A Visit to Elvis Presley’s Birthplace – Tupelo, MS
While entertaining guests from out of town a few weeks ago we decided to drive Tupelo, Mississippi to visit Elvis Presley Birthplace and Museum. Like my wife and I, our guests were big music fans and we had visited other historical music sites and concerts with them before. I’ve personally visited Graceland six times, but had never made it over to Tupelo to see where it all started. From my house Tupelo was an easy, nearly all interstate trip, for 2 hours.
It was a sunny and hot day, with no rain in site (yet!) when we pulled into the parking lot at the museum. I was greeted with a really good first impression, as right off the bat it was more than I had expected. The complex was larger than I had anticipated and the grounds were lush and well manicured. We walked into the museum and ticket office and were met with a nice employee who explained the grounds and our ticket options. While inside I got a glimpse of the gift shop, which I would check out later. An adult ticket was $25, which gave you access to the actual house Elvis was born in, his early childhood church that was moved onto the grounds from not far away, and the Elvis Presley Memorial Chapel, and the Museum. Along the paths between these locations you will find various markers, tributes, fountains, and a statue of 13 year old Elvis carrying his first guitar.
His early childhood church was an Assembly of God Pentecostal denomination. The one room building was originally located very close to the museum site, and was moved here and restored to how it was during Elvis’ time. A lady gave of us an overview and history of the church building and it’s importance to Elvis. She then started a slide show where screens came down the front and sides of the insides of the church and a presentation began showing a typical service with actors portraying real people, including a young Elvis, during that time period. The layout of the screens and how it is shot gives you an immersive feel like you are in the church attending and seeing little Elvis perform for the first time in front of the people. It was very well done.
The Birthplace home is the highlight of the complex and it sits on its original location with everything else build around it. As you can see from the photo below, it’s a tiny shotgun style home no bigger than 400 square feet. Elvis Presley was born in the two room home on January 8, 1935, with his identical twin Jessie being stillborn. There are a few original items of the family inside, with the rest being recreations with period correct furniture and home items to complete the look. Compared to the decadence of Graceland, it is a very stark contrast as you see his extremely humble beginnings. They also point out often, as well as other places in town as well, that he was generous to the town and once played a concert there in 1957 with the proceeds of the show going to build a park for the area children.
It will take you all of 5-10 minutes to walk through the home the Presley was born and lived at for that short period of time, but it helps one understand how far he went. We ended out trip at the Birthplace in the Museum, which was mostly made up of the collection of Janelle McComb, a longtime and close friend of Elvis, who lived in Tupelo. While nowhere near the size and scope of the collection at Graceland, this museum is a nice showcase and focuses on his younger years in the area, but then branches out with memorabilia and gifts that Mrs. McCombs received from Elvis over the course of their friendship. It is well laid out, informative, and very well done. In fact, the entire Birthplace complex is like that – very well done. I was basically expecting to see a tiny shack that and we would be done in 15-20 minutes. We ended up spending a few hours here and left with a better understanding of the man and his parents.
It was time to eat, so we headed to Johnnie’s Drive-In, just minutes away. Established in 1945, this iconic eating spot was a favorite of young Elvis, as well as a returning later during his stardom. We were able to sit at “his” booth (adorned with a photo of him at that booth above it), and have pimento cheese sandwiches, burgers, fries, onion rings, and a special treat for me – RC Cola in a bottle! I didn’t expect much walking in, just generic greasy spoon food, but WOW! This was pretty darned good! Just as we walked out an absolute downpour hit us, so we ran to the car to plot our next move.
Rain was going to be an issue for the rest of the day so we made a quick stop to walk into Tupelo Hardware Co. and see where Elvis’ first guitar was bought by his mother. After that a stop at Relics Antique Marketplace (a nice place, BTW) to look at antiques rounded out the day trip and it was time for us to make the journey back home.
Overall, it was a fantastic day trip to a beautiful town that really surprised me. Downtown was vibrant and busy, and it left a really nice impression – enough to write about and recommend if you are fan of Elvis or music. This would also make a great stop on a road trip if you can afford a few hours – at least for a stop at the birthplace if you can swing the $25 for the visit, but you’ll get an informative tour and a great stretch for your legs!
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