Visit Our Museums
West Tennessee Cotton Museum
No Admission Fees for Museums and Sleepy John Estes Home |
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 The West Tennessee Cotton Museum traces the roots of cotton in West Tennessee from 1826 to the present, showing the impact cotton has had on the lives of the people in this region. |
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| Featured in the Cotton Museum are old plows, fertilizers and planters pulled by mules and horses during the early days of cotton; a bale of cotton bound the old way and a new compact modern bale, an old roller gin; and cotton baskets, sacks and scales from when cotton was picked by hand... just a few of the things you will see and learn about.
White Oak Basket Collection: In the Cotton Museum you will also see a unique collection of White Oak Baskets. The baskets are from the collection of the late Newman Walpole. Woodcraft Replicas: Two miniature replicas of an old Haywood County, Tennessee, church and barn are also on display in the Cotton Museum. |
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Inside the
West Tennessee Music Museum, you will learn the reason the highway between Nashville and Memphis is known as "Music Highway." Many great artist have called West Tennessee home. Learn about legends such as Carl Perkins, |
| Elvis is in the house!
On loan from Graceland: See the Army jacket Elvis wore and watch the video of his induction in the Army in 1958. Also, on display is a Sportscoat worn by Elvis during a photo shoot while filming Viva Las Vegas in 1963. |
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 "The Element Man" greets visitors to the Music Museum at the door. Constructed in 1997, by employees of Haywood Element, this sculpture was originally an entry in Brownsville's annual Scarecrow Contest and is made completely from heating elements. [Back to Museums] |
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| The Hatchie River Museum highlights the Hatchie River and it’s eco system, and the museum includes 3 aquariums with fish native to the hatchie river. The Hatchie River is important because it is the longest free-flowing tributary of the lower Mississippi, and contains the largest forested floodplain in Tennessee.
Inside the museum, you will see a replica of the Alligator Snapping turtle, which can grow up to 240 pounds. |
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 Uncle Luther is the resident storyteller in the Hatchie River Museum. Uncle Luther is modeled after the late Luther Windrow, a Haywood County resident who grew up on the Hatchie River.
At the museum, the animated Uncle Luther tells about his life on the Hatchie and how things have changed since his ancestors first settled the area. |
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 John Adam Estes Home(1899-1977) John Adam Estes was one of the great blues pioneers. He was born in Ripley, Tenn., and moved to Brownsville at a very young age. He was a guitarist, vocalist and songwriter with a very high-pitched "crying" vocal style. He earned his nickname "Sleepy" from his habit of falling asleep during performances. By age 19 he was performing professionally and first recorded for Victor Records in Memphis in 1929. He performed and recorded continuously until about 1941, made a brief return in 1952, when he recorded at Sun Studio.
"Sleepy" John, along with fellow Brownsville Bluesmen Yank Rachel and Hammie Nixon are also featured in the West Tennessee Music Museum.
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The river is home to hundreds of species of fish including 11 species of catfish and the alligator snapping turtle. 
He died in 1977 while preparing for a European tour. The last home of "Sleepy" John is located on the grounds of the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center. The home is open and visitors are welcomed inside.
This mural of the Brownsville Bluesmen, by Brownsville artist Mark Kendrick, is featured on the back wall of the 
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