Holmes County Courthouse /  by Will Jacks

The courthouse was designed by the Knoxville, TN, firm of Walter Chamberlin & Co. The present courthouse replaced a c.1850 courthouse that, is speculated, was designed by William Nichols.  The architecture of the building itself is worth a visit.

The courthouse played a significant role in the history of the Church of God in Christ. Bishop Charles H. Mason, founder, was arrested in Holmes County and jailed in the Courthouse.  A memorial in his honor is displayed in the basement of the courthouse.

Additionally, a historic marker recognizing Bishop Mason was erected on the courthouse grounds on October 16, 2015.

 

Catfish Museum & Visitors Center /  by Will Jacks

http://www.belzonims.com/thecatfishcapitol.htm

The Catfish Museum and Visitors Center is housed in an old railroad depot.  Indoor exhibits feature hand crafted displays by Mississippi artisans using paper relief, ceramics, metal and wood carvings, a video also explains the various aspects of catfish farming including constructing ponds, hatching eggs and seining. Outdoors a flower sculpture made of spawning cans welcomes visitors as they arrive.  Hatching tanks and seining nets complete the display by the entrance.  Last, but not least, is a miniature catfish pond featuring a 40 foot catfish fountain. "King Cat" reigns.


The Catfish Museum & Visitor Center is opened Monday -Friday, 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.  Admission is free.

 

Baptist Town /  by Will Jacks

Baptist Town in Greenwood, MS was a safe haven for bluesman and legendary artist like Honeyboy Edwards, Robert Johnson, and many more. According to Edwards, Baptist Town was a safe haven for a musician who wanted to escape work in the cotton fields, and both he and Johnson found places to stay here in 1938 on Young Street. They performed locally at the Three Forks juke joint where Johnson was allegedly poisoned by a jealous lover or her husband, and spent some of his final days on Young Street, Edwards recalled. Begin at Hoover’s Grocery Store and travel to the Back in the Day Museum located in Baptist town for visual artifacts and images of a time in southern Black history. Experience Baptist Towns very own Robert Johnson Blues Festival this April 30, 2016 for more of that rich blues culture.

 

Museum of the Mississippi Delta /  by Will Jacks

https://www.museumofthemississippidelta.com/

The Museum of the Mississippi Delta is at the crossroads of Delta history and art. The museum boasts a room dedicated to the agricultural history of our region with photographs and farming implements on display. A Civil War-era cannon and a model of the battle of nearby Fort Pemberton are featured in the Leflore County Military History exhibit, focusing on the effect of various wars on Greenwood and its citizens. Peek into the past to view life in the early Mississippi Delta, from colonial trade beads to the history of King Cotton and on to contemporary regional art.

 

Bridging the Blues /  by Will Jacks

Established in 2012, Bridging the Blues is an exciting series of music, food, and cultural events in late September and early October. Events take place in various locations throughout the Mississippi Delta region, as well as Memphis and Arkansas. Bridging the Blues offers a wide range of experiences seven days a week, including shows at local juke joints, small town arts festivals, and the International Conference on the Blues at Delta State University. Drawing thousands of tourists from around the United States and the world, Bridging the Blues is anchored by the King Biscuit Blues Festival in Helena, Arkansas, and the Mighty Mississippi Music Festival along the Mississippi River in Greenville, Mississippi.

Cotesworth Mansion /  by Will Jacks

http://cotesworthcenter.org/

One hundred and fifty years ago, Carroll County lawyer and future U.S. Senator James Zachariah George purchased several hundred acres of rolling farmland, including a roadside inn. He enlarged the structure into a stunning Greek Revival mansion and named it for his friend, Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Cotesworth Pinckney Smith. In the late 1880s, he added a landmark hexagonal library on the south lawn to house his vast collection of law books.

Cotesworth and its library remained in the George family for multiple generations. In 2013, Senator George’s great-granddaughter, Katharine Saunders Williams, deeded the home and several acres of land over to the non-profit group, Cotesworth Culture and Heritage Center, which had acquired the library in 2010.

 

Doe's Eat Place /  by Will Jacks

http://www.doeseatplace.com/

Doe's Eat Place was established in 1941 by Dominick "Doe" Signa and his wife Mamie. Doe's Father moved to Greenville in 1903 and opened a grocery store in the building that now serves as the restaurant. The family lived in a house behind the store. The grocery which the Signa Family called Papa's Store did well until the 1927 flood. After that, Big Doe Signa went into bootlegging to help the family get back on its feet. After several years he sold his 40 barrel still for $300.00 and a Model T Ford. Around 1941 Mamie received a partial recipe for hot tamales. She improved the recipe and began selling them. That was the beginning of Doe's.

At first Signa ran a honky tonk in the front part of the store. It was strictly for blacks. He had things like buffalo fish and chili. Ironically, the "carriage" trade arrived by the back door, like segregation in reverse. One of the local doctors began coming for a meal between calls. Big Doe would cook him up a steak and feed him in the back. Pretty soon the doctor brought another doctor then a lawyer and before he knew it Doe had a regular restaurant in the back. After calling in family and in-laws to help with his thriving restaurant, he eventually closed the honky tonk and focused on the eat place.

Big Doe Signa retired in 1974 and turned the business over to his sons Charles and Little Doe. Today they still carry on the family tradition of greeting customers in the front kitchen that was the original honky tonk. Though time has taken a toll on the building, it only adds to the atmosphere of dining at an old family restaurant where the true authenticity of the 1940's grocery and restaurant remains.

 

Jim Henson Museum /  by Will Jacks

The exhibit was given by Jane Henson and the The Jim Henson Legacy as “a gift to the people of Leland, MS” featuring a tableau honoring Kermit the Frog’s beginnings on Deer Creek. Everyone is invited to join the celebration with a visit to Leland where Jim spent his formative years developing his creativity and love of nature on the banks of beautiful Deer Creek – The Birthplace of Kermit the Frog.

