The state’s largest river port, founded in 1828, attracts visitors with its blues heritage and delta history.
By James and Dorothy Richardson
December 2005
What’s so fine about Greenville, Mississippi? On the surface, the portion of the Mississippi River Delta from Memphis, Tennessee, south to Vicksburg, Mississippi, seems to be just a long stretch of flat farmland. But there is so much more to the Delta in the Greenville area than meets the eye.
This Mississippi River town is a good place to relax. It’s several miles east of Interstate 55 via U.S. 82, right on the river across from Arkansas. Good RV parks can be found in the area, as can a number of attractions.
Greenville proper is protected from the mighty Mississippi by a levee system that dates to pre-Civil War days. Its newest version is magnificently strong, dubbed the “Great Wall of Mississippi.” Along the current levee on Lake Ferguson, which joins the Mississippi River at Greenville, several casinos provide a means for gaming recreation.
Fishing is an excellent option on Lake Ferguson, in the Mississippi River, and across the river on Lake Chicot (pronounced “CHEE-koe”).
In the city itself the main attractions are downtown in the historic district, and along the riverfront. Access is no problem for motorhomes. Driving is permitted on the levee, but if you have a big coach, you may have difficulty negotiating some of the turns to get to the casinos across the levee. Parking is available downtown, and shuttles run frequently.
Several long-standing churches are located downtown, along with other historical buildings. The Washington County Courthouse is a very impressive structure and its grounds are classified as an arboretum. The Old #1 Firehouse Museum is located on Main Street and contains vintage firefighting equipment and vehicles from the 1920s. It is open daily and admission is free; to access the museum, go into City Hall and inquire, or call (662) 378-1500.
Greenville boasts a small-town flavor, although it is one of the largest metropolitan areas of the state’s river towns (population approximately 39,000). This region has produced many great writers for its small size. The William Alexander Percy Library, also on Main Street, contains a writers’ exhibit that honors the many notables from the area. Shelby Foote, who penned many works about the Civil War, as well as Bern Keating, Walker Percy, Ellen Douglas, and Hodding Carter are all from this area. The exhibit contains original manuscripts and other memorabilia and is open daily.
Cotton is king in the Delta because of its rich soil, resulting from the flooding Mississippi River. Plantations were prevalent in Greenville’s early history. Three plantation homes remain in the area, but all are privately owned and cannot be toured. Only drive-by picture-taking is permitted. Mount Holly (from the Civil War era); Linden-on-the-Lake (1900s, now a bed-and-breakfast inn), and Belmont Plantation (original, from 1857) are the three plantation homes just south of Greenville along State Route 1.
A new bridge is planned across the river leading into Arkansas via U.S. 82, but the current two-lane bridge is fine. Although somewhat narrow, it allows passage between the states at a 45-mph pace, which is appropriate for the road condition. Just across the bridge is a turnoff that leads to Lake Chicot County Park, which has one of the nicest campgrounds in the area. The park is situated on the lake, which offers great fishing. Of its 100 sites, 28 have full hookups, and seniors get a great discounted rate. Reservations are advisable for Chicot; phone (870) 265-3500 or visit www.chicotcounty.com for more information.
On the Mississippi side of the river, on U.S. 82 West, is Warfield Point Park, another option for motorhomers. It is situated at the mouth of Lake Ferguson and offers a great view of the river and its boat traffic. A sign directing motorists to the park is located just before the bridge if you are heading west. It has 75 developed sites, a dump station, a bathhouse, and a nature trail. Phone (662) 335-7275 for more information.
Both of these parks are good base camps from which to investigate the Greenville area.
The Delta also is noted for its role in the birth of the blues. Eight miles east of Greenville, along U.S. 82, in the little town of Leland, you can learn more “” and listen, too. The Highway 61 Blues Museum is located off Main Street in downtown Leland, housed in an old brick building once known as the Temple Theatre.
Bobby Rutledge, a musician himself who staffed the museum when we visited, is proud of Leland and its roots. Rutledge mentioned the Old Highway 10, which was replaced in parts by U.S. 82. Many bluesmen lived along Highway 10, as they did along U.S. 61. Leland was at the crossroads of the two blues-saturated highways. According to Rutledge, “It was in the past a different place. Today it’s a quiet town. Before they legalized liquor, it was not a quiet town.”
