Clower. And in Sparta, population about 150, a marker

honors the Sparta Opry. The Friday night performances

here are classic country, with a little rock and gospel

mixed in for something extra.

Culinary Trail

From the Hill Country to the Coast, restaurants make

travel in Mississippi a culinary adventure. Catfish and

tamales rule in the Delta, at places such as Airport

Grocery in Cleveland and The Donut Shop (yes, it

serves tamales) in Natchez. Seafood and barbecue

take the spotlight on the Coast, as exemplified by

the Blow Fly Inn in Gulfport and The Shed BBQ in

Gulfport and Ocean Springs.

Traditional favorites include the Crystal Grill and

Lusco’s in Greenwood, and The Little Dooey for barbecue in Starkville. Restaurants

owned by nationally known Mississippi chefs include Ty Thames’ Restaurant Tyler in Starkville; John

Currence’s City Grocery, Bourè, Big Bad Breakfast and Snackbar in Oxford; and Robert St. John’s

Crescent City Grill, Mahogany Bar, Purple Parrot Cafe and Tabella in Hattiesburg.

For a quick stop, try Brent’s Soda Fountain and the Farmers Market Grille in Jackson, the

Dutch Oven in Clarksdale, and Paul’s Pastry Shop in Picayune, the largest shipper of Mardi Gras

king cakes in the country.

Mississippi Freedom Trail

It’s said that the Civil Rights Movement began in Money, Mississippi, where 14-year-old Emmett Till

was murdered for supposedly flirting with a white woman. The grocery store where the incident was

reported to have happened, now empty and falling into decay, is on the Mississippi Heritage Trust’s list

of most endangered places. It’s also one of the sites on the Mississippi Freedom Trail.

The trail also includes Medgar Evers’ House in Jackson, where the state’s first field secretary for the

NAACP was assassinated, and the drug store in Clarksdale owned by Aaron Henry, a civil rights activist

who later was elected to the State Legislature. The newest of Mississippi’s official trails, this one

touches every corner of the state, and the hearts and minds of us all.

Mississippi Literary Trail

Think of Mississippi literature, and three names immediately come to mind: William

Faulkner, Eudora Welty and Tennessee Williams. Others soon follow: Larry Brown,

Shelby Foote, John Grisham, Barry Hannah, Greg Iles, Willie Morris, Walker Percy,

Richard Wright and Thomas Harris, plus many more.

The place to begin a literary tour of the state is in Oxford, birthplace of novelist Larry

Brown and part-time home to best-selling author John Grisham. William Faulkner

made his home here also, at Rowan Oak, now a museum.

The city welcome center in Columbus is housed in the Victorian home where

Tennessee Williams was born. Each September the city hosts a Tennessee Williams

Tribute and Tour of Victorian Homes. Clarksdale, where Williams also lived as a

child, has a Mississippi Delta Tennessee Williams Festival each fall.

Read any of Greg Iles’ books and you’ll recognize landmarks in and around

Natchez, his hometown. And don’t miss Eudora Welty’s home and garden in

Jackson. It looks as if she might have just stepped out and could return any

moment to welcome you to the rich literary culture of her home state.

Robert Johnson grave site, Greenwood 1)

Elvis Presley statue, Tupelo 2)

Medgar Evers 3)

William Faulkner statue, Oxford 4)

The Little Dooey, Starkville 5)

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Follow the Trails Through Mississippi

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