McEwen, Tennessee: Home of the World's Largest Outdoor Barbecue (and Not Much Else to Distract You)

If you've ever driven U.S. Route 70 between Nashville and the Tennessee River and thought, "I wonder what's in that town I'm blowing past at 55 miles per hour," congratulations. You've just met McEwen, Tennessee. Population: about 1,600. Vibe: smoke, steeples, and a surprisingly strong opinion about barbecue sauce.

The Pork Capital Nobody Asked For (But Everyone Showed Up To)

Let's start with the flex. McEwen is the home of the St. Patrick's Irish Picnic, and in the early 1980s, the Guinness Book of World Records listed the Irish Picnic as the "World's Largest Outdoor Barbecue." The record-setting year was no small potatoes (or small pork shoulders). It featured tons of pork and thousands of chicken halves, and saw a crowd far bigger than the town itself.

Read that again. A town of under 2,000 people has, on a good weekend, hosted a crowd many times its own size, all in the name of smoked pig.

The picnic is a fundraiser for the local St. Patrick's church, which makes it the rare record-holder powered by pure parish determination. It's held in July, which means you'll be eating hot barbecue in Tennessee heat. Bring napkins. Bring a fan. Bring your faith.

And the sauce? It's a secret recipe. Nothing says "authentic Tennessee barbecue" like a closely guarded family formula.

The picnic's résumé gets even better. The town served as the backdrop for Tracy Byrd's "Watermelon Crawl." Few towns this size can claim a line-dancing music video. McEwen peaked, and it peaked with flair.

A Town Built by Irish Railroad Workers (Hence the Picnic, Hence the Name Confusion)

Here's where the roast gets a little history lesson. McEwen exists because of the railroad. Irish immigrants who helped build the Nashville and Northwestern Railroad later settled the town of McEwen. That's why a Middle Tennessee town has a Catholic church-run Irish festival. Geography is weird; immigration is weirder.

The early days were humble. McEwen began as a railroad station. A depot and a guy selling butter and eggs. Honestly, the town's bar for "downtown" has always been low, and it has always cleared it.

Then there's the name. McEwen honors Robert Houston McEwen. In a state that seceded last, naming your town after a guy is either a profile in courage or a clerical error. Locals have been known to tell a gentler story about a civil engineer, because why let a good controversy get in the way of a nice historical marker?

What There Is To Do (Besides Eat)

McEwen sits in eastern Humphreys County, and U.S. Route 70 passes through the center of the city, leading east to Dickson and west to Waverly, the county seat. So yes, the town's main street is a highway. The "downtown" is a handful of restaurants, auto and hardware businesses, and a grocery store. Locals will tell you church is about the only nightlife, and honestly, with a parish this good at barbecue, that's not nothing.

The town is small, so you can see everything in McEwen in the time it takes to say "Is that a Dairy Queen?" (Verify before you build an itinerary around it.)

If you want more than a drive-through experience, the surrounding area helps. Humphreys County sits among the Tennessee, Duck and Buffalo Rivers, so boating, fishing, and camping are all within reach. Nearby, the Johnsonville Historic State Park and Humphreys County Museum and Civil War Fort will round out a day trip.

The Not-So-Funny Part: Resilience

A good roast knows when to put down the mic. McEwen and neighboring Waverly were hit hard by the August 2021 floods. Especially hard hit was Waverly, where many homes and businesses were destroyed by floodwaters along Trace Creek. Twenty people were killed throughout the county.

That context matters when you hear that "the people are nice." Small towns like this rebuild with casseroles, chainsaws, and stubbornness. A community that can feed thousands of people on a church budget can handle a lot.

Should You Visit McEwen, Tennessee?

Absolutely, if you time it right. Show up in July for the Irish Picnic, eat your weight in pork, and wave at the locals who are definitely being nice and probably discussing you at the post office. Stay for the history, the rivers nearby, and the quiet pride of a town that refuses to be just a dot on Route 70.

Think we were too nice? See the full roast on RoastMyTown.com.