The Highway 61 Blues Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (winter hours); admission is $5 for visitors ages 12 and over and $3 for seniors ages 60 and over.
Leland has an ongoing “Blues Project” to benefit the Highway 61 Blues Museum. Part of that project involves commissioning local artists to paint murals depicting bluesmen of the past on buildings around town. Several already have been completed and add flavor to the landscape. The town also holds its own Highway 61 Blues Festival each year in June.
Many notable bluesmen hail from the Mississippi Delta region: Johnny Winter was born and spent many summers with his parents and brother, Edgar, in Leland. Eddie Cusic was an Inverness native. B.B. King was born in Itta Bena and raised in Indianola (both small towns along the Old Highway 10 between Greenville and Greenwood). Jimmy Reed was a Dunleith native, while Muddy Waters hailed from Rolling Fork.
Today’s greats play in Greenville, too, as it hosts the Mississippi Delta Blues & Heritage Festival on the third weekend each September. This event, which attracts a huge national following, began in 1978 and is the second-oldest continuously operating blues festival in the country. Another notable annual event is the Delta Air and Balloon Festival, held on the second weekend of September. It takes place either on the levee in downtown Greenville or at the regional airport. Both venues offer excitement and the opportunity to see colorful balloons floating quietly overhead all across the city as well as aircraft demonstrations.
Speaking of colors, Leland is not only famous for the blues, but also for the “greens,” as in the color of a famous frog, “Kermit the Frog.” Muppets creator Jim Henson was born in Greenville and grew up in Leland. He is said to have named Kermit after a childhood friend.
The man who also invented Miss Piggy, Cookie Monster, Big Bird, and many others, and who won numerous honors over his lifetime (he died in 1990), is recognized at the Jim Henson Delta Boyhood Exhibit. The “Birthplace of the Frog, an Exhibit of Jim Henson’s Boyhood Home” is located inside the Washington County Tourist Center/Leland Chamber of Commerce in Leland. Admission is free. Visitors can see videos of Henson’s early works, Muppet memorabilia, and more. Deer Creek, the “birthplace” of Kermit, is right by the building. Phone (662) 686-7383 for more information.
Six miles north of Greenville via State Route 1 is another, older piece of history. The Winterville Mounds and Museum contains artifacts with information about the activities of pre-Columbian Americans. These ancient people built 43 hills, 15 of which still remain. One is six stories tall. The on-site museum explains what archaeologists have learned about the Mound Builders, who thrived here from approximately A.D. 1000 to 1450. Admission is free, but donations are accepted. The museum is open daily. Call (662) 334-4684 for more information.
The Mississippi Welcome Center along U.S. 82 in Greenville is a necessary stop, if only to admire the building, which was constructed for the 1984 New Orleans World’s Fair. The building, which resembles a large riverboat, takes the name River Road Queen. The welcome center is open seven days a week, dispensing information to travelers.
If you ask about restaurants in Greenville, Doe’s Eat Place is sure to be mentioned. Located in downtown Greenville, it is open from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday. It is noted for steaks, but take-out tamales are available all day. Dinner reservations are necessary, so call ahead (662-334-3315). The outside of the building at 502 Nelson St. has been unchanged for decades “” and, therefore, it fits right into the neighborhood landscape.
If you travel to Greenville via the Great River Road, which parallels the Mississippi River from its origin to its terminus, you follow along U.S. 61. Between Memphis and Greenville along U.S. 61 are several high-profile casinos in Tunica, Mississippi. Thanks to the increased traffic from Memphis and points south, U.S. 61 is four-laned the entire route to Greenville, except for approximately 10 miles.
Seventy miles north of Greenville, midway between Memphis and Greenville, is a mecca for many people on their way through this area: the famed Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale. It’s the state’s oldest music museum, set in a beautifully restored railroad depot built in 1918, and features more than 5,000 square feet of exhibits devoted to the blues. The museum is open Monday through Saturday; admission is $7 for adults, $5 for seniors and children over 12, and free for children under 12. Call (662) 627-6820 or visit www.deltabluesmuseum.org for more information.
For visitors who desire a relaxing getaway, are interested in the history of the blues or the Muppets, or who simply want to see some beautiful, flat farmland, a visit to the Mississippi Delta is in order.
Further Info
Greenville/Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau
P.O. Box 68
216 Walnut St.
Greenville, MS 38702
(662) 334-2711
(800) 467-3582
www.visitgreenville.org