Bootheel - Culture and Economy

Culture and Economy

The Bootheel is on the edge of the Mississippi Delta culture that produced the Delta blues. Its relatively large black population makes it distinct from the rest of rural Missouri, and the area has a unique rural black culture reflected in its music, churches and other traditions. The black population ranges from about 26% in Pemiscot County, to 15% in New Madrid County and about 9% in Dunklin County.

The Bootheel once had a reputation for lawlessness. Remote settlements along the river banks, miles from paved roads, provided an ideal environment (and market) for moonshining and bootlegging.

Culturally, the Bootheel is considered more Southern than Midwestern. It is part of the Mid-South, a region focused on the Memphis metropolitan area. Definitions of the Mid-South vary but in general include west Tennessee, north Mississippi, northeast Arkansas, and the Missouri Bootheel. The locations of the region's television stations reflect this:

• the CBS and Fox affiliates are located in Cape Girardeau,
• the ABC affiliate is located in Harrisburg, Illinois, and
• the NBC affiliate is in Paducah, Kentucky.

The farther south in the Bootheel, the more pronounced is residents' identification with the South. The network television affiliates in Memphis, Tennessee, which is the largest city for 200 miles, or in Jonesboro, Arkansas, often have a greater audience than those in Illinois, Kentucky, or Cape Girardeau.

Economically, the area is one of the more impoverished parts of Missouri and does not enjoy the benefits of tourism in the nearby Ozark Mountains. There is some manufacturing, but the area is primarily agricultural. Because of its alluvial past, the area's rich soil is ideal for growing soybeans, rice and cotton. Some "truck crops" are grown, most notably various types of melons, especially watermelons. A limited amount of livestock is raised, and in contrast to much of the rest of Missouri, there are very few fences.

No large cities are located in the Bootheel. Sizable towns include Kennett (the birthplace of singers Sheryl Crow, Trent Tomlinson, and David Nail) and Sikeston (the birthplace of professional athletes James Wilder, Brandon Barnes, and Blake DeWitt), which is partially in Scott County and New Madrid County. Cape Girardeau and Poplar Bluff are often grouped together with the bootheel due to the influence the two cities have had on the development of the region, despite not being in the physical area of the bootheel. Hornersville, a small town in southern Dunklin County, was home to William H. "Major" Ray, a one-time 19th-century circus "midget". He later became known as the representative of the Buster Brown shoe brand. He and his wife, Jennie, are buried in a cemetery in Hornersville.

The small towns of Senath and Arbyrd are also located in Dunklin County. They are home to a locally celebrated ghost light, sometimes called the "Senath Light" or "Arbyrd light". It occurs between these two towns and closer to Hollywood near the Lulu Church and Cemetery.

The Missouri Bootheel is the home place of two members of the musical group the Kentucky Headhunters, Doug and Ricky Phelps. They received their education at Southland C-9, the consolidated schools of Arbyrd and Cardwell, Missouri. They performed at the Cotton Pickin Festival in the small town of Arbyrd; a place where they spent much time while growing up. They both performed as Brother Phelps, and then Doug came back and performed with The Kentucky Headhunters. This festival is a major attraction and draws a huge crowd for a town of only about 550 people. Other prominent acts at Arbyrd include T. Graham Brown and the Bellamy Brothers.

Also in the northern part of Dunklin County lies the town of Malden, the home of country/rockabilly singer Narvel Felts. Felts' music has played worldwide, as he continues to tour. George (Richardson) Richey is a well-known country music producer. Richey was married to Tammy Wynette. Tammy came to claim Malden as her own and appeared annually at the Fourth of July celebrations for years.

During the American Civil War, a number of battles took place in this area, most notably the Battle of Island No. 10.