Highway 61, "the blues highway," is lined with the birthplaces of blues, R&B, and gospel artists all along its route in Mississippi, and even small communities such as Alligator share in this proud musical legacy. Performers born or raised around . . . — — Map (db m154805) HM
Pioneer television producer was born in Dr. Wells' house, which once occupied this site. Coe shows such as "Marty", "The Trip to Bountiful", and "Days of Wine and Roses" set standards for 1950s live TV drama. Producer of stage and film hits "A . . . — — Map (db m154859) HM
Blues saxophonist extraordinaire Eddie Shaw was born on a Stringtown plantation on March 20, 1937. He learned music at school in Greenville and performed in various local bands before moving to Chicago to join the Muddy Waters band. Shaw served as . . . — — Map (db m154795) HM
(Front)
Benoit native Eddie Taylor, an architect of the post-World War II Chicago blues genre, was renowned for his work both as a bandleader and accompanist. He was best known for shaping the distinctive sound of Jimmy Reed, a childhood . . . — — Map (db m154785) HM
In the early morning hours of March 31, 1912, William Fisher Johnson (1876~1916) helped rescue flood victims after swollen rivers and lakes in Bolivar County caused a levee break just south of Beulah. According to Walter Sillers, using his gas . . . — — Map (db m154838) HM
Christmas Mound is a single conical mound
approximately ten feet in height. Archaeological
excavations in 2013 determined that the mound was built
in a single stage on top of an earlier midden deposit. The
midden dates to ca. AD 400, but the . . . — — Map (db m173987) HM
On land received as payment of
legal fees in the 1840s, Doro
Plantation was established in the
early 1850s by Charles Clark, a
Confederate General and wartime
Governor of Mississippi (1863-1865).
Doro continued to thrive in the
post-Civil War . . . — — Map (db m174022) HM
Front
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 . . . — — Map (db m160438) HM
Returning home from WWII, Cleveland businessman Amzie Moore (1911-1982) became a principal architect of early civil rights activism as a founding member of the Mississippi NAACP and the Regional Council of Negro Leadership. Convinced that . . . — — Map (db m90128) HM
Amzie Moore (1911-1982), a local Civil Rights leader, built this house
in 1941. An army veteran, Moore also worked for the U.S. Postal
Service. After returning from WWII, Moore dedicated himself to the
civil rights movement, co-founding the . . . — — Map (db m90074) HM
Front (East)
To the memory
of our
Confederate Dead.
1861-65.
Dead upon the field of glory
Hero fit for song and story.
Rear (West)
Bolivar County's
tribute to
southern heroism.
No nation . . . — — Map (db m90270) WM
Side 1
During the segregation era many towns in Mississippi had a particular street that served as the center of African American business and social life, catering not only to townsfolk but to farm hands and sharecroppers from the countryside . . . — — Map (db m170498) HM
Named for President Grover Cleveland. Founded along Jones Bayou and Yazoo and Mississippi Valley R.R. in 1886. Downtown historic area listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1999. — — Map (db m90069) HM
A Cleveland High School graduate, Bowen (D-Miss.) served five terms in Congress (1973-1983). As chair of the Cotton, Rice, and Sugar Subcommittee and a member of the House Agriculture, Foreign Affairs, and Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committees, . . . — — Map (db m89935) HM
While leading his orchestra at a dance on this site c. 1905, Handy was
unable to perform requested blues numbers. A local band stepped in
and stole the show. "My enlightenment came in Cleveland. That night
an American composer was born," he . . . — — Map (db m89932) HM
Side 1
Despite their conceptual differences, gospel, the Sunday morning music of the church, and blues, the Saturday night music of the juke joint, share some of the same roots, influences and musical traits. Many African African singers have . . . — — Map (db m170501) HM
Side 1
The Los Angeles-based GRAMMY Museum’s decision to open a sister museum here in Cleveland in 2016 was a testament to Mississippi's rich musical heritage in blues, country, gospel, rock and other genres. Among Mississippi’s many GRAMMY . . . — — Map (db m170502) HM
In 1926 the Hill Demonstration School opened for grades one through six, with kindergarten classes added in 1929. This laboratory-style school for Delta State student teachers had an initial enrollment of twenty-five and was housed in the basement . . . — — Map (db m90127) HM
Lily Margaret Wade (1912-1995) was a standout on Cleveland High
School’s girls basketball team and Delta State’s women’s basketball
