How a Tennessee Town and Its Skillets Became the Heart of America’s Cornbread Festival

How Lodge Cast Iron and South Pittsburg turned a simple skillet—and a love of cornbread—into one of America’s most unique community celebrations.

By American Made Stories

South Pittsburg, Tennessee

Updated 2025

Every spring, the quiet town of South Pittsburg, Tennessee, fills with music, food, laughter, and the unmistakable aroma of freshly baked cornbread. Tens of thousands gather for the National Cornbread Festival—a celebration born from the bond between a centuries-old Southern staple and one of America’s most beloved manufacturers: Lodge Cast Iron.

“It’s more than a festival—it’s a gathering of community, craft, and the cast iron tradition.”

A Festival Born from Skillets

In the mid-1990s, South Pittsburg needed a way to bring new life to its historic downtown. At the same time, Lodge Cast Iron—founded in 1896 and now one of the longest-running cast iron foundries in the nation—was growing into an icon of American cookware.

The town had heritage. Lodge had history. Both had cornbread. And so, in 1997, the National Cornbread Festival was born.

Today, streets close down, food competitors fire up their skillets, families explore craft booths, and visitors line up for tours of the Lodge foundry. Children run lemonade stands. Churches host bake sales. And cast iron—heavy, seasoned, and timeless—becomes the vessel for connection.

Why Cornbread? Why Cast Iron?

Across Appalachia and the American South, cornbread has long been a symbol of hospitality and home. And no tool carries that tradition like a cast iron skillet. Lodge understood this. Generations grew up baking cornbread in pans handed down from parents and grandparents.

The festival honors that history. Visitors participate in recipe competitions, take on the Cornbread 5K, and watch skilled cooks produce golden, crisp wedges in skillets warmed by flame and tradition.

The Skillets That Made It Possible

Behind the charm of the festival lies the beating heart of South Pittsburg: the Lodge foundry. Inside the plant, sand molds are filled with molten iron just as they were more than a century ago. Sparks fly. Conveyor belts rattle. Workers monitor temperatures, inspect pours, and carry on a craft that blends grit with precision.

Many employees represent multiple generations of foundry workers—parents, grandparents, and now their children. For them, Lodge isn’t just a brand. It’s a legacy that supports families and bolsters a community’s identity.

What Other Companies Don’t Have

Plenty of cookware companies sell pans. Few inspire a festival.

Lodge is woven so deeply into South Pittsburg’s story that the town celebrates not just cornbread, but the craft and people who make the cookware possible. The festival is proof that when a company invests in its community—and the community invests back—something special happens.