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 . . . — — 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
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 . . . — — 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
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