 

BB King Museum /  by Will Jacks

http://www.bbkingmuseum.org/

An exciting cultural center anchored by an early 20th century brick cotton gin, the B.B. King Museum is dedicated to the celebration and presentation of the life and hard work of B.B. King and the music and history of the Mississippi

Delta. With 20,000 square feet of modern exhibit space, the B.B. King Museum includes thousands of rare artifacts, award-winning film, computer interactives, and a story that will give your emotions a workout. The B.B. King Museum also offers art, music, and health workshops in the AT&T Learning Center as well as special performances in the state-of-the-art theater for the community. After his death in May 2015, B.B. was laid to rest on the grounds of the museum, and visitors can come reflect on his legacy as a world-renowned musician and humble gentleman.

 

Mississippi River Boat Launch /  by Will Jacks

Mississippi River Boat Launch and Overlook – locally known as “the Asphalt”, you can dip your feet in the Mississippi River at this spot.  Travel across the levee at Mayersville and the woods suddenly open up to a view of the Mighty Mississippi. If you’re lucky you may catch some tow boats passing by. (During high water, the road is not passable)

 

Vicksburg National Military Park /  by Will Jacks

http://www.nps.gov/vick/index.htm

"Vicksburg is the nail head that holds the South's two halves together...Vicksburg is the key"

Two statements, two Presidents, both aware of the importance of the city on the Mississippi River. President Davis knew it was vital to hold the city for the Confederacy to survive. President Lincoln wanted the key to gain control of the river and divide the South. Vicksburg National Military Park commemorates this campaign and its significance as a critical turning point of the Civil War.

 

Blue Front Cafe /  by Will Jacks

The Blue Front Cafe opened in 1948, making it the oldest juke joint in Mississippi in continuous operation, under the ownership of Carey and Mary Holmes, an African American couple from Bentonia. In its heyday, the Blue Front was famed for its buffalo fish, blues, and moonshine whiskey. One of the couple’s sons, Bentonia blues legend Jimmy "Duck" Holmes, took over the Café in 1970 and continues to operate it today. The Cafe is the center of the famed Bentonia School, a style of blues unique to Bentonia, made famous in the 1960s by Nehemiah "Skip" James.

 

Glenwood Cemetery /  by Will Jacks

Glenwood Cemetery dates back to at least 1856. A simple marker is placed before a large plot near the creek designating a mass Confederate grave. Located not far from the fountain in Glenwood is a grave, surrounded by chain links, known as “The Witch’s Grave.” The legend of the Witch that burned Yazoo City in 1904 was made famous in a book written by Willie Morris, a celebrated Mississippi author. Morris’ grave is located 13 steps south of the Witch’s grave. Glenwood was voted the second "Spookiest Cemetery in the US" in a HuffPost Travel poll in 2012. Tours available.

 

Delta National Forest /  by Will Jacks

The only bottomland hardwood forest in the National forest system, Delta National Forest is a glimpse of how the Delta must have appeared to early settlers of the region. Contained within its 60,000 acres are primitive campsites, miles of ATV, hiking and horse trails, paddling opportunities and a host of wildlife. Spring and Fall provide wonderful birdwatching opportunities, and in the hot summer months, the forest becomes filled with butterflies of all varieties.  Hunting is allowed in season, State WMA regulations apply.

 

Mississippi Blues Trail /  by Will Jacks

www.msbluestrail.org

Acknowledged widely as the place where the Blues began, the Mississippi Delta region boasts more Mississippi Blues Trail markers than any other region in the state. The Mississippi Blues Trail markers tell stories through words and images of Bluesmen and women and how the places where they lived and the times in which they existed – and continue to exist – influenced their music. Sites run the gamut from city streets to cotton fields, train depots to cemeteries, and clubs to churches. As a testament to the national and global influence of Blues music and culture, a dozen Mississippi Blues Trail markers are located outside the state of Mississippi, including international markers in Cahors, France, and Notodden, Norway.

MDNHA Passport Program /  by Will Jacks

As a National Park Service partner, the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area participates in the Passport to Your National Parks program. MDNHA passport stations are located in each of the MDNHA's 18 counties and are available through cultural, tourism, and municipal organizations. Passport stamp collectors who successfully gather stamps from all 18 counties are eligible to receive the MDNHA’s NPS Centennial Passport t-shirt as a prize for traveling the entire MDNHA. For the complete list of passport station locations, visit http://www.msdeltaheritage.com/ms-delta-national-heritage-area-mdnha-passport/. 

McRaven Tour Home /  by Will Jacks

http://www.mcraventourhome.com/

Named Mississippi's most haunted house, visit McRaven where ghostly demeanor has been broadcast on A&E, The Travel Channel, 48 Hours and "Look Around Mississippi." Step back into time in Vicksburg's finest totally authentic pre-Civil War home with the most complete way-of-life tour. Built in three different time periods, every room is lavishly furnished with museum-quality antiques including a pioneer kitchen. National Geographic magazine called it the "Time Capsule of the South." Stroll through the three-acre gardens once a Confederate campsite and field hospital. Discover and experience the famous and infamous people of McRaven and why their spirits have never left.

 

Train Coal Tower /  by Will Jacks

In the heyday of rail traffic, locomotives were steam powered and fueled by way of structures such as this in Lambert. The original one built in the 1800s was made of wood, but this concrete structure was built in the early 1900s and served its purpose until the mid-twentieth century when the fuel of choice became diesel. Because of the high cost of demolition, a few of these iconic towers remain in place and are often sought out by railfans for photo opportunities.