The Town of Arcadia was settled in 1883, incorporated in 1886, and became the county seat in 1888. By the late 1880s the population was 300. On Thanksgiving night 1905 the town burned. Three brick stores survived. Using only brick or block, . . . — — Map (db m72535) HM
The Arcadia Historic District comprises fifty-eight blocks within 340 acres that embody the city's development from the founding of its post office in 1883 through the late 1920s. The Town of Arcadia was incorporated in 1886 following the arrival of . . . — — Map (db m110674) HM
During the Second World War, the Arnold Plan established six British Flying Training Schools in the United States where Royal Air Force cadets could receive primary flight training under civilian instruction. Many of the thousands of cadets who . . . — — Map (db m110865) HM
Named after the great Spanish conquistador and Florida explorer Hernando De Soto, the county was created out of Manatee County in 1887. The area's original inhabitants were Caloosa Indians. In early Florida history the region was the scene of . . . — — Map (db m72534) HM
This flag flies to
Honor all Veterans who
have served their country
Dedicated Nov. 11, 1982
by
Veteran organizations of DeSoto County
as a tribute to all of our living
and departed comrades — — Map (db m211957) WM
World War II
Frank Addison • Thomas W. Pate, Jr.
George F. Barr • James M. Patterson
Hugh R. Cassels • Pete Penuel
Joe C. Chancey • Kenneth N. Perry
James C. Chancey • Alfred W. Roe
Eugene M Connelly • James C. Rogers
John . . . — — Map (db m211956) WM
Erected
the Red Cross Chapters of
DeSoto County
in honor of
the sons of DeSoto who served their
Nation and the cause of humanity
in the World War. And dedicated in memory of
the following named who made the
sacrifice supreme . . . — — Map (db m211954) WM
The Florida Baptist Children’s Homes began when the Florida Baptist State Convention authorized the establishment of the Florida Baptist Orphanage in Arcadia in 1901 to care for care for orphaned children until they were 18 years old or were adopted . . . — — Map (db m110866) HM
(obverse)
The town of Nocatee originated as a lumber manufacturing town during the 1880s. During the late 19th century. two businesses stimulated the town's growth. One was the King Lumber and Manufacturing Company, established by W.G. . . . — — Map (db m211953) HM
The Owens Community School was built 1916-1918 in the once thriving community of Owens. The community and school were named for Owen H. Dishong (1850-1902), the first sheriff of DeSoto County, serving 1887 to 1893 and 1897 to 1901. He was a charter . . . — — Map (db m72814) HM
Buried herein are twenty-three Royal Air Force Cadets who died while in training at U.S. flying training fields in South Florida during W.W.II. — — Map (db m110864) HM
As white settlers moved into Florida, demands increased for the removal of the Seminole Indians to a western reservation. The Seminoles failed to cooperate, and in 1835 the conflict known as the Second Seminole War began. By 1841, the Indians . . . — — Map (db m72605) HM
The Hernando area was the birthplace of an important group of musicians who helped establish Memphis as a major blues center in the 1920s. These include Jim Jackson, Robert Wilkins, and Dan Sane, who was the partner of Beale Street blues pioneer . . . — — Map (db m170490) HM
Founded in 1900 by the North Mississippi
Baptist Educational Convention, the
Baptist Industrial College was the first
school in De Soto County to offer
instruction through grade twelve to
African Americans, and one of the
earliest private . . . — — Map (db m170272) HM
A native of Tennessee, Sam Powel
(1821-1902), a Mexican War veteran,
was Colonel or the 29th Tennessee
Infantry. After the Civil War, he
moved to Hernando, where he served
as a circuit judge. Mississippi
representative and senator . . . — — Map (db m170276) HM
Formed after Chickasaw
Cession of 1832 as town
of Jefferson. Incorporated
in 1837 and named for
Spanish explorer DeSoto.
County seat and site of
oldest academy in Cession. — — Map (db m170275) HM
Hernando Central School was the first black
school built in DeSoto County during the
equalization period, when the state tried to
preserve segregation by more fairly distributing
resources to black and white schools. Designed
by architect Walk . . . — — Map (db m170273) HM
The City of Hernando rallied to save the famed
murals when they were about to be destroyed.
Murals depict the history of our area.
Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto was the first
documented European to traverse the . . . — — Map (db m170542) HM
Front
James Meredith began his Memphis-to-Jackson
"March Against Fear" on June 4, 1966, challenging
a'the all-pervasive and overriding fear" that kept
black Mississippians from registering to vote. On
the second day, south of Hernando, . . . — — Map (db m141545) HM
Initially designated as the “Graveyard
Donation." the Springhill Cemetery was
established in 1836 with the founding of DeSoto
County. The cemetery is the burial site of
early county and city officials. African
Americans, members of mutual . . . — — Map (db m170270) HM
James Luther “Jim” Dickinson (1941-2009) played a central role in the Memphis area blues scene for many decades though his work as a producer, vocalist and pianist. In 1996 his sons Luther and Cody formed the North Mississippi Allstars here together . . . — — Map (db m170488) HM
The Europeans brought beads, metal bells,
horses, pigs and a variety of fruits and vegetables
to trade with the Southeastern Indians.
