Mississippi

Author Julie L. Kimbrough pieces together a fascinating look at the city that is the political and economic center of Mississippi.

Jackson celebrates the history of Mississippi's capital city with more than 200 photographs from the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, the National Archives, and university collections. From its start as a settlement on LeFleur's Bluff overlooking the Pearl River to its present-day position as one of the leading cities of the New South, Jackson's history is one of change, colorful characters, and a uniquely Southern atmosphere. Beginning with a tour of one of the city's oldest and best-known streets, Jackson features the work of outstanding local photographers and combines detailed historical narratives with entertaining stories about ordinary Jacksonians. From the club president who saved a magnolia tree by staging a protest in its branches to the photographer who opened his first studio in a tent, this compelling visual history revisits familiar landmarks and people from Jackson's past.

Capturing townspeople and lifestyles that have long since disappeared, this remarkable review of Marshall County's history features dozens of images which have never before been published. Antebellum mansions and Victorian cottages look new again; cotton gins and wagons lining the courthouse square mirror an agrarian economy, which has all but vanished from the area. From the desperate poverty of turn-of-the-century sharecroppers to the revelry of a 1950s homecoming parade, all aspects and segments of Holly Springs life are included. Marshall County natives will recognize old friends and familiar businesses in these images. Those just discovering this fascinating corner of Mississippi will see its history graphically illustrated through the lens of Mrs. Smith's camera.

In its earliest days, Natchez, Mississippi, attracted entrepreneurial people who saw potential for future enterprises.

In fact, by the 1850s, Natchez boasted more millionaires per capita than any other small town in the country. This wealth, and the energy that came along with it, created a vibrant and bustling early environment in Natchez. The city streets served as the stage on which the action took place, and where the drama of real life in a young and hopeful America unfolded. Natchez: City Streets Revisited captures through vintage photography the images of this unique period in the city's history. Included are the early businesses that prospered in Natchez, as well as the grand homes of the pioneering families who brought prosperity to Natchez. This visual journey is possible due to the skill, craftsmanship, and foresight of the city's early photographers--Henry D. Gurney, Henry C. Norman, and his son, Earl Norman. Henry Norman trained under Gurney and went on to become Natchez's most sought-after portrait artist. In addition to portraiture, he photographed everyday life in Natchez, strolling the brick sidewalks of the city to document elaborate new storefronts and merchandise displayed on curbs. Earl Norman carried on his father's tradition and continued to photograph the city and its people in his own highly acclaimed collection.

The history of Jackson is filled with gripping tales of horrors and heroism. Join Ryan Starrett and Josh Foreman as they reveal the hidden past of the City with Soul.

A recording company founded in the mid-1960s with the expectation of competing with New Orleans and Memphis was a national success, outlasting its better-funded rivals. Known as the "Devil's Backbone," the Natchez Trace is the graveyard for countless travelers slain by the road's numerous serial killers, brigands and land pirates. Yet one mass grave stands above the others: the Boyd Mounds, which hold the remains of thirty-one Choctaws. Although legend has it that the father of Jackson, Louis LeFleur, was a Canadian trapper famous in high society for his dancing, the truth is even stranger.

This narrative history of Hattiesburg, MS illustrates the people, places, and events that have shaped its cultural and natural history.

Founded by William Hardy at the confluence of rivers and rail lines, Hattiesburg, Mississippi, is today a capital of education, healthcare, commerce and the armed forces in the Gulf South. In this new biography of the Hub City, experience its story as you never have before. Hunt and forage alongside Native American tribes centuries before European settlement. Build a cabin with pioneer lumbermen on the edge of the forest, jostling for profit in the cavernous Piney Woods. Train with soldiers at Camp Shelby on the eve of deployment in World War II, and march alongside civil rights activists during Freedom Summer in 1964. In this narrative history, author and Hattiesburg native Benjamin Morris offers a captivating account of the Hub City from its prehistory to the present day, from its darkest hours to its brightest futures.

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.

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.