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In Minnie Pearl's comedy act she always said she was from Grinder's Switch, Tennessee. Many people thought she made the place up, but it is a real place -- only it isn't a town. Grinder's Switch was a place where a spur track came off the main railroad and her father would load lumber from his nearby sawmill onto the train cars. As a child she spent many hours there with her father and watching the men work and playing. The depot is still there. In her autobiography from 1980 she said the place hadn't changed in 50 years.
It still hasn't changed much, the spur track is gone but the old loading depot is still there sitting out there in the woods. At the end of the book Minnie states, "I wish for all of you a Grinder's Switch"
[Bill Carter, 02/18/2010]Grinder's Switch: Minnie Pearl:- Address:
- 1105 Grinders Switch Rd, Centerville, TN
- Directions:
- From Hwy 100 just north of Centerville and the bridge across the Duck River, turn west onto Hickman Springs Rd at the brown "Camp Mariah" sign. Drive two miles, bearing left twice as the road splits (These are narrow country roads). You'll cross a train track and come to a T intersection. The Grinder's Switch depot and sign are straight ahead, just to the left.
It's on the corner of Hickman Springs Road and Highway 100, on a small bluff on the side of the road.
[Rhona, 08/06/2021]Chicken Wire Minnie Pearl Head:- Address:
- Hickman Springs Rd, Centerville, TN
- Directions:
- Centerville Bluff Garden. Just northeast of town, across the river, on the northeast corner of Hickman Springs Rd and TN-100/N. Central Ave.
- RA Rates:
- Worth a Detour
Miss Minnie Pearl overlooks Centerville. What a shining light she was to the world. It was cool to see this sculpture honoring an American icon.
[Buffett2010, 03/11/2021]As I drove through Centerville, I took a detour around the square to see the Minnie Pearl statue made of chicken wire. It was gone. I made a note to check out where she went later, and as I drove out of town I spotted her on top of a small bluff, just east of downtown. She looks great, high atop the rocks, overlooking the garden that is maintained by the Centerville Garden Club. It's the perfect place for her, as the gardens are full of miniature roses named "Cousin Minnie Pearl."
[Tim O'Brien, 11/14/2020]The chicken wire sculpture is now mounted next to the county courthouse in downtown Centerville. It stands out nicely, and there is plenty of parking around the square.
[Tim O'Brien, 02/18/2018]
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Centerville is planning to unveil a bronze statue of Minnie Pearl in 2021, in the spot formerly occupied by the chicken wire head.