team. Compiling a CHS coaching record of 453-89-6, she began
coaching the Lady Statesmen in 1973, winning the AIAW . . . — — Map (db m90125) HM
Founded in 1937 by parents, Cleveland First Baptist Church, and community leaders to provide an education for children of Chinese descent who were excluded from area schools by the 1927 US Supreme Court decision, Gong Lum v. Rice. Students . . . — — Map (db m90066) HM
Four railroad depots have operated here since Cleveland was incorporated in 1886. The first depot—two Yazoo & Mississippi Valley RR cars tied together and parked on a side track—disappeared when a prankster hooked it to an outgoing . . . — — Map (db m89937) HM
Front
In W.C. Handy's famous account of his "enlightenment" in Cleveland, a ragged local trio was showered with coins after Handy's orchestra of trained musicians had been unable to similarly excite the crowd. In early manuscripts of . . . — — Map (db m90071) HM
A plan for relief of postwar Europe, suggested by Mississippi native
Will Clayton, was first announced here May 8, 1947, by Under
Secretary of State Dean Acheson at a meeting of the Delta Council. — — Map (db m90126) HM
First settled in early 1850's by Col. James Brown. Named for an early settler, Robert Duncan, and incorporated in 1890. Andrew Jackson Donelson, nephew of Pres. Jackson, owned a plantation near here. — — Map (db m154858) HM
(front)
Duncan has earned its place in blues history as the birthplace or former residence of performers who achieved notoriety locally and around the world. The legendary Jimmy Reed lived on the nearby McMurchy plantation in his youth. . . . — — Map (db m154804) HM
After months of rainfall a swollen Mississippi River broke the levee at Mound Landing, some 2˝ miles west, on April 21, 1927. The flood waters caused widespread destruction and loss of life in seven states. The breadth of the disaster focused . . . — — Map (db m154836) HM
The rural juke joint played an integral role in the development of the blues, offering a distinctly secular space for people to socialize, dance, and forget their everyday troubles. While many such jukes once dotted the cotton fields of the Delta . . . — — Map (db m174021) HM
From 1935 to 1942, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority established mobile health clinics to provide medical care to black people in the Delta. Dr. Dorothy Ferebee, a member of the sorority, was the project's director. Primarily based in Mound Bayou, the . . . — — Map (db m89762) HM
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
sponsored its first mobile health
initiative, the Mississippi Health
Project from 1935 - 1942. Dr. Dorothy
Ferebee, a member of the sorority,
was the project director.
Ida Jackson was the . . . — — Map (db m90149) HM
First rural community health center
in the United States
Opened by Tufts University
as Tufts Delta Health Center
Third health care facility in Mound Bayou
Serves as a much needed health resource for the
poor and . . . — — Map (db m90509) HM
United Order of Friendship of America
opened Friendship Clinic under the
leadership of Dr. T. R. M. Howard
Second medical facility in Mound Bayou
Renamed Sarah Brown Hospital
Renamed Mound Bayou Community Hospital . . . — — Map (db m90501) HM
Largest U.S. Negro town; settled July 12, 1887 by ex-slaves of Joe Davis, who conceived idea before Civil War: Isaiah T. Montgomery (member of 1890 state convention) & his cousin, Benjamin T. Green. — — Map (db m89761) HM
Former slaves Isaiah T. Montgomery and Benjamin T. Green founded Mound Bayou on July 12, 1887, as a cooperative, self-governed African American community. They purchased land from the Louisville, New Orleans, and Texas Railroad Company. Incorporated . . . — — Map (db m162022) HM
Front
Music has been one of the many facets of African American culture proudly nurtured by the community of Mound Bayou, ranging from blues and R&B in cafes, lounges, and juke joints to musical programs in schools, studios, and . . . — — Map (db m90065) HM
First hotel built in the Village of Mound Bayou
"In the matter of sanitary surroundings, in the way of rooming
arrangements, and culinary excellence with the matter of
dining, the service at the Newton Hotel will satisfy the
mostly . . . — — Map (db m90470) HM
Organized by Charles Bank
Building dedication led by Booker T. Washington
More than 15,000 attended dedicatory event
Constructing Architect: Thomas W. Cook
Construction Foreman: W. H. Cook — — Map (db m90504) HM
Mound Bayou businessman and physician Theodore Roosevelt Mason Howard (1908-1976) founded and led Mississippi's pre-eminent civil rights organization in the 1950s, the Regional Council of Negro Leadership. A charismatic speaker and mentor to . . . — — Map (db m90148) HM
International Order of Twelve
Knights and Daughters of Tabor, Inc.
