John Luther Jones, who we know as "Casey Jones" was born March 14, 1864 in Fulton County Kentucky, the son of a school teacher. He was a restless boy and at the age of 17 he walked the "ties" to Cayce where he found his first job. By the time he was 30 years old, Jones had moved from "helper" for a Mobile & Ohio Telegraph office to passenger engineer on the Illinois Central, a very important job in those years. Along the way he picked up the nickname of "Casey" because it was his home town.

While he was still working for Mobile & Ohio he moved to Jackson Tennessee. On the morning of April 30, 1900 he was given the assignment - Old 382, the Cannon Ball. The man who prided himself in always being on-time was one hour and 35 minutes late, leaving Memphis, headed to Canton Miss. While driving through a thick fog near Vaughn Mississippi he saw a freight train a few feet ahead on his track. He quickly ordered his Negro fireman, Sim Webb, to jump off the train. Casey knew there was no way he could avoid the crash, but he kept his hand on the throttle, he kept the train on the tracks and saved the passengers in the 6 cars that followed his engine.

They recovered his burned and scalded body and brought it back to Jackson for burial. It became the custom of all the engineers, of all the trains that passed by the cemetery to "salute" him. The son that is so familiar to all of us today came out of the legend of Casey Jones. Nobody really knows where the words came from - and it was Edward Newton who put it to music and published it. The legend says it was a Negro worker in Memphis, whose name was Wallace Saunders, who first gave voice to the tragedy, who formed the words and gave the songs its popularity. The more it was sung, the more it grew and the verses were added as the singers felt the need to sing them.

After Casey's death, Mrs. Jones established a boarding house for railroad men near the Illinois Central shops and yards in Jackson and there raised her children; Charles, Helen and John Lloyd. Her hospitality, along with the fact that she was known to most of the men, assured a thriving business so that "Mrs. Jones Boarding House" in Jackson was well known and well patronized for many years.

In Jackson Tennesse, here in Madison County, Casey Jones still lives in the hearts of many of our citizens. To some he is a hero and to others he is the man didn't obey the signals. But the only person to pay the price for his own carelessness that night was Casey himself. What could have been a horrible tragedy was averted because of the bravery of this man. He could have saved himself and jumped to safety, but he didn't, he held firm, he slowed the train down and was the only person to die that night. To this writer he will remain a hero.

The museum in Jackson Tennessee is a constant tribute to Casey Jones. The home where he and his family had lived in now holds the history of his past. His widow, Janie Brady Jones, cut the ribbon on opening day in 1956. We are proud to call him ours.