8 Undisturbed Towns To Visit In Mississippi

The state of Mississippi has long shaped the industries and cultures of the American South. Beyond its larger cities, like its capital, Jackson, or the coastal town of Gulfport, smaller cities have long hidden what may be the best Mississippi offers visitors. Mississippi today grapples with the controversies of its past and invites visitors to consider progress made since. And from the state's northern limits, near neighboring Memphis and the musical legacies of the Mississippi Delta, to the waterside charms of the Gulf of Mexico (also known as the Gulf of America), Mississippi's undisturbed places might offer inspiration for a trip unlike any traveler can find elsewhere.

Biloxi

A small, southern Mississippi town that is large enough to include a diverse mix of attractions, Biloxi seems to have it all. Set along the Gulf of Mexico, the town offers visitors miles of beachfront, making a family vacation here a viable option. Another kid-friendly idea is the Ocean Adventures Marine Park, just west of town, which puts on dolphin shows and other adventures. The town has a handful of beachside casinos for adult-focused fun, ensuring a thrill and maybe even some new winnings.

Biloxi is also home to the Jefferson Davis Presidential Library and Museum. Davis served as the first and only president of the Confederate States of America, the states that seceded from the Union during the Civil War. The site sits at Beauvoir, a plantation that was once Davis' home. For more history on a lighter topic, Biloxi also offers the Maritime and Seafood Industry Museum, detailing a key group of livelihoods that shaped Biloxi and the surrounding Gulf Coast.

Corinth

In Mississippi's northeast corner, the town of Corinth presents its view on history and the state's antebellum past. The Corinth Civil War Interpretive Center, a U.S. National Park entity, explores the town's role as a strategic hub during the conflict. Also in town is the Corinth Contraband Camp, which remembers occupation here by the U.S. government troops of the Union and the movement of local slaves toward safety behind Union lines. A thought-provoking statue at the site honors this legacy.

Corinth is also a center of more modern culture. The town offers a variety of points of interest, like the Corinth Coke Museum, which celebrates a century of bygone packaging and production techniques for the Coca-Cola soft drink brand. For a look at a long-ago lunch counter, Borroum's Drug Store, said to be the state's oldest operating site of its kind, invites you to sit for a classic milkshake, burger, or both.

Diamondhead

Nestled along the Gulf Coast, Diamondhead is a leisure-seeker's kind of place. The town has numerous parks, pools, and golf courses, including the links at the Diamondhead Country Club. Other outdoor adventures await in the Jourdan River Coastal Preserve, a 6,400-acre nature sanctuary home to numerous local plant species and the region's iconic birds, such as pelicans and cormorants.

To take the pulse of Diamondhead through other cultural draws, try The Camphouse, a waterside restaurant serving seafood amid the smell of the saltwater coast. North of town, the evocatively named Rotten Bayou Cemetery has been here since 1893, and gives a sense of local rituals in one of Hancock County's oldest, largest places of final rest. The cemetery includes diverse examples of fence art, a unique feature of the burial place. Before the expansion of roads, funeral processions arrived here by boat.

Kosciusko

Named after a legendary Polish commander who helped win the Revolutionary War, the central Mississippi town of Kosciusko hides a wealth of history in this seemingly sleepy place. The Kosciusko Information Center provides details on the surrounding Natchez Trace region and about Tadeusz Kościuszko himself. The Natchez Trace is a historic forest trail that was once a Native American thoroughfare. Pioneers and settlers later used it to develop the Mississippi we know today.

For a sample of local tastes in town, head to Kosy Wings & Daiquiri Factory or Jason's Southern Table, both downtown. Fun fact: Kosciusko is the birthplace of the media personality Oprah Winfrey, who founded the Oprah Winfrey Boys & Girls Club of Kosciusko.

Oxford

Oxford ranks among Mississippi's most storied small towns and is what the state calls the "cultural mecca of the South." The home of the University of Mississippi, also called Ole Miss, Oxford is a quintessential college town. It is also the home of William Faulkner, America's modern southern writer par excellence. His fiction earned him a Nobel Prize in 1949 and helped define a region's real and imagined lore. His local family home, Rowan Oak, is open to visitors.

Quality time is easy to find at The Square, Oxford's main downtown area. It has shops and restaurants galore and has welcomed visitors since the 19th century.. For an only-in-Oxford experience, drive to the 4 Corners Chevron, a gas station in town. The place is famous for its "chicken on a stick," served 24 hours daily, and a favorite among college students partying late.

Senatobia

In northwestern Senatobia, blues music reigns supreme. Not far south of Memphis, this former railroad town sits on the Mississippi Blues Trail, a driving itinerary designed for music lovers and those wanting to learn more about the region's style, which changed American and global music styles. The local music star Jessie Mae Hemphill, a multi-instrumentalist blues artist, came from the area and is buried at Senatobia Memorial Cemetery. For more blues history, Memphis' legendary Beale Street awaits a 40-mile drive north.

Nature fans will appreciate Senatobia's rural setting. Two nearby lakes, Sardis and Arkabutla, allow for waterside relaxation, boating, and fishing. The town's name itself derives from a Chickasaw word meaning "white sycamore," further detailing its natural features.

Tupelo

Suppose Mississippi's list of music bona fides was not long enough. In that case, the town of Tupelo offers something special: it is the hometown of Elvis Presley, whose good looks, swinging hips, and mash-ups of southern musical styles changed popular culture forever. Travelers can visit the Elvis Presley Birthplace in East Tupelo, an unassuming house that welcomed a future rock star.

For other, family-friendly ideas, the Tupelo Hardware Company stands in town, preserved as an old-time store with just about everything. The store is said to have sold Elvis's first guitar to his mother, Gladys Presley. Kids will love the Tupelo Buffalo Park and Zoo, whose 210 acres make it the largest zoo in the state.

Yazoo City

The unusually named Yazoo City, in west-central Mississippi, combines history and graceful living. The colorful downtown includes neon-toned storefronts, part of the creative local spirit. Another Mississippi writer, Willie Morris, once chronicled the fables of this town in his 1971 book "Good Old Boy," which included a character he called the Witch of Yazoo; the figure is said to have started a devastating fire here in 1904.

In town, the Bank of Yazoo City stands in regal stone, in the Beaux Arts architectural style, and was erected after the fire in 1904. The movie "O Brother, Where Art Thou" used the bank as a film location. Visitors can also visit Glenwood Cemetery, which is also in town and has a Witch of Yazoo site to look at and possibly get the creeps from.

Mississippi's Small Towns Make An Ideal Visit

As these towns suggest, Mississippi holds historical and cultural interest in spades. Some of the state's most interesting places may feel out of the way, but warrant a drive in light of their diversity and broad-ranging points of interest. Biloxi and Corinth offer various areas to consider the Civil War, from the Jefferson Davis Presidential Library to the Corinth Contraband Camp that helped former slaves start a new life. Diamondhead provides coastal highlights in food and natural areas. Senatobia and Tupelo offer notes from the state's rich musical heritage, and Oxford and Yazoo City give a sense of Mississippi's literary culture. For a vacation way beyond the ordinary, Mississippi's undisturbed small towns will leave the visitor satisfied.