Purdy, Tennessee is a

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

3.5 mi (5.6 km) northeast of Selmer in

McNairy County McNairy County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,866. The county seat and largest city is Selmer. McNairy County is located along Tennessee's border with the state of Mississippi. ...

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 ...

. Until 1890, Purdy was the county seat of McNairy County.Purdy McNairy Co. TN
/ref> Failed development in the 1850s kept the community rural thereafter, without industries, major business ventures or tourism. During the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

the town was a crossroads, but during the war damage was done to the town which led to its decline.

Demographics

In 1850, according to

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 ...

records, the population of Purdy was 260. The population was residing in 43 dwellings in the district.http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/tn/mcnairy/census/1850/1850-pudey.txt rootsweb.com, Census, Purdy, 1850

Geography

Purdy is located at 35.22670 North, 88.53060 West, 3.5 mi (5.6 km) northeast of Selmer in

.http://wayhoo.com/index.php?a=wlist&sr=20&state=TN&map=Purdy WayHoo.com Geographic coordinates The elevation above sea level is 570 ft (173.7 m).

History

Purdy was

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...

ted in 1825 by Col. John Purdy, and named for him. Purdy was the county seat of

until 1890.

Failed railroad development 1850s

In the 1850s, citizens of Purdy refused to support a railroad line through their community, while residents of Selmer, supported a railroad through their town. The railroad brought business and wealth to Selmer and the rural community of Purdy remained so.

County seat changed 1890

In 1890, due to the increasing economic development of Selmer following the railroad, the county seat was moved from Purdy to Selmer in a decision of Selmer voters. Since 1890, Selmer has been the county seat of McNairy County, Tennessee.https://www.raogk.org/tennessee-genealogy/mcnairy-county/ RAOGK.org

Newspaper

Purdy's newspaper is the ''Independent Appeal'', which serves all of McNairy County. It was founded in 1902. It is located at 111 N. 2nd St. in Selmer.

Economy

The community's main source of income is

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

(especially

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

Historical

After the

abolition of slavery Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was France in 1315, but it was later used in its colonies. T ...

sharecropping Sharecropping is a legal arrangement in which a landowner allows a tenant (sharecropper) to use the land in return for a share of the crops produced on that land. Sharecropping is not to be conflated with tenant farming, providing the tenant a ...

was the primary means of income for low income families in the area. Mostly for the cultivation of cotton, land would be used by

sharecroppers Sharecropping is a legal arrangement in which a landowner allows a tenant (sharecropper) to use the land in return for a share of the crops produced on that land. Sharecropping is not to be conflated with tenant farming, providing the tenant a ...

in return for a share of the crop to the landowner.

Modern

Modern machines such as the cotton picker have made manual cultivation obsolete over time as they took over work from laborers. In 2007, Purdy was a rural unincorporated community with no industries, major business ventures or tourism.

Notable people

Marcus Joseph Wright Marcus Joseph Wright (June 5, 1831 – December 27, 1922) was a lawyer, author, and a Confederate States Army, Confederate general in the American Civil War. He was agent for collection of Confederate records for ''War of the Rebellion: Officia ...

(1831–1922), military governor of Columbus,

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, in the Civil War and author, born in Purdy. * John Vines Wright (1828–1908), a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

, born in Purdy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Purdy, Tennessee Former county seats in Tennessee Unincorporated communities in McNairy County, Tennessee Unincorporated communities in Tennessee