Traveling Mississippi's Highway 61: Rich Delta farmland, glitzy gambling palaces, and Civil War-era mansions captivate motorists on this north-south corridor, a ribbon of roadway loaded with surprises and laced with southern charm

Travel America, March-April, 2002 by Darlene P. Copp

Whenever I travel U.S. Highway 61 in Mississippi, I am aware that there's more than meets the eye along its 330-mile course. It passes through some of the most fertile land on earth, built up of alluvium from thousands of years of flooding by the mighty Mississippi. The earliest farmers here left evidence of their existence in the form of ceremonial and burial mounds. Even though most were leveled long ago, I pride myself on recognizing these prehistoric earthworks, easy to do on the pancake-flat terrain, except for the houses and cemeteries that often conceal them.

For 225 miles, from Memphis to Vicksburg, Highway 61 serves as the main artery through the fabled Mississippi Delta, a vast agricultural region that gave rise to many legendary blues singers. Their slave ancestors did the backbreaking work of draining tangled cypress swamps and clearing dense hardwood forests. Remnants of marshy cypress survive today amidst millions of acres of cotton, corn, soybeans, rice paddies, pecan groves, and catfish ponds. Small white churches and abandoned paint-bare buildings appear rooted to their surroundings, an indelible part of the past. Among other relics of bygone days are whitewashed buildings that served as plantation commissaries, one home to a Robinsonville cafe called The Hollywood that is famed for its fried dill pickles and a verse in the pop song "Walking in Memphis."

Over the past decade, startlingly new structures designed for distinctly new activities draw 10 to 12 million visitors annually to Tunica County alone: Ten glitzy casino resorts operate nonstop gambling, star-studded stages, body-pampering spas, championship golf courses, and dozens of themed restaurants. A half hour south of Memphis, the elegant Grand Casino and Gold Strike hotels loom over cotton fields, the first signs of Tunica's alter-ego as the third largest gaming destination in the country. New connecting roads branch off 61 North, cross the levee, and dead-end at fanciful entertainment zones.

If the past interests you more, the new Tunica County Museum on Highway 61 obliges with displays on history and agriculture. To scratch the cultural surface, seek out Horseshoe Casino's Blues & Legends Hall of Fame, which presents artful exhibits on the evolution and impact of the locally-grown music. For further documentation on how the blues were born, drive south to Clarksdale, where the Delta Blues Museum houses memorabilia of greats like B.B. King, Robert Johnson, and Muddy Waters. On the way, stop in the town of Tunica for home cooking at the Blue & White, a tradition since 1937. The friendly Ranchero, also on 61, is Clarksdale's own down-home favorite.

The popularity of casinos all along Ole Man River has prompted the widening of Highway 61 to mostly four lanes. Crop dusters skimming overhead will still startle you, but you must slow down to see the colorful, quirky side of the Delta. For one, I recommend you take the turnoff into Mound Bayou, the oldest all-black municipality in the United States, founded in 1887 by former slaves. Continue on Old 61, known as the Blues Highway, a few miles more into tiny Merigold for a Delta surprise.

In an old mule barn on St. Mary Street, its entrance fairly obscured by dense bamboo shoots, you'll find a world unto itself: McCarty's Pottery. Mississippians have loved the simple forms (including trademark rabbits) and earthy glazes created by Lee and Pup McCarty for more than 40 years. Appreciating their staying power is easy when you wander through their acres of lush gardens adorned with pottery and wrought iron, pools, and arbors. The McCartys also operate The Gallery for gourmet lunches in a refined setting. Both their enterprises are open Tuesday through Saturday (662-748-2293).

A different form of artistry drew from a boyhood playing along Deer Creek in Leland. Jim Henson's real friend Kermit inspired his endearing Muppet, now the centerpiece of exhibits on Henson's life in a tourist center on Highway 82, which also offers Kermit the Frog souvenirs. Continue eight miles farther on U.S. 82 into Greenville to walk atop the Mississippi River Levee or view the river from an observation tower in Warfield Point Park. And if you still haven't spotted any Indian mounds, or would like to delve into the civilization that produced them, drive six miles north on Highway 1 to Winterville Mounds, a National Historic Landmark.

Back on 61, if you're curious about how the Delta originally looked, head west out of Hollandale to Leroy Percy State Park, the state's largest and oldest preserve, complete with alligators. Next you might be ready for a snack from the Onward Store, where you can learn how Teddy Roosevelt's 1906 hunting trip here gave birth to the "teddy bear."

Vicksburg deserves an overnight stay for its abundance of Civil War history, all of it come by the hard way. Among the most stirring of our battlefield parks, Vicksburg National Military Park commemorates the long campaign and grueling siege to capture this strategic river city. Other places to soak up wartime stories include the Old Court House Museum and the neighboring tour homes Balfour House and Pemberton Headquarters. For a memorable night, lodge and dine at Cedar Grove Mansion, set on four acres of formal gardens.