Photo by Thomas R Machnitzki (thomas@machnitzki.com), via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)
About Casey Jones Village
Delicious Southern cooking! Home of the best cracklin' cornbread in the world! Since 1965.
At a Glance
Verified daily- Type
- Heritage railroad & tourist attraction
- Location
- TN
- Rating
- 4.8 ★ 8 Google reviews
Upcoming Events
No ticketed events are currently listed for Casey Jones Village. Many heritage operators publish schedules seasonally or run on regular open hours instead of dated events.
Check the operator’s website for current hours and special runs, or subscribe to event alerts and we’ll email you when something is scheduled.
Plan Your Visit
- Good For
- All ages
Find the Depot
The Trains
The locomotive on display is Clinchfield Railroad No. 99, a 4-6-0 built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1905 as South & Western Railway No. 1. The engine took the number 99 in 1924 when its road was folded into the newly formed Clinchfield Railroad, went to the Black Mountain Railway of Burnsville, North Carolina in 1953 as its No. 3, passed to the Yancey Railroad in 1955, and was retired in 1956 and sold to the City of Jackson. Cosmetically restored and repainted as Illinois Central No. 382 — standing in for the Rogers-built ten-wheeler Casey Jones was driving on the night of the 1900 wreck, an engine that was ultimately scrapped in 1935 — No. 99 sits today on static display at the Casey Jones Home & Railroad Museum.
History
See full history
Casey Jones Village in Jackson, Tennessee grew up around the memory of John Luther "Casey" Jones (1864–1900), the Illinois Central engineer killed at Vaughan, Mississippi on April 30, 1900, when his passenger train struck a stalled freight; by slowing the engine with exceptional skill he saved his passengers' lives at the cost of his own, a sacrifice immortalized in "The Ballad of Casey Jones." Jones had married Janie Brady at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Jackson in 1886, and the couple bought the house on West Chester Street where they raised three children. In 1956 the City of Jackson purchased a retired steam locomotive, Clinchfield No. 99, for display at a new museum dedicated to Jones's life near that home, cosmetically restoring the engine as Illinois Central No. 382; the Casey Jones Home & Railroad Museum opened the same year. In 1980 Casey Jones Village itself was established, the Jones home and the locomotive were moved to the new plaza, and the museum reopened there in 1981.
Around the Depot
Casey Jones Village sits in Jackson, the seat of Madison County and the second-largest city in West Tennessee after Memphis, roughly seventy miles to its east, and a regional center of trade. Jackson's identity was forged by the rails: beginning in 1851 the city became a hub of railroad systems reaching markets north, south, east, and west, and through the 1960s it was still served by fifteen passenger trains a day — fitting surroundings for a village built around the story of engineer Casey Jones.
Getting There & Staying Nearby
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Rent a Car
Most heritage railroads sit well off the interstate. Picking up a rental at the nearest airport is usually the easiest way in.
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Tours & Activities Nearby
Tours
Guided tours, day trips, and things to do around the area, bookable in advance through Viator.
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