6 Quirky Little Towns In Mississippi

From deals with the devil to witches who burned cities, and from forests turned to stone to mothers reading to their buried children, Mississippi holds some of the strangest stories in America. The state stretches from the Gulf Coast shoreline to the Mississippi Delta, with a geography defined by rivers, swamps thick with vegetation, farmland, and lowlands that create pockets of isolation, perfect for quirky atmosphere. Its history includes Native American mound-building cultures, European colonial settlement, the development of a cotton-based agricultural economy, economic upheaval, and the birth of blues music as a defining force in American identity. Within this landscape, 6 smaller towns reveal Mississippi’s quirky and unforgettable side. Fuel up the car and go see them for yourself.

Clarksdale

If selling your soul to the devil could make you a star, Clarksdale would be the place to do it. Many travelers start at the Clarksdale Crossroads, the site of the legendary tale of Robert Johnson making a deal with the devil known as Old Scratch. Visitors pause to see the large crossed guitars before moving on to the Delta Blues Museum, which reveals the area’s musical history through photographs, instruments, and archival recordings.

Many travelers explore the Clarksdale Art & Cultural District, where local artists present their work in small galleries, including Hambone Art & Music. Most days end at Ground Zero Blues Club, where nightly live music carries the blues tradition into the present.

Natchez

Sitting beside the grave of a girl who died in 1871 while thunder rolls overhead should be on everyone’s Mississippi bucket list. The first unusual attraction is the grave of Florence Irene Ford, which includes a window built into the burial chamber and a six-foot stairway descending beside it, allowing her grieving mother, Ellen, to sit with her child during storms, believing Florence feared thunder. The second attraction is the Turning Angel, a monument created by the owner of the Natchez Drug Company in memory of employees lost in an explosion. At night, headlights passing along Cemetery Road create the illusion that the angel’s face turns toward the viewer.

To calm the emotions stirred by these memorials, many visitors continue to St. Mary Basilica, a Gothic Revival church with a vaulted ceiling. People also visit Longwood, the unfinished octagonal mansion suspended in partial construction since the Civil War, before ending the day at Under-the-Hill Saloon, a 200-year-old waterfront bar tied to the city’s rougher past.

Meridian

Standing in front of a silent steam factory and then at the grave of a Romani matriarch gives Meridian a strange mix of industrial memory and human folklore. Soulé Steam Feed Works is one of the few remaining steam-era industrial sites in the United States and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The building retains original equipment including lathes, boilers, overhead belts, and stamped machinery that once supplied mills throughout the South. The second site is the grave of Kelly Mitchell, the Gypsy Queen, where visitors from the Romani community and beyond leave coins, beads, and flowers as expressions of respect and spiritual acknowledgment.

Afterward, many visitors walk the paths around Bonita Lakes Park, where lakeside trails offer quiet space beneath tree cover. The day often ends at the MSU Riley Center, a restored theater and cultural venue with an active calendar of concerts, lectures, and performances.

Flora

A forest where every tree has turned to stone gives Flora its unusual appeal. Visitors typically begin at the Mississippi Petrified Forest, following a marked trail through what was once a forest of maple, fir, palm, and other species, some now extinct. Over millions of years, the wood transformed into stone, and the museum displays petrified samples from every state in the United States and several countries. The next location is the Pocahontas Mounds Historical Marker, consisting of two earthen mounds built by Native American groups between 1000 and 1300 AD. Archaeological research suggests homes or ceremonial structures once stood atop these mounds, with a surrounding village evolving through the Coles Creek and Plaquemine periods. After seeing the forest and the mounds, most travelers stop at Coach’s Creamery in Livingston, known for handcrafted ice cream and a changing selection of seasonal flavors.

Yazoo City

Between the witch’s curse that supposedly set the city ablaze and the pastel-painted blocks of its downtown, Yazoo City is a must-visit. Visitors begin at the Witch of Yazoo Grave, marked by an iron chain around the site of the figure blamed in local legend for the 1904 fire that destroyed much of Yazoo City. Then they walk Yazoo City Main Street, where historic storefronts were repainted in tropical colors beginning in the early 2000s. From late November through early January, the buildings are outlined in holiday lights that brighten the street after dark.

Visitors then head to Panther Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, a bottomland forest and wetland habitat offering quiet opportunities for wildlife observation during daylight hours. The final stop is the Triangle Cultural Center, located in the former Main Street School on the triangular block known as The Triangle, where preserved rooms and archival materials trace Yazoo County’s civic development.

Ocean Springs

The line between imagination and reality thins here, shaped by the eccentric vision of artist Walter Anderson. The main oddity in town is the Walter Anderson Museum of Art, where Anderson’s murals portray birds, fish, insects, and Gulf wildlife in flowing forms shaped by his belief that nature held hidden messages. His solitary stays on Horn Island, sketching and sleeping outdoors, contribute to the museum’s unusual psychological atmosphere. A striking architectural site stands at the Charnley-Norwood House, designed by Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, and later reconstructed using recovered materials after Hurricane Katrina, giving the building a layered continuity despite repeated destruction.

Visitors step away from town life along the Twelve Oaks Nature Trail, a wooded route with boardwalks and native plants. Many evenings end at Mosaic Restaurant & Bar, known for outdoor seating and an artistic crowd. In August, the town’s energy surges during the Ocean Springs Artwalk, an annual festival filled with artists, musicians, and vendors.

Oddities At Every Corner

Mississippi’s unusual places show how culture, belief, history, and imagination overlap in unexpected ways. In Clarksdale, the devil’s bargain still echoes in blues folklore. In Natchez, the grave of Florence Irene Ford and the Turning Angel carry emotional weight rooted in memory and loss. Meridian preserves industrial history and cultural myth through steam machinery and the tradition of the Gypsy Queen. Flora confronts visitors with geologic time in stone forests and ancient earth mounds. Ocean Springs reflects one man’s extraordinary artistic vision and a home rebuilt through determination. Yazoo City blends pastel charm with a haunting legend. Fuel up the car and go see them for yourself.