TENNESSEE WILLIAMS RECTORY MUSEUM
106 Sharkey Avenue | Clarksdale, MS | 38614
Please Note - The museum is currently open by appointment and during festivals.
To schedule a visit, please text 646-465-1578 at least 24 hours ahead of your stay in Clarksdale.
Clarksdale is the childhood home of one of America’s most performed playwrights, Tom “Tennessee” Williams.
Young Tom’s grandfather, Rev. Walter E. Dakin served as rector of St. George’s Episcopal Church from 1917-1931. Williams lived with his grandparents in Clarksdale for several years, and then visited regularly as he grew up. The church is still active today, and the former rectory is now the church office and home of the Tennessee Williams Rectory Museum.
Williams drew on his Clarksdale neighbors for famous character names such as Blanche, Stella, Brick, Baby Doll, Cutrer, and Wingfield, many of whom were members of his grandfather's congregation. Their stories are told in the Tennessee Williams Rectory Museum.
Williams’ plays and films set in or influenced by the Mississippi Delta include: SPRING STORM, BATTLE OF ANGELS, THE GLASS MENAGERIE, A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, SUMMER AND SMOKE, CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF, 27 WAGONS FULL OF COTTON, THIS PROPERTY IS CONDEMNED, ORPHEUS DESCENDING, THE ECCENTRICITIES OF A NIGHTINGALE, BABY DOLL, KINGDOM OF EARTH and THE LOSS OF A TEARDROP DIAMOND as well as many other short plays, stories and poems.
Williams’ plays have won two Pulitzer prizes. More of his plays have been made into Hollywood movies than any other playwright except Shakespeare. THE GLASS MENAGERIE, A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, and CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF are consistently included on lists of the greatest plays of all time.
If you visit in mid October, please join us for the annual 3-day Mississippi Delta Tennessee Williams Festival, held in Clarksdale since 1992, which includes site-specific performances by local and visiting actors; historic tours; panels and talks by Williams scholars; dinners and parties; the student Tennessee Williams monologue and scene competition; and, Porch Plays performed on porches in Clarksdale’s historic district. The festival is free and open to the public. For the next festival dates & schedule please visit www.DeltaWilliamsFestival.com.