McNairy County, Tennessee

McNairy County
County
McNairy County Courthouse in Selmer
Location within the U.S. state of Tennessee
Tennessee's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 35°11′N 88°34′W / 35.18°N 88.56°W / 35.18; -88.56
Country	United States
State	Tennessee
Founded	October 8, 1823
Named for	John McNairy[1]
Seat	Selmer
Largest city	Selmer
Government
• Mayor	Larry Smith [2]
Area
• Total	564 sq mi (1,460 km2)
• Land	563 sq mi (1,460 km2)
• Water	0.8 sq mi (2 km2)  0.1%
Population  (2020)
• Total	25,866
• Density	46/sq mi (18/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	8th
Website	www.mcnairycountytn.com

McNairy County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,866.^[3] Its county seat and largest city is Selmer.^[4] McNairy County is located along Tennessee's border with the state of Mississippi.

Sheriff Buford Pusser, whose story was told in the Walking Tall series of movies, was the sheriff of McNairy County from 1964 to 1970.^[5]

McNairy County is the location of the Coon Creek Science Center, a notable fossil site that preserves Late Cretaceous marine shells and vertebrate remains (such as mosasaurs).

The postwar musical environment of the county played a pivotal role in the development of popular music. Influential disc jockey Dewey Phillips hailed from Adamsville, Tennessee. Carl Perkins made the first recordings of his career in the home studio of Stanton Littlejohn at Eastview, Tennessee.^[6] Perkins and Elvis Presley had their first meeting at one of Presley's earliest road performances in Bethel Springs, Tennessee.