Mississippi Roads comes to you this week from one of the two seats of Jasper County. We are not in Bay Springs, we are in the tiny hamlet of Paulding.

Paulding was settled after the war of 1812. The town was named after John Paulding, a local citizen of Revolutionary War fame who aided in the capture of the spy; Major Andre, British Adjutant General who conspired with Benedict Arnold in the betrayal of West Point, New York.

During the antebellum period this town was a metropolis. It’s main street was flanked by homes, stores and saloons and the population reached more than one thousand. It was becoming one of the most prosperous, populated and most powerful towns in the state. During this time Paulding was known as “The Queen City of the East”

In our first story, we travel northeast to Meridian, and meet a group of ladies who call themselves the Queen City Gypsies. For thousands of years, women around the world have studied, practiced, and enjoyed the ancient art of Middle Eastern dance, or as we know it today by it’s common name, Belly Dancing. In Meridian, dance instructor and professional belly dancer Eva “Gypsy“ Williams not only teaches this ancient art to students, but, shares the dance through live performances to enthusiastic audiences through the group she has formed, "The Queen City Gypsies."

Soon after reconstruction, a railroad was proposed to be built through Paulding. Jasper county refused to pay the taxes necessary to build the rail line and thus the town of Paulding was dealt a death blow which it never could recover from.

In our next story trains, or to be more precise cabooses, are the love of one Jackson man. Dr. Guild is a psychiatrist. He has two passions in his life. One for trains, and the other for helping people. He still has the first train set from his childhood and over the years collected thousands of items of train memorabilia that now decorate his home, office, and 74 acres in Madison county. Among the collection are his prized cabooses, nine of them at last count. The cabooses he saved from the scrap yard now assist him in helping his patients. He takes his patients on tours through the restored cabooses, explains everything about them, and through there shared experience, he helps to restore themselves as well. Through his unique approach, he has helped to bring immeasurable joy to the lives of others and himself.

This courthouse in Paulding is the third such structure to be built on that sight. The original courthouse was built using clay that was dug up just outside town. At one time the courthouse was said to be the only two story building between New Orleans and Chattanooga. The first two courthouses were destroyed by fire under suspicious circumstances which still remains a mystery today.

In our next story, we meet a group whose purpose is solving the mystery of bigfoot. Have you ever been in the woods and heard a strange noise that frightened you, or saw something that you couldn't quite explain? Maybe it was an animal, a sudden gust of wind, or maybe you caught a rare glimpse of the elusive Southern Bigfoot. Is the legend true, or just an old folk tale? Join us as we meet two Mississippi investigators for The Gulf Coast Bigfoot Research Organization and find the answers. Their mission: gather information, search for clues, and explore the backwoods to uncover the mystery behind the legend of the Southern Bigfoot.

Somewhere along the streets of Paulding; a little newspaper know as the Eastern Clarion was started but when the railroad bypassed the town, the paper picked up and moved to the more prosperous town of Meridian. And later when Jackson began to grow, the paper settled there; and today you would know it as The Clarion Ledger.

In our next story, we meet a group of people that know a little bit about moving around the state of Mississippi. They do it every year at the same time. We climb aboard the Leaf River Wagon Train and take a ride back in time to when life passed by at a much slower pace. The destination of these trail blazers is the Dixie National Rodeo in Jackson.