Small Towns Near Memphis
The best small towns near Memphis are Oxford, Clarksdale and Brownsville. Oxford has William Faulkner’s Rowan Oak and the Square, Clarksdale has the Delta Blues Museum, and Brownsville has the Tina Turner Museum in her old schoolhouse. All three work as day trips, and Oxford is worth a night.
The list runs nearest first, from Holly Springs and Henning about 45 miles out to Paris, Tennessee, at about 125. Distances are straight-line miles from downtown Memphis, so the drive will be longer. The towns are in Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas, and most trips here are about music, literature and civil rights history.
| Town | Distance | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Holly Springs, Mississippi | About 45 miles | civil rights history, old homes |
| Henning, Tennessee | About 45 miles | Alex Haley, Roots, a short trip |
| Helena-West Helena, Arkansas | About 55 miles | blues radio, a festival, the river |
| Brownsville, Tennessee | About 55 miles | Tina Turner, blues, an easy stop |
| Oxford, Mississippi | About 60 miles | Faulkner, bookstores, a weekend |
| Clarksdale, Mississippi | About 70 miles | the blues, juke joints, music fans |
| Union City, Tennessee | About 105 miles | families, a big museum |
| Cleveland, Mississippi | About 105 miles | music history, a college town |
| Paris, Tennessee | About 125 miles | a fish fry, a quirky landmark |
Distances are straight-line miles from downtown Memphis, as the crow flies.
Holly Springs, Mississippi
About 45 miles as the crow flies · Best for: civil rights history, old homes
Holly Springs, population 6,968, was founded in 1836 and grew rich on cotton. Journalist and activist Ida B. Wells was born here, and Rust College has taught here since 1866. During the Civil War, Grant used the town as a supply depot until Confederate cavalry raided it in December 1862.
Don’t miss: the Ida B. Wells-Barnett Museum, in the house where she was born
★ Good to know The museum is by appointment only, so call ahead to book a tour.
Henning, Tennessee
About 45 miles as the crow flies · Best for: Alex Haley, Roots, a short trip
Henning is a Lauderdale County town of 871, and it was Alex Haley’s boyhood home. He heard the family stories that became Roots on his grandparents’ front porch here.
Don’t miss: the Alex Haley House Museum, a 10-room bungalow his grandfather Will E. Palmer built in 1919, with Haley’s grave on the grounds
★ Good to know The museum is closed Sundays and Mondays, and the state asks you to call to confirm hours.
Helena-West Helena, Arkansas
About 55 miles as the crow flies · Best for: blues radio, a festival, the river
Helena merged with West Helena in 2006, and the combined city has 9,519 people. King Biscuit Time, the long-running daily blues radio show, started here on KFFA in November 1941. The King Biscuit Blues Festival is one of the largest blues festivals in the world.
Don’t miss: the free Delta Cultural Center on Cherry Street, where King Biscuit Time still broadcasts live
★ Good to know The King Biscuit Blues Festival is held the weekend before Columbus Day each October.
Brownsville, Tennessee
About 55 miles as the crow flies · Best for: Tina Turner, blues, an easy stop
Brownsville is the Haywood County seat, with 9,788 people, founded in 1826 as a cotton town. Tina Turner went to school nearby, and bluesman Sleepy John Estes lived here.
Don’t miss: the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center, with the Tina Turner Museum in her Flagg Grove schoolhouse and Sleepy John Estes’ home
★ Good to know The Heritage Center is at I-40 exit 56, about 4 miles from downtown, so it’s an easy stop on the interstate.
Oxford, Mississippi
About 60 miles as the crow flies · Best for: Faulkner, bookstores, a weekend
Oxford, population 25,416, is home to Ole Miss and was William Faulkner’s hometown. He used it as the model for Jefferson, the town at the center of his fiction. Ole Miss opened in 1848 as the state’s first university, and the courthouse square is the heart of town.
Don’t miss: Rowan Oak, Faulkner’s home, whose grounds are free from dawn to dusk, and Square Books, open on the Square since 1979
★ Good to know Rowan Oak’s house admission is cash only, and the house is closed Mondays.
Clarksdale, Mississippi
About 70 miles as the crow flies · Best for: the blues, juke joints, music fans
Clarksdale, population 14,903, sits where Highways 61 and 49 meet and calls itself the birthplace of the blues. Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Ike Turner and Sam Cooke all came from here. The Delta Blues Museum has been collecting that history since 1979.
Don’t miss: the Delta Blues Museum in the old freight depot, Mississippi’s oldest music museum, with Muddy Waters’ cabin from Stovall Farms inside
★ Good to know The Juke Joint Festival each spring is the busiest time to visit.
Union City, Tennessee
About 105 miles as the crow flies · Best for: families, a big museum
Union City, population 11,170, took its name in 1852 from the junction of two railroads. Today most visitors come for Discovery Park of America, founded by local businessman Robert Kirkland. Reelfoot Lake is also nearby if you want a nature stop on the same trip.
Don’t miss: Discovery Park of America, a 100,000-square-foot museum with a 50-acre heritage park
★ Good to know Discovery Park is closed Mondays from August 2026 to February 2027.
Cleveland, Mississippi
About 105 miles as the crow flies · Best for: music history, a college town
Cleveland is a Delta town of 11,199 and home to Delta State University. It has four Mississippi Blues Trail markers, and nearby Dockery Plantation is often called a birthplace of the blues.
Don’t miss: the GRAMMY Museum Mississippi, the first GRAMMY Museum outside Los Angeles
★ Good to know The museum is closed Mondays, so plan a Tuesday-to-Sunday visit.
Paris, Tennessee
About 125 miles as the crow flies · Best for: a fish fry, a quirky landmark
Paris is the Henry County seat, with 10,316 people. Its 70-foot Eiffel Tower replica was built by Christian Brothers University students in Memphis.
Don’t miss: Eiffel Tower Park and the World’s Biggest Fish Fry, held the last full week of April with all-you-can-eat catfish, a parade and a rodeo
What’s the closest small town to Memphis?
On this list, Holly Springs, Mississippi, and Henning, Tennessee, both about 45 miles as the crow flies.
What’s the best small-town weekend trip from Memphis?
Oxford, for Rowan Oak, Square Books and the Ole Miss campus. Clarksdale is the pick for blues fans.
Which small towns near Memphis are best for blues history?
Clarksdale for the Delta Blues Museum, Helena-West Helena for King Biscuit Time, and Cleveland for the GRAMMY Museum Mississippi.
Are there small towns near Memphis in Arkansas?
Helena-West Helena, about 55 miles away across the Mississippi River, is the one on this list.