Brownsville, Tennessee
Encyclopedia
Brownsville is a city in Haywood County, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It is the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....

 of Haywood County. The city is named after Jacob Jennings Brown, an officer who served during The War of 1812.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, Brownsville has a total area of 9.1 square miles (23.6 km²), all land.

Brownsville is situated on the southeastern edge of the New Madrid Seismic Zone
New Madrid Seismic Zone
The New Madrid Seismic Zone , sometimes called the New Madrid Fault Line, is a major seismic zone and a prolific source of intraplate earthquakes in the southern and midwestern United States, stretching to the southwest from New Madrid, Missouri.The New Madrid fault system was responsible for the...

, an area with a high earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...

 risk.

The Hatchie River
Hatchie River
The Hatchie River is a stream in northern Mississippi and southwestern Tennessee. It is of considerable geographic, cultural, and historic significance. In large measure this is because it is the only major stream of West Tennessee that has never been impounded, channelized, or otherwise...

 runs through Brownsville. It is the longest free-flowing tributary of the lower Mississippi
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

, and contains the largest forested floodplain in Tennessee. The river is home to hundreds of species of fish, including 11 species of catfish, and the alligator snapping turtle
Alligator Snapping Turtle
The alligator snapping turtle is one of the largest freshwater turtles in the world. It is not closely related to, but is often associated with the common snapping turtle. They are the sole living member of the genus Macrochelys--while common snappers are in the genus Chelydra...

. The Hatchie River was named by the Nature Conservancy as one of the "great places" to save. The Hatchie is also designated as a "scenic river" under the Tennessee Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.

Demographics

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 10,748 people, 4,105 households, and 2,865 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 1,178.1 people per square mile (455.0/km²). There were 4,372 housing units at an average density of 479.2 per square mile (185.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 36.52% White, 60.72% African American, 0.14% Native American, 0.10% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 1.83% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 0.61% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.61% of the population.

There were 4,105 households out of which 35.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.8% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 27.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.2% were non-families. 27.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.11.

In the city the population was spread out with 29.5% under the age of 18, 10.4% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 80.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 73.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $27,276, and the median income for a family was $33,782. Males had a median income of $30,313 versus $22,030 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the city was $15,217. About 18.0% of families and 21.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.3% of those under age 18 and 27.0% of those age 65 or over.

History

The city is named after Jacob Jennings Brown, an officer who served during The War of 1812.

Brownsville's synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...

, Temple Adas Israel
Temple Adas Israel
Temple Adas Israel is a historic synagogue located at the intersection of Washington and College Streets in Brownsville, Tennessee, United States. Built in 1882, it is the oldest synagogue building in Tennessee and one of fewer than a hundred surviving 19th century synagogues in the country...

, was built in 1882 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

. The building is believed to be the oldest synagogue
Oldest synagogues in the United States
The designation of the oldest synagogue in the United States requires careful use of definitions, and must be divided into two parts, the oldest in the sense of oldest surviving building, and the oldest in the sense of oldest congregation...

 in Tennessee, and is a rare example of a synagogue built in the Gothic Revival style.

Pioneer musicians

Blues singer and guitarist Sleepy John Estes
Sleepy John Estes
John Adam Estes , best known as Sleepy John Estes or Sleepy John, was a American blues guitarist, songwriter and vocalist, born in Ripley, Lauderdale County, Tennessee.-Career:...

 (January 25, 1899 - June 5, 1977) was born in Ripley
Ripley, Tennessee
Ripley is a city in Lauderdale County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 7,844 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Lauderdale County...

 (Nutbush
Nutbush, Tennessee
Nutbush is an unincorporated rural community in Haywood County, Tennessee, United States, in the western part of the state.Established in the early 19th century, Nutbush is home to two early American churches founded by white settlers, Woodlawn Baptist Church and Trinity United Methodist Church...

) and later moved to Brownsville in 1915.

Yank Rachell
Yank Rachell
James "Yank" Rachell was an American country blues musician, dubbed an "elder statesman of the blues."-Career:...

, blues artist and mandolin player, was born in Brownsville in the early 1900s. He recorded, toured Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 and shortly before his death in 1997 returned to Brownsville to perform Jug Band recordings with "Lovin' Spoonful" fame, John Sabastian and the J-Band.

Contemporary music

In the song Delta Dawn
Delta Dawn
"Delta Dawn" is a song written by former child rockabilly star Larry Collins and songwriter Alex Harvey , best known as a 1972 top ten C&W hit for Tanya Tucker and a number-one hit for Helen Reddy in 1973.-Lyrical story:The title character is a faded southern...

