What Is It About the 48th State?

The last of the contiguous states to be admitted to the Union, achieved statehood on St. Valentine’s Day, 1912. It is part of both the western and the mountain states. It is the 6th largest and 14th most populous of the 50 states in the United States of America. The southern most part of the state is desert, with extreme high temperatures in the summer. The northern part of the state is mountainous and often sees significant snowfall in winter.

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Whistlin’ Dixie In the Land of Cotton

M, dotted letter, crooked letter, crooked letter, dotted letter, crooked letter, crooked letter, dotted letter, hump back, hump back, dotted letter.

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned in my blog that I’d hidden a clue in the post regarding my new home. The clue was this picture:

Photo courtesy Google Images

The Magnolia State, home of the Rebels and the Bulldogs, birthplace of Elvis Aaron Presley (Tupelo, January 8, 1935), famous for the Natchez Trace and the Great River Road (Blues Highway), former home of Jefferson Davis, first and only president of the Southern Confederate States during the War Between the States (who, incidentally, despised war).

Beauvoir – Jefferson Davis’s home. Photo courtesy Google Images

 

 

Why Mississippi you ask? Because my friends, after we decided that owing a bed & breakfast held a certain appeal to us, we started researching and Mississippi proved to be the state that afforded us the most bang for our buck. We visited, explored, researched some more, and voila, we found the perfect place. Contracts were signed, paperwork flew across the internet, deals were made, and now it’s about to happen. Just a couple more weeks and it’ll be official – I’ll be a resident of Mississippi!

Photo courtesy Google Images

In the meantime, while you’re all planning your trips to visit me (you are right?), here are 10 lesser known yet fun facts about Mississippi:

1 – It is approximately 725 miles from Disney World;

2 – It is approximately 1,780 miles from Disneyland;

3 – Shoes were first offered in boxed pairs (1 left, 1 right) around 1884 at Phil Gilbert’s Shoe Parlor on Washington Street in Vicksburg;

4 – It is the home of the International Hall of Checkers and the Biedenharn Coca-Cola Museum;

5 – The Vicksburg National Cemetery is the second largest in the country, the first being Arlington;

6 – The world’s largest pecan nursery is located in Mississippi;

7 – Vicksburg is home to the world’s largest hydraulic research laboratory and is operated by the US Army Corp of Engineers;

8 – John B. Stetson, honed the craft of hat-making at Dunn’s Falls, near Meridian, after the Civil War, forever changing the look of western headgear.

9 – S.B. Sam Vick, of Batesville, was the only man to ever pinch hit for Babe Ruth. He played for both the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox.

10 – Most importantly, it is where you’ll find the Baer House Inn, circa 1870, my new home! (Almost.)

Photo courtesy Baer House Inn

I hope you’ll all come and visit (but not all at the same time because I don’t have that much room) and enjoy some Southern hospitality and home cooked vittles.

Question: What is your favorite Southern dish? Ever been to Mississippi? Got a cool Mississippi fun fact? If you stay overnight, what would you like to eat for breakfast?

Word of the Day:  Taboret

Fun Fact About Me: I’ve only been to Mississippi twice. And no, that awesome car does not come with the house. (Dang it!)

Original post by Jansen Schmidt, June 2015. Photos courtesy Baer House Inn and Google Images

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