McNairy County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2010 census, the population was 26,075. Its county seat 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 is the location of the Coon Creek Science Center, a notable fossil site that preserves Late Cretaceous marine shells and vertebrate remains. The postwar musical environment of the county played a pivotal role in the development of popular music. Influential disc jockeyDewey Phillips hailed from Adamsville, Tennessee. Carl Perkins made the first recordings of his career in the home studio of Stanton Littlejohn at Eastview, Tennessee. Elvis Presley and Carl Perkins 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.
County seat
was the county seat of McNairy County until 1890. Since then, Selmer has been the county seat.
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, Dwayne Johnson, and in numerous documentaries and books.
Newspapers
The oldest existing business in McNairy County is its newspaper, the Independent Appeal, which was founded in 1902. It is located in Selmer. In 2009, Tom Evans, a former reporter and photographer for the Independent Appeal, formed his own weekly newspaper, The McNairy County News.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water. The major highways U.S. Route 64 and U.S. Route 45 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 Highways22 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.
Adjacent counties
Chester County
Hardin County
Alcorn County, Mississippi
Hardeman County
State protected areas
Big Hill Pond State Park
Demographics
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. There were 11,219 housing units at an average density of 20 per square mile. The racial makeup of 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 couplesliving 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 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 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. This is due to the 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.
