Sleepytime Villa
04-11-2004, 21:05
I live in Mississippi and am very proud of our state..we catch alot of crap from people about being backwards but i feel that this is due to ignorance of all that ms has given to the world...Yes i am very aware of our history..many awful things have happened here ..but that is mainly in the past and many mistakes are still being rectified... we are still prosecuting people who "got away with stuff decades ago".. we are reopening and prosecuting many civil rights era cases...anyways i have been putting together stuff that makes our state great here are a few if you have anything to add feel free even if you do not or have never lived here..thanx
LITTLE KNOWN MISSISSIPPI FACTS:
The Mississippi Gulf Coast, from Biloxi to Henderson Point, is the
largest and longest manmade beach.
National Geographic is printed by the Ringier-America company in
Corinth, MS.
The world's only cactus plantation is located in Edwards with more
than 3,000 varieties of cacti.
Mississippi has more tree farms than any other state.
Mississippi has more churches per capita than any other state.
Norris Bookbinding Company in Greenwood is the largest Bible rebinding
plant in the nation.
Dr. Tichenor created Dr. Tichenor's Antiseptic in Liberty, MS
Four cities in the world have been sanctioned by the International
Theatre/Dance Committee to host the International Ballet Competition:
Moscow, Russia; Varna, Bulgaria; Helsinki, Finland; and Jackson,
Mississippi.
David Harrison of Columbus owns the patent on the "Soft Toilet Seat."
Over one million are sold every year.
The first football player on a Wheaties box was Walter Payton of
Columbia.
The Teddy Bear's name originated after a bear hunt in Mississippi with
President Theodore Roosevelt. President Roosevelt refused to shoot an
exhausted and possibly lame bear. News of this spread across the
country, and a New York merchant capitalized on this publicity by
creating a stuffed bear called "Teddy's Bear."
H. T. Merrill of Iuka flew the first round-trip transoceanic flight in
1928. The flight to England was made in a plane loaded with ping-pong
balls.
The birthplace of Elvis in Tupelo includes: a museum, a chapel, and
the two-room house in which Elvis was born.
The world's oldest Holiday Inn is in Clarksdale.
Blazon-Flexible Flyer, Inc., in West Point, manufactures the best snow
sled in the country, the Flexible Flyer.
Greenwood is the home of Cotton Row, which is the second largest
cotton exchange in the nation and is on the National Register of
Historic Places.
Emil and Kelly Mitchell, the King and Queen of Gypsies, are buried in
Rose Hill Cemetery in Meridian. Since 1915, people from all over the
world have left gifts of fruit and juice at their grave sites.
The 4-H Club began in Holmes County in 1907.
The Waterways Experiment Station in Vicksburg is the largest research,
testing, and development facility of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
On April 25, 1866, women in Columbus decorated the graves of
Confederate and Union soldiers in Friendship Cemetery. This gesture
became known as Decoration Day, the beginning of what we observe as
Memorial Day.
Shoes were first sold as pairs in 1884 at Phil Gilbert's Shoe Parlor
in Vicksburg.
Inventor James D. Byrd of Clinton holds seven patents and developed
the plastic used as a heat shield by NASA.
Mississippi University for Women in Columbus was the first state
college for women in the country, established in 1884.
Every commercial airliner has at least one hydraulic component
manufactured by Vickers in Jackson.
The McCoy Federal Building in Jackson is the first federal building in
the United States named for a Black man. Dr. A. H. McCoy was a dentist and business leader.
Hatmaker John B. Stetson learned and practiced hatmaking in Dunn's
Falls, MS.
The oldest field game in America is Stickball, played by the Choctaw
Indians of Mississippi. Demonstrations can be seen every July at the
Choctaw Indian Fair in Philadelphia, MS.
Alcorn State University in Lorman is the oldest black land grant
college in the world.
The International Checkers Hall of Fame is in Petal.
Natchez was settled by the French in 1716 and is the oldest permanent
settlement on the Mississippi River. Natchez once had 500
millionaires,
more than any other city except New York City. Natchez now has more
than 500 buildings that are on the National Register of Historic
Places.
Captain Issac Ross of Lorman freed his slaves in 1834 and arranged for
their passage to the west coast of Africa. They founded the country of
Liberia.
Oliver Pollock was the largest individual financial contributor to the
American Revolution. He invented the dollar sign ($). He is buried
near Pinckneyville.
Resin Bowie, the inventor of the Bowie Knife, is buried in Port
Gibson, MS
Liberty was the first town in the country to erect a Confederate
monument in 1871.
The Pass Christian Yacht Club is the second oldest yacht club in North
America, founded in 1849.
The Mississippi Legislature passed one of the first laws in 1839 to
protect the property rights of married women.
The Natchez Trace Parkway, named an "All American Road" by the federal
government, extends from Natchez to just south of Nashville,
Tennessee. The Trace began as an Indian trail more than 8,000 years ago.
The Mississippi Delta is the birthplace of the Blues, music truly
original to America.
The Vicksburg National Cemetery is the second-largest national
cemetery in the country. Arlington National Cemetery is the largest.
D'Lo was featured in Life Magazine for sending prortionally more men
to serve in World War II than any other town of its size; 38 percent
of the men who lived in D'Lo served.
In 1894, Coca-Cola was first bottled by Joseph A. Biedenharn in
Vicksburg.
Mississippi was the first state to outlaw imprisonment of debtors.
Belzoni is the Catfish Capital of the World. Approximately 70 percent
of the nation's farm-raised catfish comes from Mississippi.
The company that makes Icee drinks is owned by Fred Montalvo from
Edwards.
Peavey Electronics, in Meridian, is the world's largest manufacturer
of musical amplification equipment.
Proportionally more Mississippians were killed during the Civil War
than from any other Confederate state.
