Tupelo, MS

Tupelo, Miss.: Birthplace of 'The King'

Jim High remembers the day, years ago, when Elvis Presley came to Tupelo, Miss., for a benefit concert. The air was charged with electricity and excitement, and everyone waited with anticipation. But unlike other concerts where the King of Rock ’n’ Roll took center stage, the audience at this concert was filled with friends and family, everyone with an Elvis story to tell.

This is, after all, the town Elvis called home in his younger days.

“I didn’t really know Elvis,” High says from the headquarters of Tupelo’s annual Elvis Presley Festival, where he serves as full-time director. “I was a couple years behind him in school. But there’s a lot of people in town who remember him. He was a great guy, a generous guy. And he loved to come home to Tupelo.”

It was the perfect place for a young Elvis Presley to grow, where he went to school, attended church, and learned at a tender age to play the guitar and belt out the bluesy tunes for which he’s best remembered.

But then again, Tupelo (pop. 35,194) has been a good place for many people to rear their children—it might just be one of the friendliest towns on the map. You can stop anywhere and get directions or ask for suggestions on where to eat or how to find that famous Tupelo honey immortalized in the movie Ulee’s Gold. Located in northeastern Mississippi, it’s not far from Elvis’ Graceland mansion in Memphis, Tenn.

In recent years, Tupelo has seen dramatic growth and development, an “economic miracle” envisioned by the late George McLean, a local newspaperman with the Daily Journal and real estate magnate who believed that the region could thrive if people would put their minds to it.

McLean envisioned changing Tupelo from a sleepy town into a major destination, and over the years he managed to help propel Tupelo into one of Mississippi’s economic success stories, featuring new industries, shopping districts, restored historic regions, and improved road systems.

Much of the region’s growth over the past 30 years has resulted in new and exciting venues coming to town, including the annual Elvis Presley Festival, a celebration of music that recognizes the genius Presley possessed. This year’s June festival featured performances by Jerry Lee Lewis and local artists.

And a few years ago, Tupelo’s leaders convinced National Park officials to build park headquarters for the historic Natchez Trace Parkway, a 450-mile highway linking Natchez, Miss., with Nashville. The road has retained several miles of the original paths that riverboatmen used hundreds of years ago after floating their barges down the Mississippi River. Today’s Trace is a restricted-access, two-lane highway running through the heart of Tupelo.

Coming in 2002, Tupelo will see the creation of a fascinating museum featuring the collection of automobiles owned by local television-station owner Frank Spain. The Spain collection includes more than 150 cars of various models and makes—with at least one example from every year an auto has been assembled.

But it’s still all things Elvis that people love the most.

Tupelo Hardware on Main Street is where Elvis bought his first guitar many years ago. Today you’ll see the windows of the store still decorated with numerous images of Presley, and you can purchase a variety of souvenirs there.

The biggest draw remains the two-room house where Elvis Presley was born on Jan. 8, 1935. Located on the original homesite, the Elvis Presley Birthplace and Museum includes an artifact collection, chapel, and park—the land for which was bought with proceeds of the benefit concert Elvis held there in 1957. The museum contains hundreds of articles of clothing and personal mementos—both from his youth and from his career—and is said to be one of the best private collections of Elvis memorabilia in the world. The artifacts were made possible by Jannelle McComb, “a close friend who gave us all the material that’s included in our museum,” says Lisa Buse, director of the Elvis Presley Birthplace and Museum.

Guests can tour the home and museum, then visit the chapel that was built by fans following Elvis’ death.

The King would no doubt approve of the way things have come along in his hometown.

Kentucky-based writer Dennis O’Connor toured Tupelo—and Elvis’ birthplace—last summer.

Upload Your Own Stories, Photos and Videos

Every week, American Profile magazine brings you stories that celebrate the people and places that make America great. Now we want to hear your stories and see your photos, videos and even audio.

 Start Uploading Now!

 

Discuss this Article