Nutbush, Tennessee

This article is about the community in Haywood County, Tennessee. Not to be confused with Nutbush, Memphis.

Nutbush, Tennessee
Unincorporated community[1]
Location in the state of Tennessee
Location in the state of Tennessee
Coordinates: 35°41′53″N 89°24′29″W / 35.69806°N 89.40806°W / 35.69806; -89.40806
CountryUnited States
StateTennessee
CountiesHaywood
Elevation
358 ft (109 m)
Population
 (2000) of the Nutbush voting precinct
 • Total259
Time zoneUTC-6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code
38063 (Ripley)[2]
Area code731
Nutbush grocery store (2004)

Nutbush is a rural unincorporated community in Haywood County, Tennessee, United States, in the western part of the state, approximately 50 miles (80 km) north-east of Memphis.[1] It was established in the early 19th century by European-American settlers, who bought enslaved African Americans to develop the area's cotton plantations. Houses and churches built during that time still stand.

Agriculture is still the most important element of the rural economy, focused on the cultivation and processing of cotton, which has been the main commodity crop since the antebellum years, when its cultivation depended on slave labor. As of 2006, there was one cotton-processing plant in the community.

Nutbush is the childhood home of singer Tina Turner, who described the "town" (really a tiny settlement of 259) in her 1973 song "Nutbush City Limits". In 2002, a segment of Tennessee State Route 19 near Nutbush was named "Tina Turner Highway" in her honor.[3][4][5] It is also the home town of pioneer blues musicians and recording artists Hambone Willie Newbern and Sleepy John Estes.[6]

  1. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Nutbush, Tennessee
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference DownZIP was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Wilder, John S. (January 17, 2002). "SB 2798: Highway Signs – "Tina Turner Highway"" (PDF). Legislation Archives - Bills and Resolutions: 102nd General Assembly. Nashville, TN: Tennessee Senate. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 21, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2010.
  4. ^ Fitzhugh, Craig (January 22, 2002). "HB 2535: Highway Signs – "Tina Turner Highway"" (PDF). Legislation Archives – Bills and Resolutions: 102nd General Assembly. Nashville, TN: Tennessee House of Representatives. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 21, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2010.
  5. ^ "Highway to Be Named for Tina Turner". AP Online News Wire. Associated Press. September 25, 2002. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved June 26, 2010.
  6. ^ A History of Tennessee Arts, University of Tennessee Press