNairy County School District. The superintendent is Greg Martin The district is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

school district A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public Primary school, primary or Secondary school, secondary schools or both in various countries. It is not to be confused with an attendance zone, which is within a school dis ...

, serving students in

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

through

twelfth grade Twelfth Grade (also known as Grade 12, Senior Year, Standard 12, 12th Standard, 12th Class, or Class 12th or Class 12) is the twelfth and final Educational stage, year of Formal education, formal or compulsory education. It is typically the final ...

. It serves over 4,000 student with 8 schools.

Schools

;Elementary Schools *Adamsville Elementary School **Mr. Danny Combs, Principal *Bethel Springs Elementary School **Mr. Terry Moore, Principal *Michie Elementary School **Dr. Matt Alred, Principal *Ramer Elementary School **Dr. Sondra Kiser, Principal *Selmer Elementary School **Mrs. Pamela Simon, Principal ;Middle Schools *Selmer Middle School **Dr. Brenda Armstrong, Principal ;High Schools *Adamsville High School **Mr. Steve Killingsworth, Principal *McNairy Central High School **Dr. Jerry Pyron, Principal

Board of education

The district's board of education has 7 members elected from each of the 7 districts that make up McNairy County.

Controversies

The Selmer Elementary School principal failed to report abuse claims after evidence revealed Principal Simon was notified of abuse allegations on numerous occasions between October 2021 and December 2021. The report states that Simon did not notify the Department of Children Services of these claims, which as a school employee is a violation of Tennessee law as a mandatory reporter. A McNairy County school board member was charged with choking his teen co-worker in May 2023.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.1%) is water. The major highways U.S. Route 64 (east-west) and U.S. Route 45 (north-south) pass through McNairy County and intersect in Selmer. Between the late 1990s and mid 2010s, both highways were upgraded to four lane divided highways, giving the county quicker access to the surrounding areas. McNairy County's position on Route 64 places it on the historic Lee Highway, which stretches from New York to San Francisco. State Highways 22 and 57 also pass through the county. SR 22 along the eastern portion intersecting with US 64 in Adamsville, and SR 57 through the southern portion intersecting with US 45 in Eastview. Highways 22 and 57 intersect as well in Michie.

Adjacent counties

* Chester County (north) * Hardin County (east) * Alcorn County, Mississippi (south) * Hardeman County (west)

State protected areas

* Big Hill Pond State Park

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 25,866 people, 10,022 households, and 6,724 families residing in the county.

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 24,653 people, 9,980 households, and 7,135 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 11,219 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 92.22%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 6.23%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.20% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.24% from other races, and 0.98% from two or more races. 0.93% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. There were 9,980 households, out of which 29.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.00% were married couples living together, 9.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.50% were non-families. 25.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.89. In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.60% under the age of 18, 8.10% from 18 to 24, 26.70% from 25 to 44, 25.60% from 45 to 64, and 15.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 94.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.40 males. The median income for a household in the county was $30,154, and the median income for a family was $36,045. Males had a median income of $30,028 versus $21,450 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $16,385. About 11.80% of families and 15.90% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 19.00% of those under age 18 and 20.80% of those age 65 or over.

Parks and attractions

McNairy County is the site of Big Hill Pond State Park, which is forested with timberland and hardwood bottomland. The county is also the location of the Coon Creek Science Center, a notable

site, located in Leapwood over the Coon Creek Formation, which preserves

marine shells and

remains (such as

s) left there 70 million years ago.

Communities

Cities

* Adamsville (partly in Hardin County) * Bethel Springs * Ramer * Selmer (county seat and largest city)

Towns

* Eastview *

Finger A finger is a prominent digit (anatomy), digit on the forelimbs of most tetrapod vertebrate animals, especially those with prehensile extremities (i.e. hands) such as humans and other primates. Most tetrapods have five digits (dactyly, pentadact ...

* Guys * Hornsby (mostly in Hardeman County) * Milledgeville (partial) * Michie * Stantonville

Census-designated place

* Chewalla

Unincorporated communities

* Acton * Falcon (neighborhood in Selmer) * Leapwood * McNairy * Purdy * Pocahontas (mostly in Hardeman County) *

Politics

McNairy County is currently overwhelmingly Republican. Even before the rapid trend of the upland South away from the Democratic Party, McNairy County – though not to the same extent as nearby Wayne, Henderson and Hardin Counties – was a Unionist Republican enclave in historically Democratic West Tennessee. Research in the 1910s suggested that Republicanism in Southern states tended to be associated with areas having less productive soils.Wright, John K.; ‘Voting Habits in the United States: A Note on Two Maps’; ''Geographical Review'', vol. 22, no. 4 (October 1932), pp. 666-672 In west central Tennessee, which includes McNairy County, soils are shallow, humus-poor and easily erodible Highland Rim soils, which were much less suitable for plantation farming than the rest of Middle and West Tennessee.

References

38. The Trantham Schoo
REFLECTIONS: A History of McNairy County, Tennessee, 1823-1996.

External links

Official siteMcNairy County Chamber of CommerceReminiscences of the Early Settlement and Early Settlers of McNairy County, TennesseeLet’s Call It Finger: A History of North McNairy County and Finger, Tennessee and Its Surrounding CommunitiesA History of Mount Carmel Cemetery and Meeting House, McNairy County, Tennessee
{{authority control 1823 establishments in Tennessee Populated places established in 1823 West Tennessee