opened Taborian Hospital under
the leadership of P. M. Smith
Second oldest hospital for Blacks in Mississippi
First hospital in Mound Bayou
Placed on the . . . — — Map (db m90467) HM
Built in 1879, this vernacular Carpenter Gothic structure is the oldest extant church in Bolivar County. Congregation organized by 1875 under Bishop Wm. M. Green. Listed in Register of Historic Places. — — Map (db m154854) HM
(front)
In his 1936 recording “They’re Red Hot,” bluesman Robert Johnson employed the imagery of a tamale vendor to describe a woman. Made of corn meal and meat, the tamale was a staple in the diet of Mexican migrant laborers in . . . — — Map (db m154799) HM
A native of Bolivar County, Mildrette Netter was born in 1948. A graduate of West Bolivar High School, she excelled in sports, especially track and field. At Alcorn State University, she earned a track scholarship. During the 1968 Summer Olympics in . . . — — Map (db m154855) HM
(front)
Rosedale was immortalized in Robert Johnson's 1937 recording Traveling Riverside Blues. In 1968, Eric Clapton's group Cream incorporated the verse "Goin' down to Rosedale" into their version of Johnson's Cross Road . . . — — Map (db m154800) HM
Bolivar County's second brick courthouse stood here, 1889 to 1923, when foundation gave was to flood seep-water. First brick courthouse, at Prentiss, was destroyed in 1862 by Federals & later covered by Miss. waters. — — Map (db m154840) HM
The town of Prentiss and courthouse were shelled by gunboats by Federals in 1862. Ruins, buried 100 years by river sand, exposed by caving bank 1954. Later caved into the river. The Memorial was made of bricks from Prentiss Courthouse Ruins. The . . . — — Map (db m154883) HM
Front
Blues singers have recorded many songs in response to natural disasters, none more dramatic than those about the great flood of the Mississippi River that inundated much of the Delta after the levee broke just 2-3/4 miles west of . . . — — Map (db m160437) HM
David "Honeyboy" Edwards, born in Shaw in 1915, took to the road as a teenager accompanying Big Joe Williams and became a true "rambling" bluesman. Later Edwards traveled with other artists, including Robert Johnson. Edwards recorded blues for the . . . — — Map (db m170687) HM
In Honor & Memory of all Deceased Veterans who made the Ultimate Sacrifice so that we might live in peace.....
PFC Denzil M. Decker: US Marines who lost his life September 18, 1944 while landing on Palau Island in the Pacific. Denzil was 19 . . . — — Map (db m154857) WM
(front)
Henry Townsend, the only blues artist to have recorded during every decade from the 1920s to the 2000s, was born in Shelby on October 27, 1909. A longtime resident of St. Louis, where he was hailed as a patriarch of the local blues . . . — — Map (db m154802) HM
This site witnessed the opening by rail in 1884 of Miss.'s last frontier, the Delta. The depot, built ca. 1901 by the Yazoo & Miss. Valley R.R., became a public library in 1977 and Miss. Landmark in 1988. — — Map (db m154856) HM
Otis Clay, one of America’s premier singers of soul and gospel music, was born in Waxhaw on February 11, 1942. His storied journey to international renown began at the age of four at the Tree of Life Missionary Baptist Church here, where he attended . . . — — Map (db m174025) HM
The Harlem Inn, known as “The Showplace of the South,” was once the Delta’s most important venue for touring national blues performers. B. B. King, Little Milton, Bobby “Blue” Bland, Howlin’ Wolf, Tyrone Davis, and T-Bone Walker were among the many . . . — — Map (db m170496) HM
