Columbia, TN

Mules Outdated? Not in Columbia, Tenn.

Jerry Erwin, of Columbia, Tenn., says he and his neighbors are proud their hometown is known as The Mule Capital of the World. It’s a title they’ve been nurturing since the early 1800s, when local farmers were dependent on this hybrid horse-donkey offspring to plant and harvest crops and to get them to market. Later in that century, annual spring fairs attracted mule buyers and traders from several states, making Columbia (pop. 32,143) one of the largest livestock markets in the world.

When tractors later usurped the mule’s place on farms, members of the Maury County Bridle and Saddle Club decided to continue their April gatherings regardless, celebrating the mule and its usefulness in the modern age. The 1934 Mule Day festival attracted more than 12,000 people and now lures as many as 200,000.

Erwin can tell you what all the fuss is about. As a longtime member of the Mule Day Committee, he’s as stubborn as a you-know-what about promoting his favorite farm animal.

“A mule is a more sure-footed animal than a horse has ever been,” he says. “And a mule won’t cross anything he thinks is unsafe, whereas a horse will cross anything you walk him up to.”

That’s just the beginning of a long list of traits Erwin likes about mules. Others include its lean, muscular body-style, hesitancy to kick, steady temper, and relatively small appetite.

Even the late Will Rogers, an actor and humorist famous for his roping skill, recognized the mule’s importance to rural America. In a 1935 newspaper column, he praised Columbia’s promotion of mules, writing, “Maiden Lane, New York City, for diamonds, but Mule Street in Columbia for Mules.” His enthusiasm garnered him an invitation to be the guest of honor that year, but he was filming In Old Kentucky at the time. Otherwise, he said, “I would be riding a couple of mules tandem right down the middle of the street.”

Mules occupy a rather humble place in history, which some say stems from their unique parentage. The offspring of a male donkey and a female horse, mules are almost always sterile. This caused some early farmers to reject the animal, calling it unnatural.

George Washington had no such objections. As the owner of the first mule on American soil—a gift from the King of Spain—he had as many as 58 working the farms of Mount Vernon. Washington’s ready adaptation eventually helped make the mule the most popular farm animal in the country, increasing the prosperity of places like Columbia.

Though today’s Mule Day festivities support tourism more than agriculture, stalwart mule enthusiasts still participate in the Western mule show, mule pulling and driving contests, and other mule demonstrations. The audience usually includes members of a nearby Amish community, who continue to use mules exclusively.

“It’s just Sunday afternoon fun and frolic,” Erwin says.

Efforts are also underway to promote the mule year-round in Columbia. “A group of old-time farmers” is working to have a Mule Museum open by this year’s festival. The simple structure is being built of salvaged lumber on an old plantation and will house antique mule equipment.

And another group in nearby Woodbury also gathers up to 20 teams of mules to cut hay or perform other farm chores. School groups are invited to watch them plow, plant, drag, and disc (which breaks up larger dirt clumps).

A permanent record of Columbia’s history and association with mules is being collected for the Local Legacies Project of the Library of Congress Bicentennial Program, which documents important traditional events nationwide.

“We’re trying to put the past back into the present so kids can understand and see,” Erwin says. “We don’t want the heritage of our nation to dwindle away and a lot of people not even know what a mule is.”

Kara Carden is a regular American Profile contributor.

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