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29-546: Bethel Springs is a city in McNairy County, Tennessee . The population was 742 at the 2020 census. Bethel Springs was platted in 1860, when the railroad was extended to that point. A post office called Bethel Springs has been in operation since 1866. The community took its name from a nearby spring, which in turn was named after the Bethel Presbyterian Church. On March 31, 2023 , a tornado hit

58-580: A mandatory reporter . A McNairy County school board member was charged with choking his teen co-worker in May 2023. According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 564 square miles (1,460 km ), of which 563 square miles (1,460 km ) is land and 0.8 square miles (2.1 km ) (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

87-647: A former reporter and photographer for the Independent Appeal , formed his own weekly newspaper, The McNairy County News . The schools fall under the McNairy County School District. The superintendent is Greg Martin The district is a public school district , serving students in kindergarten through twelfth grade . It serves over 4,000 student with 8 schools. The district's board of education has 7 members elected from each of

116-454: 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 for the county was $ 16,385. About 11.80% of families and 15.90% of the population were below the poverty line , including 19.00% of those under age 18 and 20.80% of those age 65 or over. McNairy County is the site of 5,000-acre (20 km ) Big Hill Pond State Park , which

145-659: A keen ear for music the listening public would enjoy, and he aired both black and white music, which was abundant in post-World War II Memphis, a booming river city which attracted large numbers of rural blacks and whites (along with their musical traditions). Dr. W. Herbert Brewster , pastor of East Trigg Baptist Church, was a frequent guest on Dewey's program. He played a great deal of rhythm and blues , country music , boogie-woogie , and jazz as well as Sun Records artists. In 1950, Phillips and his friend Sam Phillips (no relation) decided to launch their own record label. Joe Hill Louis waxed an electric blues single, "Boogie in

174-463: 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 . Sheriff Buford Pusser , whose story was told in the Walking Tall series of movies, was the sheriff of McNairy County from 1964 to 1970. McNairy County

203-620: Is forested with timberland and hardwood bottomland. The county is also the location of the Coon Creek Science Center , a notable fossil site, located in Leapwood over the Coon Creek Formation , which preserves Late Cretaceous marine shells and vertebrate remains (such as mosasaurs ) left there 70 million years ago. McNairy County is currently overwhelmingly Republican. Even before the rapid trend of

232-412: Is the location of the Coon Creek Science Center , a notable fossil site that preserves Late Cretaceous marine shells and vertebrate remains (such as mosasaurs ). 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

261-626: The Battle of Hürtgen Forest , he moved to Memphis. Phillips started his radio career in 1949 on WHBQ /560 in Memphis with a special studio at the Gayoso Hotel, initially playing gospel records. His nightly radio program, "Red, Hot & Blue," appeared on the WHBQ schedule for the first time the night of November 3, 1949, in the 10:15 - 11:00 pm slot. In 1953 WHBQ moved to the mezzanine floor of

290-583: The 19-year-old singer attended (knowing that, because of segregation , his audience would readily know what race attended which schools). Dewey Phillips was bringing Black Music to segregated Memphis before Alan Freed did the same as Moon Dog in Cleveland. Phillips briefly hosted an afternoon program on WHBQ-TV /13 in the mid-1950s, before Dick Clark took over Philadelphia Bandstand then American Bandstand on WFIL-TV. It mostly consisted of Phillips playing records while he and others clowned around in front of

319-470: The 7 districts that make up McNairy County. 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

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348-463: The Chisca Hotel. Phillips was the city's leading radio personality for nine years and was the first to simulcast his "Red, Hot & Blue" show on radio and television. During the 1950s he had 100,000 listeners to his 9pm-midnight slot and he received 3,000 letters a week. Phillips' on-air persona was a speed-crazed hillbilly, with a frantic delivery and entertaining sense of humor. He also had

377-514: 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

406-601: The Park" (recorded in July 1950 and released the following month). It was the only record released on the Phillips label before Sam founded Sun Records. In July 1954, he was the first DJ to broadcast the young Elvis Presley 's debut record, " That's All Right " / " Blue Moon Of Kentucky " (Sun 209). In fact, he played That's All Right "over and over again". He got Presley to reveal his race in an interview by asking which high school

435-404: The average family size was 2.96. In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.2% under the age of 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 22.9% from 25 to 44, 26.2% from 45 to 64, and 16.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.7 males. The median income for a household in the city

464-484: The camera. Though Phillips was not involved in the payola scandals of the time (as was Freed), he was fired in late 1958 when the station adopted a Top 40 format, phasing out his freeform style. He had Sam Phillips and three other friends, Wink Martindale , T.L. Meade, and Sonny Gilmore to bail him out and keep him steady as work and recognition faded. He spent the last decade of his life working at smaller radio stations, seldom lasting long. The popular musical Memphis

493-535: The city, killing 9 people and injuring dozens. Bethel Springs is located at 35°14′15″N 88°36′41″W  /  35.23750°N 88.61139°W  / 35.23750; -88.61139 (35.237378, -88.611429). Bethel Springs was named after a Presbyterian church that was founded in the area. Beth-El in Hebrew literally means "house of God". According to the United States Census Bureau ,

522-561: The county was 92.22% White , 6.23% Black or African American , 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 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

551-556: 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 , and in numerous documentaries and books. 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,

580-534: The home studio of Stanton Littlejohn at Eastview, Tennessee. Perkins and Elvis Presley had their first meeting at one of Presley's earliest road performances in Bethel Springs, Tennessee . 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. Since then, Selmer has been the county seat. During

609-485: 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

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638-407: The population. There were 317 households, out of which 30.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.3% were married couples living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.6% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and

667-563: The rest of Middle and West Tennessee. 38. The Trantham School REFLECTIONS: A History of McNairy County, Tennessee, 1823-1996. 35°11′N 88°34′W  /  35.18°N 88.56°W  / 35.18; -88.56 Dewey Phillips Phillips was born in Crump, Tennessee , but spent his childhood in Adamsville . After serving in the Army during World War II, seeing action in

696-657: The southern portion intersecting with US 45 in Eastview. Highways 22 and 57 intersect as well in Michie. As of the 2020 United States census , there were 25,866 people, 10,022 households, and 6,724 families residing in the county. As of the census of 2000, there were 24,653 people, 9,980 households, and 7,135 families residing in the county. The population density was 44 people per square mile (17 people/km ). There were 11,219 housing units at an average density of 20 units per square mile (7.7/km ). The racial makeup of

725-538: The town has a total area of 2.2 square miles (5.7 km), all land. As of the census of 2000, there were 763 people, 317 households, and 219 families residing in the city. The population density was 345.2 people per square mile (133.3/km�). There were 347 housing units at an average density of 157.0 per square mile (60.6/km�). The racial makeup of the town was 85.58% White , 13.50% African American , 0.13% Asian , 0.26% from other races , and 0.52% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.31% of

754-735: 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. 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

783-505: Was $ 27,500, and the median income for a family was $ 33,750. Males had a median income of $ 26,500 versus $ 19,792 for females. The per capita income for the town was $ 14,402. About 12.8% of families and 14.7% of the population were below the poverty line , including 21.1% of those under age 18 and 11.4% of those age 65 or over. 35°14′15″N 88°36′41″W  /  35.237378°N 88.611429°W  / 35.237378; -88.611429 McNairy County, Tennessee McNairy County

812-457: 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

841-584: 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. 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

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