Brownsville (Tennessee)

Brownsville is in Western Tennessee.

This community is one of many in the delta region that grew up around wealthy cotton-planting ventures requiring heavy slave labor and the subsequent mistreatment of African Americans thru disenfranchisement, including lynching, even after that way of life was upended. But now it is often correlated with Tina Turner who grew up here, and bar-b-que cooking.

• 35.54098-89.245851 West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center and Tina Turner Museum, 121 Sunny Hill Cove, ☏ +1 731-779-9000. Tue-Sat 9AM-5PM, Sun 1-5PM, Mon closed. This museum offers a vignette on the Western Tennessee delta region with exhibits on things like cotton, blues artists, turtles and other endemic species, and Tina Turner (grew up in this community of Brownsville). Free, $10 for guided tour.  (updated Aug 2021)
• 35.59351-89.266392 Mindfield Cemetery, 344 W Main St. An abstract metal artwork creation that looks a bit like Watts Towers in LA.  (updated Aug 2021)
• 35.632-89.85553 Fort Pillow State Historic Park, 3122 Park Rd, Henning, ☏ +1 731-738-5581. Daily 8AM-4:30PM. Site of the Civil War Battle of Fort Pillow, where some 300 African American Union soldiers were brutally massacred by Nathan Bedford Forrest's men upon his orders after surrendering.  (updated Aug 2021)
• 35.67333-89.576314 Alex Haley Museum and Interpretive Center, 200 Church St, Henning, ☏ +1 731-738-2240. Tue-Sat 10AM-5PM. Boyhood home of the author of the intergenerational African American epic Roots.  (updated Aug 2021)
• 35.55604-89.660415 Tipton County Museum, 751 Bert Johnston Ave, Covington, ☏ +1 901-476-0242. Tue-Sat 9AM-5PM. Regional museum, military artifacts, mounted animals, etc.  (updated Sep 2021)

• 35.4987-89.26211 Hatchie National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center, 6772 TN-76, Stanton. Swamp and marshland area where you can explore walking trails, view wildlife and lily pads, and look at dioramas.  (updated Aug 2021)
• 35.76634-89.12372 Tennessee Safari Park, 618 Conley Rd, ☏ +1 731 696-4423. Mon-Sat 10AM-5PM, Sun noon-5PM (last car in at 4). A drive-thru zoo where some 80 species roam about and where ungulates such as baby giraffes will want to eat from your car. $20 adults, $12 kids, $3 food cup.  (updated Oct 2021)

• 35.60416-89.26031 Helen's Bar BQ, 1016 N Washington Ave, ☏ +1 731 779-3255. Tue-Sat 10am-7pm. Highly regarded cuisine in these parts.  (updated Aug 2021)

• 35.54003-89.245251 Comfort Inn Brownsville I-40, 120 Sunny Hill Cove, ☏ +1 731 734-2676. Gym facility.  (updated Aug 2021)