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Introduction
NORTH MISSISSIPPI: Starting at the State’s northeastern corner, the historic Natchez Trace Parkway winds 640km (400 miles) through Mississippi, ending up at Natchez in the southwest and, as one writer put it, is ‘what God meant a highway to be’. Free of billboard advertising and commercial traffic, and with a speed limit of 50mph (80kmph), the parkway provides a scenic introduction to the delights of Mississippi and leads visitors down paths once trekked by buffalo, Native Americans and frontiersmen.
The largest city in north Mississippi, Tupelo is best known for its native son, Elvis Presley. Visitors can stop at Elvis Presley’s Birthplace, the humble two-room house where ‘the King’ was born, and the adjacent museum Times and Things Remembered, which contains rare photos and memorabilia.
To the west, Oxford is the picturesque town captured forever in the writings of William Faulkner. Faulkner’s house can be visited today and remains much as the literary giant left it, with the outline of his novel, A Fable, scrawled on his study wall.
Mississippi’s vibrant blues tradition can be sampled at the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale. The Delta Blues Festival, held the third Saturday in September in Greenville, further south, attracts the best Blues musicians in the world.
CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI: Jackson, Mississippi’s political and industrial heart, retains a small-town flavour, with a wealth of cultural attractions. At the Old Capitol Historical Museum, exhibits chronicle the Civil Rights movement, while the Smith Robertson Museum houses displays on African–American Mississippian history and heritage.
The city of Vicksburg lies on the Mississippi River west of Jackson and is a prime source of southern history. Some of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War took place on the site of the Vicksburg National Military Park. Here, on 4 July 1863, the Union victory helped the Yankees gain control of the Mississippi River, a crucial element in winning the war. Living history demonstrations and battle re-enactments every summer provide a fascinating insight into this dramatic period. In addition, dockside casinos offer entertainment on the Mississippi River and many antebellum homes can provide bed & breakfast accommodation.
The childhood of Jim Henson, creator of the Sesame Street and Muppets characters, can be remembered at Leland’s Birthplace of the Frog exhibition.
SOUTH MISSISSIPPI: Perched atop the bluffs of the Mississippi River, Natchez was spared major destruction in the Civil War. Today, over 500 historic buildings still stand, including mansions, churches and public buildings, providing a wonderful glimpse of pre-war life in the Deep South. Many of these graceful mansions contain original furnishings, while a good number offer bed & breakfast accommodation. Natchez-under-the-Hill, once notorious for its riverside gambling, is now a colourful area of pubs, gift shops, restaurants and dockside gaming.
The town that perhaps best typifies the Old South, Woodville is the location of Rosemount Plantation, the boyhood home of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. The town of Hattiesburg is famous for the All-American Rose Garden, which features 740 patented bushes.
MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST: There are 42km (26 miles) of sun-drenched sandy beaches on the coast, with many points of historic interest. Biloxi is the site of many pre-war buildings, including Beauvoir, the retirement home of Jefferson Davis. Biloxi is also the point of departure for daily cruises to Ship Island, location of Fort Massachusetts, a POW camp during the Civil War.
Copyright © 2003 Columbus Publishing Ltd.
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