Mississippi Trivia & Tidbits

Looking for Mississippi trivia? Try our list Mississippi little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

—Jackson County is famous for its development of nine successful varieties of papershell pecans: Stuart, Success, Schley, Alley, Delmas, Papst, Russell, Hall and Lewis.

first appeared: 6/14/2009

—Errick Smith, of Ocean Springs (pop. 17,225), celebrated his 16th birthday last July by becoming the youngest person to solo fly both an airplane and a helicopter on the same day. To add to the feat, Smith flew two helicopters that day.

first appeared: 5/31/2009

—The Mississippi Farmers Market in Jackson bills itself as the state's largest farmers market. It has 32 stalls with roll-up doors and covers 18,000 square feet.

first appeared: 5/17/2009

—The McCormick Book Inn in Greenville (pop. 41,633) is billed as the state's oldest independent bookseller. Opened by the McCormick family in 1965, the bookstore spotlights local and regional writers and books.

first appeared: 5/3/2009

–Completed in 1841, the Amite County Courthouse in Liberty (pop. 633) is one of the state's oldest operating courthouses.

first appeared: 4/19/2009

—Established in 1807, Wintergreen Cemetery in Port Gibson (pop. 1,840) is among the state's oldest cemeteries and is the final resting place for most Confederate soldiers killed in the Battle of Port Gibson.

first appeared: 4/5/2009

—Artist Sharon McConnell, who is blind, spent eight years making masks of almost 60 legendary bluesmen. The masks are displayed at Delta State University and the Charles W. Capps Jr. Archives and Museum in Cleveland (pop. 13,841).

first appeared: 3/22/2009

—Built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps from hand-hewn logs, Legion Lodge in Louisville (pop. 7,006) remains unchanged and is the centerpiece of Legion State Park in the red hill country.

first appeared: 3/8/2009

—Built in the early 1920s, the Lil’ Red Rosenwald Schoolhouse in Drew (pop. 2,434) served African-American children before desegregation and is one of a handful of surviving Rosenwald schools established through the efforts of Booker T. Washington, founder of Tuskegee Institute, and Julius Rosenwald, then president of Sears, Roebuck and Co.

first appeared: 2/22/2009

—Established in 1889, the Neshoba County Fair near Philadelphia (pop. 7,303) bills itself as the state’s “Giant House Party” because of its family-reunion atmosphere when fairgoers return each summer to stay in more than 600 individually owned and coveted cabins, plus an RV campground.

first appeared: 2/8/2009

—Headquartered in Meridian (pop. 39,968), Peavey Electronics is one of the largest suppliers of musical instruments and professional sound equipment in the world. Founder Hartley Peavey holds more than 180 patents in musical instrument design and audio technology.

first appeared: 1/11/2009

—People in the Delta region pucker up for an unusual treat of dill pickles marinated in cherry, tropical fruit or strawberry-flavored Kool-Aid. The Kool-Aid pickles are sold at convenience stores and other outlets.

first appeared: 12/29/2008

—In Oxford (pop. 11,756), preservationists have restored the 1870 home of politician Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar, the only Mississippian to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. Lamar is best remembered for his 1874 eulogy of Massachusetts Sen. Charles Sumner, which called for reconciliation between North and South, and was seen as an important step in the nation’s road to recovery following the Civil War.

first appeared: 11/30/2008

—Clark Creek Natural Area near Woodville (pop. 1,192) is an outdoor treasure with some 50 waterfalls highlighting hiking trails on its 700 acres.

first appeared: 11/16/2008

—In 1894, faculty members of Tulane University in New Orleans established Newcomb Pottery, an ambitious program of vocational training for young women artists. Operated until 1940, Newcomb Pottery is highly valued by collectors and art historians.

first appeared: 11/2/2008

—The last performance of Hollywood bombshell actress Jayne Mansfield was at Gus Stevens Supper Club in Biloxi (pop. 50,644) on June 28, 1967. Mansfield died in a car accident the next day.

first appeared: 10/19/2008

—The oldest public library building in the state is the B.S. Ricks Memorial Library, opened in 1901, in Yazoo City (pop. 14,550). The Yazoo Library Association was founded in 1838.

first appeared: 10/5/2008

—Playwright Beth Henley, who wrote the 1981 Pulitzer Prize-winning Crimes of the Heart, was born in 1952 in Jackson. The play was the first drama to be awarded a Pulitzer Prize before going on Broadway.

first appeared: 9/21/2008

—The first school for women chartered by the state Legislature was Elizabeth Female Academy, established in 1818 near Washington.

first appeared: 9/7/2008

—Downtown Lucedale (pop. 2,458) has a back-scratching post. When President Ronald Reagan visited and had an itch, he used the post with serrated sides.

first appeared: 8/24/2008

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