Lake County Tennessee is located in the far northwest corner of the state bordered on the west by the Mississippi River, on the north by Fulton County Kentucky, on the east by Obion county, Reelfoot Lake, and on the east and south by Dyer county. Mostly flat it contains approximately 104,950 acres of land and about 15,000 acres in lakes. The county was created in 1870 out of Obion County and named for Reelfoot Lake, which was created by the 1811-12 New Madrid earthquakes. Tiptonville is the county seat.
Lake County’s most famous son is Carl Perkins, the King of Rockabilly. He was born near Tiptonville in April 1932. When he was fourteen, his father moved the family to the Memphis area. Perkins was best known for writing the song, Blue Suede Shoes, which made both Perkins and Elvis Presley famous. Perkins played his guitar commercially for over 40 years and toured with Johnny Cash for over 10 years. Perkins died in Jackson, Tennessee on January 19, 1998.
Today, Tiptonville’s visitor center is named after Carl Perkins and the city holds an annual Blue Suede Shoes and BBQ event in the summer. This year the event will be held July 15, 16, and 17. Ya’ll come!
(This post created primarily from information found on the Internet)
