Visitors Guide to Attractions
in Mississippi County, Arkansas
Mississippi County has many different attractions for visitors to the area. The largest community is Blytheville which has interesting architecture in the downtown area. Osceola has interesting architecture in its downtown area and the Mississippi County Museum. At Wilson visitors can explore artifacts from a Mississippian era Native American village at Hampson Archeological Museum State Park.
Big Lake National Wildlife Refuge
Manila, Arkansas
Big Lake National Wildlife Refuge is an 11,038-acre area located in northeast Arkansas eighteen miles west of the Mississippi River. It is one of the oldest inland national wildlife refuges. It was established to provide habitat and protection for migrating and wintering birds and is recognized as an important link in the Mississippi migration corridor. Over the years the objectives of the refuge have expanded to include protection for endangered species. The refuge is open to the public and offers opportunities in hunting, fishing, boating, wildlife observation, and photography.
Herman Davis State Park
Manila, Arkansas
Herman Davis State Park honors Private Herman Davis, a native of Manila who is considered one of the top heroes of World War I by distinguishing himself with unusual feats of bravery on more than one occasion. After his death in 1923, Mississippi County raised $5,000 for the monument in Manila, where the city had donated a site. The monument is an imposing twenty-five-foot-tall Barre granite obelisk with a life-sized statue of Davis made from Italian marble resting at its base. The memorial site has off-street parking areas, sidewalks, and park benches and is fully accessible to all visitors.
Hampson Archeological Museum State Park
Wilson, Arkansas
Hampson Archeological Museum State Park houses and exhibits a nationally renowned collection from the Nodena site, a 15-acre palisaded Native American village that once thrived on a meander bend of the Mississippi River from 1400 to 1650 C.E. This remarkable collection owes its preservation to the late Dr. James K. Hampson and his family. The park grounds include a beautiful, tree-shaded picnic and playground area.
Manila Museum
Manila, Arkansas
The Manila Museum was organized by a group of volunteers and is located in the renovated Jonesboro, Lake City and Eastern Railroad (JLC&E) depot that once serviced the lumber mills of the region. The museum houses antique items and memorabilia for future generations to view.
Mississippi County Courthouse
Blytheville, Arkansas
In 1919, the Pine Bluff architectural firm of Selligman and Ellesvard was charged with designing a new courthouse for Mississippi County. The resulting courthouse was an elegant and refined interpretation of the Colonial Revival style of architecture that proved popular for many early twentieth century public buildings in Arkansas. On the courthouse lawn are a memorial to the pioneers of Mississippi County and an eternal flame flanked by monuments to veterans of the World Wars, Korea, and Vietnam. Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Edgar H (Buck) Lloyd is buried on the courthouse grounds.
Mississippi County Historical Museum
Osceola, Arkansas
While on the square in downtown Osceola, visitors should stop in at the Mississippi County Historical and Genealogical Society and its county museum housed in a 1902 and 1904 mercantile building. Visitors to the museum will find out when the Mississippi River froze, the story of the first cars in Osceola, why the railroad was started, even when lighting came to Osceola, or how the drainage was done to make the farming even better. The museum provides information for those who want to take a walking or driving tour of Osceola as well as brochures that inform visitors about the rich history of the area, including music, art, military, and politics.
Sans Souci Landing
Osceola, Arkansas
This scenic park is situated along the banks of the Mississippi River on the site of the former Sans Souci plantation and offers a great up close view of the river. The park features historical markers including one dedicated to Mark Twain’s Plum Point Landing and Overlook (Plum Point was the name of Osceola until the name was changed in 1853), which was mentioned in "Life on the Mississippi." The park also offers free ramp access to the Mississippi River.
Nearby Attractions
Bootheel Missouri
The Missouri Bootheel is the southeastern most part of the state and is composed of the counties of Dunklin, New Madrid, and Pemiscot. Explore what the region once was like at the area’s many conservation areas. Learn the history of New Madrid, the great earthquakes of 1812-13, the role the town played in the Civil War, and the town’s history at several museums and historic sites in the town. Get a great view of the Mississippi from New Madrid’s riverfront. Other regional history can be found in museums in the towns of Kennett and Malden.
Crowley's Ridge Parkway in Northeast Arkansas
The counties of Clay, Greene, Craighead, Pointsett, and Cross comprise the upper two thirds of the Crowley's Ridge Parkway National Scenic Byway. Crowley's Ridge rises as much as 200 feet above the vast flatland of the Mississippi River Delta and is characterized by upland hardwood forests, farmland, orchards and a variety of recreational and historical resources. Four state parks lie along the parkway which passes through the St. Francis National Forest. Cultural attractions can be found in Jonesboro, home of Arkansas State University. Many of the regions communities are host to small museums that interprets the area’s history.
Western Tennessee
The Western Tennessee counties of Lake, Obion, Dyer, Lauderdale, and Tipton offers it visitors a variety of historical, natural, and cultural activities. History can be found everywhere in Western Tennessee at such places as Fort Pillow State Historic Park, the Alex Haley Home and Interpretive Center, and many county museums. Nature can be explored at Reelfoot Lake, Tennessee’s largest natural lake, and at Fort Pillow State Historic Park as well as the Tipton County Museum, Veterans Memorial & Nature Center. Unique architecture can be seen at the Tipton and Lauderdale County courthouses and their surrounding downtown districts and Confederate soldier monuments dot the landscape. Theater lovers will delight in the atmosphere of the Ruffin Theater in Covington.
For Travelers Heading Up the River
The Mississippi Meets the Ohio River Region
After the Mississippi River passes St. Louis it begins to change character. When the Mississippi River meets the Ohio River at Cairo, Illinois it is halfway on its journey to the sea. It is here that the brown muddy water of the Mississippi begins to mingle with the clearer water of the Ohio. Without the locks and dams the Mississippi begins to wind and curve so much so that the distance by water from Cape Girardeau to the Gulf of Mexico is twice the distance as a crow flies. The region where the Mississippi River meets the Ohio River is an area of transition in several respects both in terms of the flora and fauna but the culture begins to take on that of the Deep South. The Meeting the Ohio region of the Middle Mississippi River Valley offers it visitors a wide variety of options of activities to do and sites to see. Whether you’re looking for historical or cultural sites or a place to enjoy nature you’ll find it in this part of the country.
