Mississippi

From the hills to the coast, the people of Mississippi have stories to tell. Most would never guess that Raleigh, Mississippi, once played host to the National Tobacco Spitting Contest. Over in Okolona, children are told of the man who lived--and died--deep down in a hole and scared passersby. From the gandy dancers who built the first train tracks in Mississippi to the eight-foot-tall man who lived in the woods of Columbia, read tales that range from common myth to a good bit of righteous gossip. Author and storyteller Diane Williams traveled across the Magnolia State to gather these local legends and has compiled them into an inquisitive, laugh-out-loud collection.

Biloxi's beaches and casinos make the city a haven for Gulf Coast tourists. And since it's one of America's oldest communities, local residents have seen many iconic treasures come and go. Before Hurricane Katrina, more than 150 historical structures dotted the area. Of those, 60 were lost to the devastating storm, including the Father Ryan House, built in the early 1840s. In 1969, Hurricane Camille flattened the Baldwin Wood Lighthouse. Other structures like Biloxi City Hall on Main Street faded away with the passage of time, having stood resolute for decades. Author Edmond Boudreaux recalls Biloxi's most significant and cherished landmarks.

Itawamba County takes its name from Chief Itawamba, a prominent leader of the Chickasaw Indians. Formed in 1836 from ceded Chickasaw Indian lands, the county was settled by hardy, industrious pioneers seeking new opportunities in a new land. The legacy of these hardworking settlers continues with the photographic history portrayed in Images of America: Itawamba County. Beautiful and immense hardwood forests that provided shelter for its pioneers later became the source of a logging boom, with sawmills and oxen being a familiar sight. Life in Itawamba County was not all work and no play, however. The county has a rich musical heritage: local musician Jordan Cockrell won first place in the World Championship Fiddling Contest held at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis; the "First Lady of Country Music," Tammy Wynette, and jazz great Jimmie Lunceford, known as the "King of Syncopation," were both born here; and the roots of the "King of Rock and Roll," Elvis Presley, go deep in Itawamba County.

Although many bluesmen began leaving the Magnolia State in the early twentieth century to pursue fortune and fame up north, many others stayed home.

These musicians remained rooted to the traditions of their land, which came to define a distinctive playing style unique to Mississippi. They didn't simply play the blues, they lived it. Travel through the hallowed juke joints and cotton fields with author Roger Stolle as he recounts the history of Mississippi blues and the musicians who have kept it alive. Some of these bluesmen remain to carry on this proud legacy, while others have passed on, but Hidden History of Mississippi Blues ensures none will be forgotten.

William Carey College is ideally located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, to serve all of South Mississippi, from Jackson to the Gulf Coast and from the coastal borders of Alabama to Louisiana. Originally named South Mississippi College, the school was established in 1906 as Hattiesburg's first institution of higher learning. After an immense fire destroyed the college in February 1910, local businessman W. S. F. Tatum acquired the property and offered the site to Mississippi Baptists for the establishment of a college for women. Mississippi Woman's College opened its doors in 1911 and continued operation until the trustees voted in favor of coeducational status for the college in 1954. Pres. Irving E. Rouse chose the name William Carey College in honor of an Englishman who became known as the "father of modern missions." Today William Carey College has an enrollment of over 3,000 with branch campuses in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Gulfport, Mississippi. Although many of the archives of the college have been destroyed, it is hoped this book will present the interesting story of William Carey College and its predecessors, faculty, alumni, and students.

Colorful tales of the MS Gulf Coast from specters to sodas and from buccaneers and pioneers.

The story of the Mississippi Golden Gulf Coast can't be told without a few tall tales--pirates, buried treasure, ghosts and colorful characters pepper its diverse past. From incredible stories of the pirate Jean Lafitte to iconic legends like Barq's Root Beer, travel from Bay St. Louis to Biloxi and every nook and cranny in between to discover the legends and lore of Mississippi's Golden Gulf Coast. Local historian Edmond Boudreaux explores this exciting history, recounting the fantastic tales that launch the reader into the past and create a truly captivating history.

In 1940, the town of Clinton had scarcely grown in size or population since the Civil War. However, the coming of World War II forever changed the identity of this small Southern college town. Aside from the sudden departure of its best and brightest men and women for the front lines, global war touched Clinton in the form of a German POW camp and a Navy V12 training school at Mississippi College. Clinton: 1940-1980 picks up where author Chad Chisholm ended his previous book, with Clinton in the midst of postwar growth. It is a chronicle of Clinton's living history, a treasury of photographs for all Clintonians.

Learn the story behind how the town of Oxford, Mississippi, and The University of Mississippi came to be.

Oxford and Lafayette County were formed from the Pontotoc Treaty and the Chickasaw Cession of 1832 and the revised agreement in 1834. This treaty with the Chickasaws ceded land that formed 12 counties in North Mississippi. On June 22, 1836, three land speculators, John Martin, John Chisom, and John Craig, donated 50 acres to the Board of Police for the formation of the city of Oxford. The name Oxford was proposed by a nephew of John Craig, Thomas D. Isom, who worked for him in his trading post, in hopes that the state legislature would place the new state university there. Oxford was chartered by the State of Mississippi on May 11, 1837. The University of Mississippi opened its doors in 1848.

Plagued from its beginnings by fires, financial hardships, and the dismal days of war, Belhaven College in Jackson, Mississippi, has persevered into the twentyfirst century to become a leading liberal arts institution with one of the South's most diverse small college populations. In this delightful journey into the school's storied past, vintage photographs illuminate the beloved campus, early classes, annual events, and prolific leaders that friends and alumni of Belhaven will recall with fond memories. Founded in 1894 by Dr. Louis T. Fitzhugh, Belhaven College for Young Ladies occupied a large residence and spacious grounds formerly belonging to Colonel Jones Hamilton and named after his ancestral home in Scotland. Just seven months after it opened, the college burned to the ground on February 7, 1895. New buildings were constructed, and the college reopened in the fall of 1896. Fires would also wreak havoc on the school in 1910 and 1927; the school would go on to affiliate with the Presbyterian Church in the early part of the century; and the post-Depression years would find Belhaven facing an uphill struggle to continue operating with minimal funds. Shaken but not defeated, Belhaven continued to grow and with each passing decade gained more national recognition, whether through its renowned music program, its high standards of academic excellence, or the introduction of intercollegiate sports following the school's first admittance of male students in 1954. Although the years have brought numerous changes and Belhaven now rests on the cusp of the computer age, the school's commitment to traditional Christian values still permeates every aspect of a student's education.