Tennessee Folklore Society
A longstanding relationship with the Tennessee Folklore Society (TFS) resulted in Arts in McNairy becoming the host institution for TFS in 2024. It is the first time in almost a century of continuous operation that TFS has been headquartered in West Tennessee. Arts in McNairy's Managing Director and the organization's Tradition Arts Committee assist the Society with administrative duties and advise on programming opportunities.
A complete (hardcopy) run of the Tennessee Folklore Society Bulletin is available for study in the Learning Center at the Latta Visitors and Cultural Center. The Bulletin is the second oldest regional folklore journal in the country, and a rich compendium of Tennessee's traditional arts and culture. A number of Bulletins contain information about McNairy County folklife, including a thorough history of the local broom making tradition and a double issue devoted to the Stanton Littlejohn recording sessions and the Latta Ford Motor Company music jams.
To learn more, visit the Tennessee Folklore Society website or read digital back issues of the Tennessee Folklore Society Bulletin at Tennessee State Library and Archives.
A longstanding relationship with the Tennessee Folklore Society (TFS) resulted in Arts in McNairy becoming the host institution for TFS in 2024. It is the first time in almost a century of continuous operation that TFS has been headquartered in West Tennessee. Arts in McNairy's Managing Director and the organization's Tradition Arts Committee assist the Society with administrative duties and advise on programming opportunities.
A complete (hardcopy) run of the Tennessee Folklore Society Bulletin is available for study in the Learning Center at the Latta Visitors and Cultural Center. The Bulletin is the second oldest regional folklore journal in the country, and a rich compendium of Tennessee's traditional arts and culture. A number of Bulletins contain information about McNairy County folklife, including a thorough history of the local broom making tradition and a double issue devoted to the Stanton Littlejohn recording sessions and the Latta Ford Motor Company music jams.
To learn more, visit the Tennessee Folklore Society website or read digital back issues of the Tennessee Folklore Society Bulletin at Tennessee State Library and Archives.
Legacy Music of McNairy Film
In 2024 the short film, Legacy Music of McNairy, debuted at the Latta. The film, which runs slightly over an hour, features interviews with legendary local music makers and their families, profiles of some of the area's most revered musicians, live music performances captured at the Latta, and a soundtrack drawn from the Stanton Littlejohn sessions. Topics covered include the legendary Latta Ford jams, the history of the Littlejohn Sessions, the connection between local whiskey and music making, and how music shaped the culture of McNairy County and beyond. See the two part film and live music performed at the film debut on Arts in McNairy's YouTube Channel.
In 2024 the short film, Legacy Music of McNairy, debuted at the Latta. The film, which runs slightly over an hour, features interviews with legendary local music makers and their families, profiles of some of the area's most revered musicians, live music performances captured at the Latta, and a soundtrack drawn from the Stanton Littlejohn sessions. Topics covered include the legendary Latta Ford jams, the history of the Littlejohn Sessions, the connection between local whiskey and music making, and how music shaped the culture of McNairy County and beyond. See the two part film and live music performed at the film debut on Arts in McNairy's YouTube Channel.
McNairy County Brooms and Broomcorn Heritage
4th generation Selmer broom maker, Jack Martin, is a national treasure. Martin operates Hockaday Handmade Brooms, the family business he inherited from his maternal grandfather. Martin was honored with the 2015-16 Tennessee Governor's Folklife Heritage Award, the state's highest honor in the arts.
Broom making was a staple of farm life in McNairy County from the mid 19th until the mid 20th century. Dozens of families made brooms to supplement their income in the winter months, but very little of that heritage survives. Jack Martin is the living embodiment of the tradition, making brooms one at a time with his family's homemade broom machines.
In 2025 the Martin Family and Arts in McNairy will revive the Broomcorn Festival (the next generation) at the Hockaday broom shop and farm in Selmer. The popular annual event, which was a highlight of the local cultural calendar for twenty years, returns with folk art demonstrations, live music, food and much more.
