Trip ideas while visiting Jackson in Tennessee
Casey Jones Village is one of the most beloved roadside destinations in Tennessee, drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors each year to the hometown of the legendary railroad engineer who sacrificed his life to save his passengers in 1900. Located just off Interstate 40 at Exit 80 in Jackson, the village encompasses a historic home, a railroad museum, an old country store, a southern buffet restaurant, and an ice cream parlor and confectionery, all spread across a sprawling property that celebrates both railroad heritage and southern hospitality. What began as a modest roadside museum in the 1950s has grown into a comprehensive family destination that preserves the memory of John Luther “Casey” Jones while offering generations of travelers a warm welcome to West Tennessee.
The story of Casey Jones Village begins with the fateful night of April 30, 1900, when Engineer Casey Jones was at the throttle of the Illinois Central Railroad’s Cannonball Express, racing south from Memphis toward Canton, Mississippi. Approaching Vaughan, Mississippi, Jones rounded a curve to find a stalled freight train blocking the track ahead and made the split-second decision to stay aboard and apply the brakes, ordering his fireman Sim Webb to jump to safety. Jones’s sacrifice slowed the train enough that every passenger survived, though Jones himself perished in the collision and became an American folk hero immortalized in the “Ballad of Casey Jones” written by his friend Wallace Saunders. Jones lived in Jackson with his wife Janie Brady Jones and their three children, and the home where the Jones family lived was relocated to the village property in 1980 and meticulously restored as the Casey Jones Home and Railroad Museum. The museum houses an extensive collection of railroad artifacts, including the actual bell from Jones’s engine, photographs, timetables, and personal belongings that bring the era of steam railroading vividly to life for visitors of all ages.
Jones’s cultural significance has extended far beyond railroad history into American folklore, with his story inspiring songs recorded by artists ranging from Johnny Cash to Pete Seeger, a popular 1950s television series, and appearances in countless children’s books that introduce new generations to the heroic engineer. The village itself has served the Jackson community for decades as both a tourist destination and a gathering place, hosting school field trips, family reunions, community events, and holiday celebrations that anchor the property’s role in the region’s social fabric. The Brooks Shaw’s Old Country Store opened on the site in 1965, founded by a Jackson businessman who recognized that travelers along the newly built Interstate 40 would appreciate a destination that combined dining, shopping, and Tennessee history in a single convenient location. Today the village employs more than 100 local residents and continues to operate as a privately owned enterprise that reinvests in preserving and expanding its historic exhibits and visitor amenities.
Visitors to Casey Jones Village can tour the Casey Jones Home and Railroad Museum, which occupies the restored family residence and a connected exhibition hall filled with railroad memorabilia, model train displays, and interactive exhibits suited for children and adults alike. The museum’s centerpiece is an authentic 1890s steam locomotive that visitors can climb aboard and explore, offering a tangible connection to the era when railroads were the backbone of American transportation and commerce. A short outdoor train ride on the Casey Jones Mini Express delights younger guests, while the museum’s theater screens a documentary recounting Jones’s life and the dramatic events of his final run in vivid detail. The Music Highway Crossroads exhibit within the museum celebrates Jackson’s location halfway between Nashville and Memphis, highlighting the city’s role in the development of rockabilly, blues, and country music through artifacts and listening stations.
Dining at the Old Country Store Restaurant is a quintessential part of the Casey Jones Village experience, where servers in period attire deliver heaping plates of southern comfort food including fried chicken, country ham, turnip greens, cornbread, and banana pudding from the legendary buffet line. The restaurant served more than 800,000 meals in a typical pre-pandemic year, making it one of the highest-volume independent restaurants in the state of Tennessee and a culinary landmark along the I-40 corridor. Shopping opportunities include the old country store itself, stocked with cast iron cookware, regional jams and preserves, handcrafted pottery, souvenirs, and a deep selection of Casey Jones branded merchandise. The Casey Jones Confectionery serves hand-dipped ice cream, old-fashioned sodas, fudge, and pralines made on site, while the adjacent Holiday Hearth Gallery features seasonal decorations, collectibles, and Christmas ornaments year-round.
Spring and fall are the most pleasant seasons for visiting Casey Jones Village, with daytime temperatures in the comfortable 60s and 70s Fahrenheit and the village’s outdoor spaces at their most inviting for strolling the grounds and enjoying the miniature train ride. April brings the annual Casey Jones Festival, featuring live bluegrass music, barbecue competitions, and railroad-themed activities for families that draw visitors from across the Mid-South region. Summer is the busiest travel season along Interstate 40, and the village sees peak crowds from Memorial Day through Labor Day as vacationing families include the attraction as a meal and stretch stop on their journeys between Nashville and Memphis. The summer heat, with temperatures routinely reaching the upper 80s and 90s, makes the air-conditioned museum and restaurant especially welcome midday refuges, and arriving before 11:00 AM or after 2:00 PM helps avoid the busiest buffet hours. Winter months from November through February bring lighter crowds and a quieter pace, with the gift shop and confectionery dressed for the Christmas season beginning in mid-November and special holiday menus offered at the restaurant. The village is open daily year-round except Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day, with museum hours from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM and the restaurant serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner from early morning until 9:00 PM.