 (recorded by Tanya Tucker
Tanya Tucker
Tanya Denise Tucker is a female American country music artist who had her first hit, "Delta Dawn", in 1972 at the age of 13...

 and others), the lyric "All the folks around Brownsville say she's crazy" is a reference to Brownsville, Tennessee. Credit for the writing of the song is given to songwriter Alex Harvey and former child rockabilly
Rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...

 star Larry Collins
Larry Collins
Larry Collins may refer to:* Larry Collins , author of several historical books, mainly in collaboration with Dominique Lapierre * Larry Collins , one of The Collins Kids, a juvenile rockabilly duo...

.

Tina Turner

According to a 1990's interview with singer Tina Turner
Tina Turner
Tina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the...

's mother, Zelma Bullock, singer Tina Turner
Tina Turner
Tina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the...

 was born as Anna Mae Bullock in a sharecroppers cabin in Nutbush
Nutbush, Tennessee
Nutbush is an unincorporated rural community in Haywood County, Tennessee, United States, in the western part of the state.Established in the early 19th century, Nutbush is home to two early American churches founded by white settlers, Woodlawn Baptist Church and Trinity United Methodist Church...

, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

 on Nov. 26, 1939. Her father was farm overseer. She spent her childhood in the Knoxville
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...

 area, Nutbush
Nutbush, Tennessee
Nutbush is an unincorporated rural community in Haywood County, Tennessee, United States, in the western part of the state.Established in the early 19th century, Nutbush is home to two early American churches founded by white settlers, Woodlawn Baptist Church and Trinity United Methodist Church...

, Ripley
Ripley, Tennessee
Ripley is a city in Lauderdale County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 7,844 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Lauderdale County...

 and Brownsville until age 16.

The Mindfield

“The Mindfield” is the creation and life’s work of Brownsville artist Billy Tripp. The structure was begun in 1989 and will continue to evolve until Billy’s death, at which point it will become the site of his interment. Included in the network of steel are individual pieces representing various events and periods of Billy’s life, especially the death of his father, Rev. Charles Tripp, in 2002. One of the latest additions, a water tower salvaged from a defunct factory in Western Kentucky, was dismantled, transported to Brownsville, and reconstructed single-handedly by the artist. It now stands as a memorial to Billy’s parents as well as a testimonial to his current life, his belief in the inherent beauty of our world, and the importance of tolerance in our communities and governmental systems.

Billy’s book, The Mindfield Years, is a further representation of his life told through the voices of three main characters and their efforts to find meaning, purpose, and contentment in the existence to which they were born. Written in stream of consciousness style, the novel contains elements of short story, poetry, philosophy, and psychology intermingled into a multi-layered yet deceptively simple tale. Billy is currently at work on volume two of this series, his “Goodbye”, and volume three, which is yet to be titled.


“There…is no one to relinquish tonight;

there is nothing to give up.

I…have seen the stars, and the moon, and now

I hear music. There are crickets creaking.

There are dark outlines of trees against the sky,

but the sky goes on; I have seen the heavens, and now

I can see forever; perhaps, it is all there;

perhaps, it is here. Tonight, I do not believe I will

leave anything, I will take it all, even then and tomorrow.

I shall live, and, the night, the day, is all;

I will become the Heavens; the Earth; I will not

give it up,

just quite---,

…not yet.”

Notable natives and residents

  • Son Bonds
    Son Bonds
    Son Bonds was an American country blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a working associate of both Sleepy John Estes and Hammie Nixon, and was similar in his guitar playing style...

    , musician
  • Tony Delk
    Tony Delk
    Tony Lorenzo Delk is an American former professional basketball player and current assistant coach for the New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball team. He was team leader of the 1996 University of Kentucky Wildcats team that won the 1996 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament...

     of the Boston Celtics
    Boston Celtics
    The Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...

     graduated from Haywood High School
  • Richard Halliburton
    Richard Halliburton
    Richard Halliburton was an American traveler, adventurer, and author. Best known today for having swum the length of the Panama Canal and paying the lowest toll in its history—thirty-six cents—Halliburton was headline news for most of his brief career...

    , Adventurer, Author
  • Brett Scallions
    Brett Scallions
    Brett Allen Scallions is an American musician. He is currently the lead vocalist for current lineup of Fuel after being the vocalist for the original incarnation of the band from 1993 to 2006. During that time, the band released multiple albums including the double platinum Something Like Human...

     Leader of the band Fuel
  • Billy Tripp
    Billy Tripp
    William Blevins Tripp, born 1955 in Jackson, Tennessee, is a nationally known practitioner of outsider art as well as the author of numerous poems and a novel, The Mindfield Years, published in 1996. ISBN 0-9652238-0-9...

    , Author, Outsider Artist
  • Isaac Hayes, Musician

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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