4th generation Selmer broom maker, Jack Martin, is a national treasure. Martin operates Hockaday Handmade Brooms, the family business he inherited from his maternal grandfather. Martin was honored with the 2015-16 Tennessee Governor's Folklife Heritage Award, the state's highest honor in the arts.
Broom making was a staple of farm life in McNairy County from the mid 19th until the mid 20th century. Dozens of families made brooms to supplement their income in the winter months, but very little of that heritage survives. Jack Martin is the living embodiment of the tradition, making brooms one at a time with his family's homemade broom machines.
In 2025 the Martin Family and Arts in McNairy will revive the Broomcorn Festival (the next generation) at the Hockaday broom shop and farm in Selmer. The popular annual event, which was a highlight of the local cultural calendar for twenty years, returns with folk art demonstrations, live music, food and much more.
The Stanton Littlejohn Sessions
Around 1946, McNairy County musician, Stanton Littlejohn, picked up a recording console and began making acetate disc (lacquer) recordings of his friends and family at his Eastview, Tennessee home. Recording for more than ten years, the amateur sound engineer captured the performances of dozens of old-time musicians, bluegrass pickers, southern gospel quartets, country, and rockabilly artists from Southwest Tennessee and North Mississippi.
In 2009 Arts in McNairy began the painstaking process of collecting and digitizing as many of Littlejohn's recordings as possible. The project was funded in part by the Tennessee Arts Commission and the American Folklife Center, Library of Congress. With the aid of Littlejohn's family and technical assistance provided by Center for Popular Music at Middle Tennessee State University, AiM's traditional arts team was able to preserve more than two hundred tracks of Littlejohn's music. All of the material is available for listening at the county archives in the McNairy County Courthouse and the Learning Center at the Latta. Two compilation CDs, The Littlejohn Sessions Vol 1 & 2, released in 2014 and 2024 respectively are available at Arts in McNairy's online store. A 2019 limited edition LP/CD release by Bear Family Records, Discovering Carl Perkins, showcases the first documented recordings by the rockabilly icon.
Around 1946, McNairy County musician, Stanton Littlejohn, picked up a recording console and began making acetate disc (lacquer) recordings of his friends and family at his Eastview, Tennessee home. Recording for more than ten years, the amateur sound engineer captured the performances of dozens of old-time musicians, bluegrass pickers, southern gospel quartets, country, and rockabilly artists from Southwest Tennessee and North Mississippi.
In 2009 Arts in McNairy began the painstaking process of collecting and digitizing as many of Littlejohn's recordings as possible. The project was funded in part by the Tennessee Arts Commission and the American Folklife Center, Library of Congress. With the aid of Littlejohn's family and technical assistance provided by Center for Popular Music at Middle Tennessee State University, AiM's traditional arts team was able to preserve more than two hundred tracks of Littlejohn's music. All of the material is available for listening at the county archives in the McNairy County Courthouse and the Learning Center at the Latta. Two compilation CDs, The Littlejohn Sessions Vol 1 & 2, released in 2014 and 2024 respectively are available at Arts in McNairy's online store. A 2019 limited edition LP/CD release by Bear Family Records, Discovering Carl Perkins, showcases the first documented recordings by the rockabilly icon.
McNairy County Music Hall of Fame and Music Tourism
Though McNairy County's deep musical roots are well known, the local impact on the development of rockabilly and rock 'n' roll music has been the subject of intense public interest. Legendary rock 'n' roll deejay, Dewey Phillips, who hailed from Adamsville, Tennessee introduced the world to Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and other Sun recording artists. Three inductees to the International Rockabilly Hall of Fame are McNairy County natives. Elvis Presley played his first road gig at Bethel Springs, Tennessee in 1954, where he just happened to meet a young guitarist named Carl Perkins. Perkins made the first recordings of his storied career with Stanton Littlejohn at Eastview, Tennessee in 1951.
