Mississippi Roots

An Insightful Guide to the Most Southern of States

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Holly Springs National Forest

What a gorgeous view of bottomland hardwood forest near Ashland. This forest, located just an hour southeast of Memphis, provides opportunities for hiking, biking, fishing, camping and more. 

photo by gary bridgman (cc by-sa-3.0)

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While I’m Here: 83-Year-Old Bluesman Leo ‘Bud’ Welch (Part of The Legacy Project series by Brent Foster)

More proof that it is possible to keep rockin’ late in life.

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Willie Morris

But as a boy gets older, unless he has special inner resources, or a tailbone made of sheet-iron, or unless he gets saved by Billy Graham at twilight in a football stadium, the simple small-town faith starts wearing thin. One cannot move along at a crisp rate on a steady diet of salvation. With me the old-time religion gradually began to wither not as a result of the exercises of brain cells, or the enlightenment of civilized discourse, for I would not have known what this was, but from plain human boredom.

- Willie Morris, North Toward Home

Meditations from a Southern son and one of the great Mississippi authors of the 20th century. Go out and give his book a read if you haven’t already.

photo by USDAgov on flickr (cc by-nd 2.0)

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photos by visit mississippi on flickr (cc by-nd 2.0)

Tishomingo State Park, located on mile marker 304 of the Natchez Trace Parkway in northeast Mississippi, is a premier destination for hiking, canoeing and camping in the mid-South. Named after the leader of the Chickasaw nation, Chief Tishomingo, the park is located in the extreme southern foothills of the Appalachian mountain range and features large rock formations found nowhere else in the state. Day use fees are $4 per person at the park, which offers 13 miles of nature trails, a disc golf course, playground and onsite picnic facilities. Additionally, rock climbing is also available - see park staff for a permit.

[lostlanguagesphotos-blog]

Delta Churches In Double Exposure by Charles Sullivan II

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Beautiful photos from the Delta.

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Clay, who died Friday in Chicago, made a name for himself as an R&B singer with hits like "Trying to Live my Life Without You" and "A Lasting Love." Originally broadcast in 1999.

Archived interview recording of Otis Clay with Terry Gross on NPR’s Fresh Air. Clay was raised in Waxhaw, MS and died last Friday at 73 years old.

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Jacinto Courthouse

If you find yourself in northeast Mississippi with a little time to spare, drop by the old Jacinto Courthouse near Rienzi, Mississippi. Once the county seat of old Tishomingo County, Jacinto was a thriving town in its early years before being bypassed to the north by the railroad line that would serve Corinth, Iuka and points east and west. Later, when Tishomingo County was split into three counties (Alcorn, Prentiss & Tishomingo) during Reconstruction, Jacinto continued its political and economic decline and soon became a ghost town. This 1854 Federal-style courthouse is now all that remains.

Tours of this historical structure will resume in 2016 thanks to the work of volunteers at the Jacinto Foundation. For more information or to organize a tour, call Beth Whitehurst, Executive Director of the Jacinto Foundation, at 662-286-8662. Visitors may also visit the grounds and use the picnic tables onsite at no charge.

Photo by Cohee @ Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

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Mississippi is well represented among the nominations for the 58th Annual GRAMMY Awards, which will take place on February 15, 2016, broadcast live by CBS at 8/7CT.

Looking for some new music? Why not start with what’s hot out of Mississippi right now? Visit Mississippi has made it easy by breaking out which of this year’s GRAMMY nominees have Mississippi roots. That list includes Cedric Burnside, grandson of R.L. Burnside and a celebrated artist in his own right - check out his music here:

Enjoy!

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Want a cheap meal? Some corn meal? Get both on the Tamale Trail, a great resource available from the folks at Southern Foodways Alliance. One more thing to discover on your way through the Delta. Check out their map of vendors and locations across the Delta!

photo by lucianvenutian on flickr