Tutwiler, Mississippi is a small town in northwestern Tallahatchie County, Mississippi. The community was named for Tom Tutwiler, a railroad engineer, who made his headquarters seven miles northwest of Sumner, around which the town was developed. The first building in Tutwiler was a two-story railroad depot, the upper floor of which was used as a public school. Soon afterward, H.B. Fitch build and ran a store nearby, while his wife ran the school. The town was incorporated in 1905. The Illinois Central Railroad crossed at Tutwiler, running from Yazoo City to Lambert, and the company built a railroad yard in Tutwiler. A high school was constructed in 1928, and the town enjoyed a short period of rapid growth until 1929 when the Illinois Central Railroad moved its railroad yard to Clarksdale. Compounded by the Great Depression, this began a period of decline that lasted a few decades. Since 1970, the town has been experiencing steady growth, however. Reportedly, Tutwiler is where W.C. Handy discovered the Blues in 1903, while on a train platform in town. Legend has it that he heard an itinerant Bluesman playing slide guitar and singing about “goin’ where the Southern cross the Dog,” a reference to the junction of the Southern Railway and the Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad, farther south. A Mississippi Blues Trail marker was erected on the site in 2009. Tutwiler was also the home of the Blues musician, Frank Stokes. In northwestern Mississippi, Tutwiler is seventy miles south of Memphis Tennessee. Nearby communities include Baltzer, Claremont, Counts, Dublin, Longstreet, Mattson, Minot, Rome, Roundaway, Sumner, and Webb. Clarksdale, Mississippi is fifteen miles north-northwest of Tutwiler.
Recommended Resources
Focusing on its history and heritage as it relates to the Mississippi Blues, the site offers a brief history of W.C. Handy’s experience while waiting for a train at the depot in Tutwiler, Mississippi, as well as several local photographs, including a concrete slab painted in a quilt pattern, all that is left of the depot, the tracks just north and west of the mural wall, and the mural itself.
http://roaddawg.homestead.com/Tutwiler.html
Funded primarily through individual donations, the Christian-based clinic offers a variety of services, including medical, counseling, dental, optical, podiatry, education, and outreach. Clinic hours, patient services, staff contacts, volunteer information, and a video library are featured.
http://www.tutwilerclinic.org/
Tutwiler Community Education Center
Located on Hancock Street, the Tutwiler, Mississippi facility offers recreational, educational, and community events, such as after-school programs for younger children, a teen program, parenting programs, a weekly senior citizen program, GED tutoring, a wellness group, and other events, as well as serving as a place for town meetings, a voting place, and available for rent for family reunions and other events.
http://www.tutwilercenter.org/
Like many other Mississippi town, Tutwiler was founded as a railroad town, and incorporated in 1905. The official municipal web site features a history and profile of the community, its mayor, board of alderman, meeting agendas and minutes, as well as a guide to local restaurants, schools, churches, and services.
http://www.tutwilerms.com/
West Tallahatchie Habitat for Humanity
Headquartered in Tutwiler, Mississippi, Habitat for Humanity is an affiliate of the international organization, which works to build affordable homes in partnership with local families in need. Its criteria and application procedures are described, along with a newsletter, volunteer opportunities, and contacts.
http://wthabitat.org/