In recognition of this legacy, Arts in McNairy was instrumental in having Highway 45 South, from Interstate 40 to the Mississippi state line, designated, Rockabilly Highway, touching off a number of musical heritage programs loosely termed the Rockabilly Highway Revival. Three world class public art installations in downtown Selmer, Tennessee were commissioned to pay homage to this history. The iconic Rockabilly Highway Mural I & Rockabilly Highway Mural II are by McNairy County native, Brian Tull. A third mural, also by Tull, foregrounds the under appreciated Black stringband tradition in the region. The murals inspired an annual music and heritage festival, The Rockabilly Highway Revival Festival, sponsored by the McNairy County Chamber and Tourism. The annual McNairy County Music Hall of Fame inductions take place in conjunction with the festival and members of the Hall of Fame are honored on a downtown walking trail known as the Trail of Music Legends. Local music history is also highlighted by a series of interpretive markers installed at significant sites by the McNairy County Historical Society.
Though McNairy County's deep musical roots are well known, the local impact on the development of rockabilly and rock 'n' roll music has been the subject of intense public interest. Legendary rock 'n' roll deejay, Dewey Phillips, who hailed from Adamsville, Tennessee introduced the world to Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and other Sun recording artists. Three inductees to the International Rockabilly Hall of Fame are McNairy County natives. Elvis Presley played his first road gig at Bethel Springs, Tennessee in 1954, where he just happened to meet a young guitarist named Carl Perkins. Perkins made the first recordings of his storied career with Stanton Littlejohn at Eastview, Tennessee in 1951.
In recognition of this legacy, Arts in McNairy was instrumental in having Highway 45 South, from Interstate 40 to the Mississippi state line, designated, Rockabilly Highway, touching off a number of musical heritage programs loosely termed the Rockabilly Highway Revival. Three world class public art installations in downtown Selmer, Tennessee were commissioned to pay homage to this history. The iconic Rockabilly Highway Mural I & Rockabilly Highway Mural II are by McNairy County native, Brian Tull. A third mural, also by Tull, foregrounds the under appreciated Black stringband tradition in the region. The murals inspired an annual music and heritage festival, The Rockabilly Highway Revival Festival, sponsored by the McNairy County Chamber and Tourism. The annual McNairy County Music Hall of Fame inductions take place in conjunction with the festival and members of the Hall of Fame are honored on a downtown walking trail known as the Trail of Music Legends. Local music history is also highlighted by a series of interpretive markers installed at significant sites by the McNairy County Historical Society.
The Tennessee Music Box
The Tennessee music box (box dulcimer) is a folk instrument that originated in the counties of the lower Tennessee River Valley. The instruments were never commercially produced; construction and playing techniques were passed from generation to generation, and neighbor to neighbor, through oral tradition. Fewer than 100 Tennessee music boxes have been documented.
In 2015 Arts in McNairy purchased the late Ellis Truett Jr.'s collection of Tennessee music boxes. Truett was a lifelong student of music, a dulcimer builder, player, and collector, and an outspoken advocate for West Tennessee music heritage preservation. His collection of 7 box dulcimers, along with other instruments, and music box documentation are now part of the Arts in McNairy Cultural Collection at the McNairy County Historical Museum. Other music boxes have been discovered and added to the collection since acquisition of Truett's instruments. It is one of the largest, and most significant, collections of Tennessee music boxes in the world. The instruments are on rotating display in the Latta Learning Center and occasionally featured in other cultural exhibits in the region.
The Jackson Area Plectral Society and Needles-n-Pins Quilters of Selmer were generous partners in preservation of the Ellis Truett Jr. Collection. The instruments are available for scholarly research and inspection by request. Photos and detailed descriptions of the instruments may be viewed on a dedicated page on this website.
The Tennessee music box (box dulcimer) is a folk instrument that originated in the counties of the lower Tennessee River Valley. The instruments were never commercially produced; construction and playing techniques were passed from generation to generation, and neighbor to neighbor, through oral tradition. Fewer than 100 Tennessee music boxes have been documented.
