To complete our Elvis Tour, we went to his birthplace in Tupelo, Mississippi today. The house is very tiny, only 2 rooms, a bedroom (where Elvis was born) and a kitchen. They called these houses shotgun houses because you could open the front door and shoot a shotgun right out the back door. There is no bathroom, they used an outhouse. And there was no electricity for several years. The hostess was Sybil Presley Clark; she says she is Elvis' second cousin. She told us that Vernon (Elvis' father) borrowed $180 to build the house, then lost the house because he could not afford the payments. They ended up moving to Memphis. Vernon actually spent 8 months in jail for forgery at one time.
To Elvis Presley birthplace
Paul in front of the house
Lou in front of the house
Bedroom. Sybil Presley Clark.
Bedroom
Bedroom fireplace.
Kitchen
Kitchen
Hallway from bedroom to kitchen and out the back door.
Paul standing outside the back door of the house.
In addition to the actual house where Elvis was born, there is the Church his family worshipped at when he was young, which was moved to this site. There is also a new Church there, which was built at Elvis' request so there would be a place for quiet meditation. There is also a small museum, and of course the mandatory gift shop.
Church
Church inside.
This is in a residential area, with regular homes across the street. I doubt they appreciate the Elvis fans thronging there and interrupting their quiet lives. When we were there though, it was very quiet, only a few people around, not like Graceland at all. We were told though that on a typical day, three busloads of people come and go.
Lou with Elvis at 13.
After we left there, we motored on towards Florida and hopefully warmer weather. We stopped at a truck stop for lunch which I made in the RV, then continued south. Traffic in Birmingham was a mess due to construction. We have stopped for the night at a little campground in Montgomery, Alabama. The weather is a bit warmer than it has been, and we are hopeful it will continue to warm up! We plan to be in Florida tomorrow.
Thanks for stopping by, we hope you are enjoying our journey as much as we are!
