Long before an artifact show in Carroll County was ever planned, the late Jimmy French of Hollow Rock imagined one.
This month, his vision will finally take shape as collectors from across the region gather at the inaugural Jimmy French Memorial Artifact Show, celebrating the legacy of one of the area’s most respected artifact enthusiasts.
The free event will be held Saturday, August 30, from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Carroll County Civic Center in Huntingdon.
For French’s wife, Carol Sue, seeing the show take place is deeply meaningful.
“This has never been done in Carroll County before,” Carol Sue said. “It would mean the world to Jimmy to see all these people come together to honor the history he loved.”
Co-Organizer JB Hampton said the event has drawn strong interest from across the region.
“Everybody in the artifact community knew him,” Hampton said. “He was respected all over Tennessee and surrounding states.”
Jimmy’s passion for artifact collecting began as a teenager walking plowed fields in Carroll and Benton counties.
“When he was a young boy, before he even knew the value of Indian relics, he’d play with them in the fields after they were plowed,” Carol Sue said. “Once he understood their history, it became a part of his life that he loved so much.”
Over the decades, he built an impressive collection and became a lifelong student of the region’s Indigenous history.
“He learned everything he could about it,” Carol Sue explained. “He searched and researched and had books everywhere about the Indians, how they lived here, how they hunted, and how they survived.”
Jimmy co-founded a local archaeological society that connected collectors across Carroll, Benton, and Humphreys counties.
According to Carol Sue, he had long dreamed of hosting an artifact show in Carroll County, and had begun working to make it happen.
“Even when he was sick, we went and bought material to maybe do some display tables. He wanted so bad to get it going.”
Illness prevented the idea from moving forward during his lifetime, but now that dream will become a reality.
“It’s a blessing to see it finally happen,” Carol Sue said. “I know he would be smiling to see everyone coming together over something he loved so much.”
The inaugural Jimmy French Memorial Artifact Show will feature a raffle, a food truck, and a variety of displays, with all entries required to be personal finds.
More than 100 tables of displays are already booked.
Awards will be given for Best of Show Display, Best of Show Individual Point, Best Recent Find, and Best Featured Point Type.
According to Hampton, every child who attends will receive a free arrowhead.
The Carroll County Civic Center is located at 201 Fairgrounds Road in Huntingdon.
For more information about the show, contact JB Hampton at 731-358-1288 or Tony Mills at 731-645-6314.
“Jimmy loved people,” Carol Sue said. “It didn’t matter who you were, by the time you left, you were friends. That’s part of what made this such a big part of his life, and why this show in his honor means so much.”
What a special honor for a special man. I know he is smiling down.