Charley Patton Grave — Holly Ridge, Mississippi

Charley Patton is buried at New Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church in Holly Ridge, Bolivar County, Mississippi — a small churchyard a few miles from Dockery Farms where he spent much of his performing life. Patton died on 28 April 1934, reportedly of a heart condition, and was buried in the churchyard near the Delta community he had inhabited for decades. His grave went unmarked for years; a headstone was eventually installed in 1990, funded in part by John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival. A Mississippi Blues Trail marker now stands at the site acknowledging Patton as the 'Father of the Delta Blues.'

Charley Patton is arguably the most important single figure in the history of Delta blues — the musician who, more than any other, defined what Delta blues was before it was recorded or named. He lived and performed around Dockery Farms in Bolivar County from around 1900 onwards, playing for both Black and white audiences at picnics, dances, and juke joints with an intensity and showmanship — playing guitar behind his head, between his legs, throwing the instrument in the air — that influenced virtually every Delta musician who came after him. Son House, Howlin' Wolf, Robert Johnson, and Bukka White all heard and absorbed Patton. His recordings for Paramount Records from 1929 onwards documented a sound that had been forming for decades.

The grave at New Jerusalem Church is a place of pilgrimage for serious blues enthusiasts. Holly Ridge is a small community in Bolivar County, close to Dockery Farms on Highway 8. The churchyard is accessible and the headstone and Blues Trail marker are visible from the road. Visitors to the area typically combine the Charley Patton grave with a stop at Dockery Farms, which is a few miles to the west.