Beads and bells were the first items traded here
De Soto offered glass beads and metal . . . — — Map (db m170552) HM
Blues harmonica virtuoso Big Walter Horton was renowned for his innovative contributions to the music of Memphis and Chicago. Horton was born in Horn Lake on April 6, 1918, and began his career as a child working for tips on the streets of Memphis. . . . — — Map (db m170527) HM
This 154-acre ranch was once owned by Elvis Presley, who bought the property in February 1967. Although Elvis called it the Circle G, the official name of the ranch was the Flying Circle G. In May 1967, Elvis married Priscilla Beaulieu and they . . . — — Map (db m233558) HM
The Edgefield site consists of three conical earthen mounds arranged on a northwest-southeast axis. The two largest mounds are roughly 20 feet in height, while the third is just under ten feet. Much of the surrounding soil has been removed for use . . . — — Map (db m234537) HM
A native of Ferriday, Louisiana, Jerry Lee
Lewis started his musical career in nearby
Natchez, and in 1973 established the Lewis
Ranch here in Nesbit. Lewis' 1956 rock 'n' roll
classics "Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On and
“Great Balls of Fire" . . . — — Map (db m170372) HM
Although his early recording career resulted in only two songs issued in 1930, Nesbit native Joe Callicott (1899-1969) is often regarded as one of Mississippi’s finest early bluesmen. His guitar work was also featured with local bluesman Garfield . . . — — Map (db m170530) HM
East Side High was established under the direction of Rev. R.C. George as principal (1958-1968). Henry B. Wilkerson served as the second principal from 1968 to 1970. Opened as a segregated school for African Americans, East Side existed for just . . . — — Map (db m233661) HM
Albert King’s readily identifiable style made him one of the most important artists in the history of the blues, but his own identity was a longtime source of confusion. In interviews he said he was born in Indianola on April 25, 1923 (or 1924), and . . . — — Map (db m105007) HM
Dockery Farms, one of the most important plantations in the Delta, was founded in 1895 by William Alfred “Will” Dockery (1865-1936). Dockery purchased thousands of acres bordering the Sunflower River and worked for years to clear the . . . — — Map (db m104690) HM
Charley Patton has been called the Founder of the Delta Blues. He blazed a trail as the music’s preeminent entertainer and recording artist during the first third of the 20th century. Born between Bolton and Edwards, Mississippi, in April 1891, . . . — — Map (db m105041) HM
Club Ebony, which opened for business around 1948, was built over a period of years by John Jones, who purchased the property in November of 1945 with his wife Josephine. In a 1948 memoir, Jones wrote: "It is said to be the South's largest and . . . — — Map (db m104465) HM
Living Blues, the first American magazine dedicated exclusively to the blues, was founded in 1970 by seven young enthusiasts in Chicago. Cofounders Amy van Singel and Jim O’Neal became owners and publishers of the magazine in 1971, operating it . . . — — Map (db m104661) HM
Hubert Sumlin grew up in Mississippi and Arkansas hearing his churchgoing mother admonish him for playing “the devil’s music”—the blues. But he found out, after sneaking in some blues licks on his guitar in church, that the sounds . . . — — Map (db m105046) HM
According to Willie “Po’ Monkey” Seaberry he opened a juke joint at his home in this location in 1963. Seaberry (b. 1941) worked as a farmer and operated the club, where he continued to live, at night. By the 1990s Po’ Monkey’s was . . . — — Map (db m105044) HM
The "Peavine" branch of the Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad met the Memphis to Vicksburg mainline at this site. From the late 1890s through the 1930s, the "Peavine" provided reliable transportation for bluesmen among the plantations of the . . . — — Map (db m104681) HM
This large oak tree located in the adjacent parking lot marks a place of special memories for many Southaven citizens. Before the retail buildings were built in the early 1970s, this tree saw countless players on youth sports teams circle it running . . . — — Map (db m234623) HM
Delta Center opened in 1959 to approximately
1,500 "colored" students from southwest and
northern DeSoto County. Elias Johnson was
principal of the "Home of the Wildcats." In
1970, it was desegregated, enlarged and
reopened as Delta Elementary, . . . — — Map (db m235173) HM
Memphis Minnie (Lizzie Douglas, 1897-1973) was one of the premier blues artists of the 1930s and '40s. Her singing and songwriting, spirited demeanor, and superlative guitar playing propelled her to the upper echelons of a field then dominated by . . . — — Map (db m233857) HM