Serving during Reconstruction, Hiram Revels was the first Black U.S.
Senator.
The first Parents-Teachers Association was founded in Crystal Springs,
MS.
Babe Ruth's last home run was hit off a Mississippian, Guy Bush of
Tupelo.
LITTLE KNOWN MISSISSIPPI FACTS:
The Mississippi Gulf Coast, from Biloxi to Henderson Point, is the
largest and longest manmade beach.
National Geographic is printed by the Ringier-America company in
Corinth, MS.
The world's only cactus plantation is located in Edwards with more
than 3,000 varieties of cacti.
Mississippi has more tree farms than any other state.
Mississippi has more churches per capita than any other state.
Norris Bookbinding Company in Greenwood is the largest Bible rebinding
plant in the nation.
Dr. Tichenor created Dr. Tichenor's Antiseptic in Liberty, MS
Four cities in the world have been sanctioned by the International
Theatre/Dance Committee to host the International Ballet Competition:
Moscow, Russia; Varna, Bulgaria; Helsinki, Finland; and Jackson,
Mississippi.
David Harrison of Columbus owns the patent on the "Soft Toilet Seat."
Over one million are sold every year.
The first football player on a Wheaties box was Walter Payton of
Columbia.
The Teddy Bear's name originated after a bear hunt in Mississippi with
President Theodore Roosevelt. President Roosevelt refused to shoot an
exhausted and possibly lame bear. News of this spread across the
country, and a New York merchant capitalized on this publicity by
creating a stuffed bear called "Teddy's Bear."
H. T. Merrill of Iuka flew the first round-trip transoceanic flight in
1928. The flight to England was made in a plane loaded with ping-pong
balls.
The birthplace of Elvis in Tupelo includes: a museum, a chapel, and
the two-room house in which Elvis was born.
The world's oldest Holiday Inn is in Clarksdale.
Blazon-Flexible Flyer, Inc., in West Point, manufactures the best snow
sled in the country, the Flexible Flyer.
Greenwood is the home of Cotton Row, which is the second largest
cotton exchange in the nation and is on the National Register of
Historic Places.
Emil and Kelly Mitchell, the King and Queen of Gypsies, are buried in
Rose Hill Cemetery in Meridian. Since 1915, people from all over the
world have left gifts of fruit and juice at their grave sites.
The 4-H Club began in Holmes County in 1907.
The Waterways Experiment Station in Vicksburg is the largest research,
testing, and development facility of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
On April 25, 1866, women in Columbus decorated the graves of
Confederate and Union soldiers in Friendship Cemetery. This gesture
became known as Decoration Day, the beginning of what we observe as
Memorial Day.
Shoes were first sold as pairs in 1884 at Phil Gilbert's Shoe Parlor
in Vicksburg.
Inventor James D. Byrd of Clinton holds seven patents and developed
the plastic used as a heat shield by NASA.
Mississippi University for Women in Columbus was the first state
college for women in the country, established in 1884.
Every commercial airliner has at least one hydraulic component
manufactured by Vickers in Jackson.
The McCoy Federal Building in Jackson is the first federal building in
the United States named for a Black man. Dr. A. H. McCoy was a dentist and business leader.
Hatmaker John B. Stetson learned and practiced hatmaking in Dunn's
Falls, MS.
The oldest field game in America is Stickball, played by the Choctaw
Indians of Mississippi. Demonstrations can be seen every July at the
Choctaw Indian Fair in Philadelphia, MS.
Alcorn State University in Lorman is the oldest black land grant
college in the world.
The International Checkers Hall of Fame is in Petal.
Natchez was settled by the French in 1716 and is the oldest permanent
settlement on the Mississippi River. Natchez once had 500
millionaires,
more than any other city except New York City. Natchez now has more
than 500 buildings that are on the National Register of Historic
Places.
Captain Issac Ross of Lorman freed his slaves in 1834 and arranged for
their passage to the west coast of Africa. They founded the country of
Liberia.
Oliver Pollock was the largest individual financial contributor to the
American Revolution. He invented the dollar sign ($). He is buried
near Pinckneyville.
Resin Bowie, the inventor of the Bowie Knife, is buried in Port
Gibson, MS
Liberty was the first town in the country to erect a Confederate
monument in 1871.
The Pass Christian Yacht Club is the second oldest yacht club in North
America, founded in 1849.
The Mississippi Legislature passed one of the first laws in 1839 to
protect the property rights of married women.
The Natchez Trace Parkway, named an "All American Road" by the federal
government, extends from Natchez to just south of Nashville,
Tennessee. The Trace began as an Indian trail more than 8,000 years ago.
The Mississippi Delta is the birthplace of the Blues, music truly
original to America.
The Vicksburg National Cemetery is the second-largest national
cemetery in the country. Arlington National Cemetery is the largest.
D'Lo was featured in Life Magazine for sending prortionally more men
to serve in World War II than any other town of its size; 38 percent
of the men who lived in D'Lo served.
In 1894, Coca-Cola was first bottled by Joseph A. Biedenharn in
Vicksburg.
Mississippi was the first state to outlaw imprisonment of debtors.
Belzoni is the Catfish Capital of the World. Approximately 70 percent
of the nation's farm-raised catfish comes from Mississippi.
The company that makes Icee drinks is owned by Fred Montalvo from
Edwards.
Peavey Electronics, in Meridian, is the world's largest manufacturer
of musical amplification equipment.
Proportionally more Mississippians were killed during the Civil War
than from any other Confederate state.
Serving during Reconstruction, Hiram Revels was the first Black U.S.
Senator.
The first Parents-Teachers Association was founded in Crystal Springs,
MS.
Babe Ruth's last home run was hit off a Mississippian, Guy Bush of
Tupelo.