Mississippi Trivia & Tidbits - Page 16

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

Mississippi University for Women in Columbus (pop. 22,600), established in 1884, was America’s first public college for women.

first appeared: 6/3/2001

Jefferson Davis, father of the Confederacy, was raised at Rosemont Plantation in Woodville (pop. 1,393), where his family settled around 1810.

first appeared: 5/27/2001

Vicksburg National Cemetery, established in 1866, is the final resting place for about 17,000 Union veterans—the largest number of Civil War interments of any U.S. national cemetery. Confederate soldiers, numbering about 5,000, are buried in nearby Cedar Hill Cemetery.

first appeared: 5/20/2001

Famed hat maker John Stetson practiced the trade he learned from his father near Meridian (pop. 40,000) after the Civil War. One of his creations is known simply as The Stetson.

first appeared: 5/13/2001

Mound Bayou (pop. 2,168), settled by two former slaves, was created in 1887 as a sanctuary for African-Americans after the Civil War.

first appeared: 5/6/2001

John R. Lynch, a former slave, served in the Mississippi House of Representatives in 1870. He became Speaker of the House in 1872 and served as a U.S. representative in 1873.

first appeared: 4/29/2001

Ripley (pop. 5,371) is named for Gen. Eleazo Wheelock Ripley, a War of 1812 hero and Medal of Honor holder.

first appeared: 4/22/2001

The “Magnolia State,” as Mississippi is known, is so named because of the abundance of magnolia flowers and trees in the state. The magnolia also is both the official state flower and the official state tree.

first appeared: 4/15/2001

The International Checker Hall of Fame, located in Petal (pop. 7,883), opened in 1979. It contains pictures of past and present champions.

first appeared: 4/8/2001

The Wister Gardens in Belzoni (pop. 2,536) provide a cornucopia of colors each spring and summer. It features thousands of azaleas in different varieties and hundreds of roses, as well as pears, peaches, plums, apples, and nectarines.

first appeared: 4/1/2001

Mississippi Sandhill Cranes, an endangered species, only are found in the wild in Jackson County. The crane stands about 44 inches tall and has an 8-foot wingspan.

first appeared: 3/25/2001

Poultry is Mississippi’s premier agricultural industry, contributing more than $8.5 billion annually to the state’s economy and employing more than 70,000.

first appeared: 3/18/2001

The John Grisham Room at Mississippi State University in Starkville (pop. 19,900) houses the only complete collection in America of this Mississippi author’s papers and publications, including signed works, international editions, and manuscripts.

first appeared: 3/11/2001

S.B. “Sam” Vick, of Oakland (pop. 553), who played for the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox, was the only man ever to pinch hit for baseball legend Babe Ruth.

first appeared: 3/4/2001

Kosciusko (pop. 6,986) is named after Tadeusz Kosciuszko, a Polish general who served as a military engineer for the colonies during the Revolutionary War.

first appeared: 2/25/2001

Columbus (pop. 22,724) was incorporated in 1821 and initially called Possum Town, after the opossum-like features of Spirus Roach, a popular local trader. Today, the beautiful old town is named for the famous Spanish explorer.

first appeared: 2/18/2001

The Hopson Plantation near Clarksdale (pop. 19,000) became the first completely mechanized cotton operation in the world in 1944 with the use of the automated cotton picker.

first appeared: 2/11/2001

Manship House Museum, built in 1857, is the legacy of Charles Henry Manship, then mayor of Jackson. The house accommodated his 15 children, and family members lived in the home until 1975 when the state acquired it.

first appeared: 2/4/2001

—In 1842, Gov. Tilghman M. Tucker became the state’s first chief executive to occupy the new governor’s mansion, which is still in use today.

first appeared: 1/28/2001

Mrs. Mamie Thomas was the country’s first female rural mail carrier. She delivered mail in 1914 by buggy on a route southeast of Vicksburg (pop. 20,908).

first appeared: 1/21/2001

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