Mississippi Trivia & Tidbits
Looking for Mississippi trivia? Try our list Mississippi little know facts, tidbits and trivia.
Erected in 1871, the Confederate monument in Liberty (pop. 633) was the first in the state and among the first in the nation to honor Confederate soldiers who died during the Civil War. The statue is inscribed with the names of 279 Amite County (pop. 13,599) men who died.
first appeared: 3/7/2010
Though Charleston (pop. 2,198) High School long has been integrated, the school didn’t hold its first interracial prom until 2008. Actor Morgan Freeman offered in 1997 to foot the prom bill if the school board would hold the integrated prom, and his offer was accepted 11 years later.
first appeared: 2/21/2010
In 1962, James Meredith became the first black student to attend the University of Mississippi in Oxford (pop. 11,756), which sparked riots and led to protection from federal troops. Bob Dylan sang about the event, considered pivotal in civil rights history, in "Oxford Town."
first appeared: 2/7/2010
Founded in 1871, Alcorn State University near Lorman in Claiborne County (pop. 11,831) was the nation's first state-supported institution for the higher education of African Americans.
first appeared: 1/24/2010
The rock band 3 Doors Down, formed in Escatawpa (pop. 3,566) in 1994, has sold more than 16 million records. The band found national success in 2000 with its debut album, The Better Life.
first appeared: 1/10/2010
Panola County (pop. 34,274) was established in 1836. The county's name is derived from an American Indian word that means "cotton."
first appeared: 12/27/2009
The speed limit on the campus of the University of Mississippi at Oxford (pop. 11,756) is 18 mph to honor the jersey number of former star football quarterback Archie Manning.
first appeared: 12/13/2009
Although he was the King of Rock 'n' Roll, Elvis Presley's three Grammy awards were for gospel songs. As a young boy, he attended the First Assembly of God Church in East Tupelo, where he sang and learned to play guitar chords. The church was relocated last year to his birthplace in Tupelo (pop. 34,211).
first appeared: 11/29/2009
An old-fashioned general store, the Williams Brothers Store in Williamsville, near Philadelphia (pop. 7,303), has been operated by the Williams family since 1907 and sells goods from groceries to fence posts.
first appeared: 11/15/2009
Completed in 1860, Provine Chapel at Mississippi College in Clinton (pop. 23,347) was occupied by troops during the Civil War and was called by architect Frank Lloyd Wright one of the best remaining examples of antebellum architecture.
first appeared: 11/1/2009
Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi (pop. 50,644) will be home to the Air Force's new Undergraduate Cyberspace Training Unit, a program that will teach students how to protect communications networks. The program is scheduled to begin next year with about 615 students.
first appeared: 10/18/2009
The top poultry-producing region in the United States stretches from Woodville (pop. 1,192) to Starkville (pop. 21,869) and generated $1.78 billion in poultry and egg sales in 2007.
first appeared: 10/4/2009
Buddy's Jeans, made in New Hebron (pop. 447), were designed and originally manufactured by Buddy Steverson, a rancher and rodeo cowboy who wanted jeans that were as dependable as his horse and sold in odd sizes. Buddy's Jeans are made from long-lasting 14-ounce blue denim.
first appeared: 9/20/2009
Ship Island, one of the barrier islands off the coast of Mississippi and part of the Gulf Island National Seashore, is considered the "Plymouth Rock of the Gulf Coast" because many colonists took their first steps in America on the island.
first appeared: 9/6/2009
In 1942, the entire town of Coldwater (pop. 1,674) was moved about one mile to alleviate flooding and to make way for the Arkabutla Dam on the Coldwater River.
first appeared: 8/23/2009
Frederick W. Smith, born in 1944 in Marks (pop. 1,551), in 1971 founded Federal Express, the world's largest express transportation company with delivery in the United States and more than 220 other countries and territories. FedEx, as the company now is called, is based in Memphis, Tenn.
first appeared: 8/9/2009
Wood sculptor Marlin Miller has donated his time and talent to carve large standing dead oak trees, killed by Hurricane Katrina, into sculptures along U.S. Highway 90 on the Gulf Coast. Miller, who lives in Fort Walton Beach, Fla. (pop. 19,973), began the sculpture project in 2007.
first appeared: 7/26/2009
—The first person who indisputably reached the North Pole by surface travel was Ralph Plaisted (1927-2008), an insurance salesman turned explorer, who led the successful expedition by snowmobile in 1968. Plaisted was born in Bruno (pop. 102).
first appeared: 7/12/2009
—The state's tallest building is the 32-story Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi. Opened in 1999, the resort was damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, rebuilt and reopened in 2006.
first appeared: 7/12/2009
—According to local lore, Jackson originally was known as LeFleur's Bluff, named after the French-Canadian explorer who established the trading post on the banks of the Pearl River in the late 1700s.
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first appeared: 6/28/2009
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