In 2015 Arts in McNairy purchased the late Ellis Truett Jr.'s collection of Tennessee music boxes. Truett was a lifelong student of music, a dulcimer builder, player, and collector, and an outspoken advocate for West Tennessee music heritage preservation. His collection of 7 box dulcimers, along with other instruments, and music box documentation are now part of the Arts in McNairy Cultural Collection at the McNairy County Historical Museum. Other music boxes have been discovered and added to the collection since acquisition of Truett's instruments. It is one of the largest, and most significant, collections of Tennessee music boxes in the world. The instruments are on rotating display in the Latta Learning Center and occasionally featured in other cultural exhibits in the region.
The Jackson Area Plectral Society and Needles-n-Pins Quilters of Selmer were generous partners in preservation of the Ellis Truett Jr. Collection. The instruments are available for scholarly research and inspection by request. Photos and detailed descriptions of the instruments may be viewed on a dedicated page on this website.
The Slug Burger and Local Foodways
McNairy County is proud of its culinary heritage and some of the most mouthwatering whole hog barbecue, fried catfish with hushpuppies, and fried pies you will ever taste can be found on the tables of our local homes and restaurants. But the one food experience most associated with McNairy County is the slug burger. Several local proprietors still serve this tasty little golden-brown burger that evolved during the depression era when small town diners in North Mississippi, Northwest Alabama, and Southwest Tennessee sought an economical way to serve more customers, while stretching their scarce provisions of meat. Potato flour, soy grit, and other fillers were used to get more burgers per pound, thus giving birth to the slug burger. The name is reportedly derived from the cost of the economical lunch treat which originally cost only a nickel, otherwise known in local slang as a slug. The slug burger tradition has been prominently featured in an oral history project by the Southern Foodways Alliance. Interviews with local slug burger makers, and more information on this unique Mid-Southern tradition can be viewed here.
McNairy County is proud of its culinary heritage and some of the most mouthwatering whole hog barbecue, fried catfish with hushpuppies, and fried pies you will ever taste can be found on the tables of our local homes and restaurants. But the one food experience most associated with McNairy County is the slug burger. Several local proprietors still serve this tasty little golden-brown burger that evolved during the depression era when small town diners in North Mississippi, Northwest Alabama, and Southwest Tennessee sought an economical way to serve more customers, while stretching their scarce provisions of meat. Potato flour, soy grit, and other fillers were used to get more burgers per pound, thus giving birth to the slug burger. The name is reportedly derived from the cost of the economical lunch treat which originally cost only a nickel, otherwise known in local slang as a slug. The slug burger tradition has been prominently featured in an oral history project by the Southern Foodways Alliance. Interviews with local slug burger makers, and more information on this unique Mid-Southern tradition can be viewed here.
The Latta Learning Center
The Latta Learning Center offers access to Arts in McNairy's digital and material culture collections. The Center is just off the main gallery space at the Latta's Court Avenue entrance. Users can view select items from AiM's Tennessee music box and other folklife collections, or browse the organization's digital holdings, which include hundreds of historic photos, sound and video recordings, and more. Hardcopies of the Tennessee Folklore Society Bulletin, as well as other reading materials, are available for onsite study and research. Request a Learning Center appointment by email or phone call at: [email protected] or 731-435-3288.
The Latta Learning Center offers access to Arts in McNairy's digital and material culture collections. The Center is just off the main gallery space at the Latta's Court Avenue entrance. Users can view select items from AiM's Tennessee music box and other folklife collections, or browse the organization's digital holdings, which include hundreds of historic photos, sound and video recordings, and more. Hardcopies of the Tennessee Folklore Society Bulletin, as well as other reading materials, are available for onsite study and research. Request a Learning Center appointment by email or phone call at: [email protected] or 731-435-3288.
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Photo credits: Huffoto (Arts in McNairy's official photographer)
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Arts in McNairy | 205 W Court Ave, Selmer, TN | PO Box 66, Selmer, TN 38375 | 731-435-3288| [email protected]