Shack Up Inn recycles the history of sharecropping

By Jayne Clark, USA TODAY

Like its rough-hewn cabins, the Shack Up Inn rose from humble beginnings.

The enterprise began in 1998 when Bill Talbot and some cohorts transported two sharecroppers' cabins to a former 3,800-acre cotton plantation in the Mississippi Delta with the idea of attracting musicians seeking inspiration from the blues traditions of the region.

Now, they're putting finishing touches on a fifth shack, a sixth opens in April, and Talbot unabashedly proclaims the Shack Up Inn as Mississippi's oldest B&B.

"That's bed and beer," he quips. "We don't fool with breakfast."

The newest shack, dedicated to blues man Pinetop Perkins (who once worked this land), boasts copper ceilings salvaged from rejected circuit-board material, kitchen cabinets made of old church pews and "some good-looking boards. It's going to be a great shack," Talbot says.

The Shack Up Inn is to the typical B&B what beef jerky is to a standing rib roast. It's no frills, no fuss. (The first lace doily only recently made its way into a cabin — appropriately, the Fullilove Shack.) Which is not to imply the place is lacking in sentimentality.

Talbot says he and his four partners are preserving a piece of history that is fast disappearing from the flat expanses of the Delta.

"There used to be sharecroppers' shacks on every 40 acres. Ten, 20, 30 in a row," he says.

In the early 20th century, a hundred families lived on the former Hopson Plantation outside Clarksdale, Miss., 70 miles south of Memphis. But the mechanized cotton picker (which, incidentally, was invented on the plantation in 1944) drastically reduced demand for human labor. After sharecroppers left to find work elsewhere, their homes deteriorated. Many were torn down for the cypress wood.

"It ages very well," Talbot says.

The inn seems to be aging well, too. The establishment doesn't advertise. It isn't even listed in the phone book. Not even the havoc of Sept. 11 has slowed bookings.

Among the guests are musicians and European blues fanatics. African-Americans come, too.

And though he acknowledges that the very concept has the whiff of political incorrectness, he never intended to capitalize on the impoverishment of former inhabitants. "We're honoring the people who were able to endure this."

Blues history is a big draw for African-American travelers, says Thomas Dorsey, whose Soul of America Web site focuses on places of particular interest to African-Americans. "I just hope he's taking some historical note in how he's doing his renovations and not making it faux Disneyland."

Indeed, the shacks' exteriors maintain their architectural purity. But guests, who pay $50 to $70 a night, endure fewer discomforts than the original occupants. Plumbing, air conditioning and video players are standard issue. Interiors are a creative mishmash of recycled materials. Pieces of retractable bleachers from Germantown (Tenn.) High School are found in crown moldings, chair rails and a kitchen wall.

The proprietors turn a discerning eye to flea markets and estate sales, but not just any old item will do. "Not everything is shack-worthy," Talbot says.

The Shack Up Inn is near Clarksdale, Miss., four miles from the crossroads of Highways 49 and 61. Information: 662-624-8329; http://www.shackupinn.com/.