Towns & Communities

Tie Whop

Tie Whop community, located 12 miles south of Decaturville on Highway 69 between Turnbow and Stewman's creeks, received its name from an unusual circumstance.  According to history a fisherman from Alabama floated down the Tennessee River in a houseboat and tied up at Garrett's Landing.  One foggy night a steam boat came down the river and tied up at the landing.  The fog was so dense the steamboat had to remain overnight.  The big, husky fisherman bought a keg of whiskey from the boat, and friends and foes began consuming the "white lightning".

Soon a raucous battle began.  The big fisherman was so strong that he would grab his opponent with a hold as they were tied up and then would "whop" him to the ground.  It is told that one bystander remarked, "The old fisherman tied them up and whopped them over the head".  The place became known as "Tie Whop Bottom".  Later, when the road came through the area, house were built on the hill land near the bottom.

 

From "Tennessee County History Series: Decatur County" by Lillye Younger 1979. ISBN 0-87870-077-3