Mississippi Roads travels up to the northwestern corner of the state of Mississippi to Tunica County. Right off Highway 61 just north of the town of Tunica is the brand new Tunica Museum. The museum has only been open a couple of years. Hours of operation are Monday-Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Admission is free to all that enter this beautiful two million dollar facility.

After you view a great video highlighting the history of Tunica county it’s time to enter the exhibit space of the museum. In here you will find many plants and animals that are indigenous to the region; as well as, a Native American exhibit filled with artifacts and history. One interesting nugget of wisdom found inside is that the county and town of Tunica took their name from the Tunica Indians who once inhabited this land before migrating south. After the Tunica the Chickasaw Indians controlled the area and eventually all of the land of Tunica County was sold by the Chickasaw to the early settlers.

A full size conquistador on display represents DeSoto and his discovery of the Mississippi River which plays such a large role in the development of this region. And speaking of the Mighty Mississippi, our first segment features a new multi-million dollar facility devoted to “Old Man River” and it’s just around the corner from here.

The Tunica RiverPark is located in the heart of the Mississippi Delta. The Tunica RiverPark offers an extensive and one-of-a-kind interactive, interpretive center that showcases the life of the river and its history.

Overlooking the Mississippi River from a harbor on the eastern bank, the museum features informative exhibits, two stories of history including an observation deck and aquariums with native aquatic life. The park also includes a 130-acre riverside forest with walking trails.

Another great exhibit here at the Tunica Museum is this old time Commissary. Here you will find everything from hardware to underwear old wash boards and an antique cash register. One interesting fact is that most of the items in this museum were donated by residents of Tunica County. They really believe in the importance of preserving the history of the area.

Another item on loan to the museum by director Dick Taylor is an authentic Springfield Musket that was used during the Civil War. It’s one of the best preserved muskets that you will ever find. And speaking of the War Between the States, in our next segment we chronicle the journey of a powerful telescope lens that was drastically changed due to the war.

In 1860 Chancellor Barnard of the University Of Mississippi ordered an 18.5" telescope lens from the opticians  Alvan Clark & Sons of Cambridge Massachusetts. At that time, no one had ever tried to make a lens that big before and it was intended to go into a telescope for the Barnard Observatory at UM. It took two years for the lens to be ground and polished and during that time the Civil War began and, for various reasons, the lens was diverted and eventually was mounted in a telescope at The Dearborn Observatory at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. It is still in use today.

Well you knew we couldn’t make a trip up to the delta without talking about the blues. The juke joint display here has plenty of authentic items that pay homage to the music and individuals who sprouted from the fertile fields of this area. one impressive thing about this display and many others throughout this museum is the sound dome which you can stand beneath and here music, sound effects and dialogue perfectly clear. The technology and attention to detail is truly amazing in this museum.

And speaking of music and sound; in our next story we meet a couple of guys who came to the delta to try and duplicate the true blues sound found along the “Blues Highway,” Highway 61.

Angels on the Backroads was a very simple idea. Eddie and Frank Thomas, two musically gifted brothers from Iuka ,took a tape recorder, some musical instruments, and a desire to rediscover the blues with them as they drove down Highway 61 from Memphis to New Orleans. Their goal was to play and record each song where it was originally performed. By doing so, they hoped to recapture that unique feeling with only nature’s sounds around them as their accompaniment. By the time they finished, their trip had lasted eight years, covered countless miles, and produced a CD of 65 blues songs they hope will help us all rediscover the Angels on the Backroads.

Another great exhibit featured at the museum is “Sally the Mule,” This display describes the importance of the mule in helping to develop the delta. From the plowing of the fields to hauling cotton to market, the mule played a primary role in growing this region. In fact, Sally is the only taxidermy mule east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States.

In our next story we travel to Jackson and meet some one of a kind individuals who have been inducted into the Mississippi Hall of Fame. The Old Capitol Museum in downtown Jackson is home to the Mississippi Hall of Fame. Some 100 portraits grace the hallways throughout the Museum. The mission of the Mississippi Hall of Fame is to preserve our rich history, honor each individual’s past, and hope to teach future generations about the great contributions and sacrifices made by Mississippians who have a unique and inspiring story to tell.

Tunica is known for cotton, the blues and unfortunately in 1985 it became known for “Sugar Ditch” an area of African American ramshackle houses that overlooked an open sewer. But in 1992 perceptions began to change when casino gambling was introduced to the area. The Tunica museum tells the story of how the casinos have transformed one of the poorest counties in America to the third largest gaming destination in the nation. Over 16,000 gaming related jobs have been created along with six thousand hotel rooms to accommodate the 15 million visitors who make Tunica County their choice for fun each year. Those neon lights seem to attract more and more people every year. And speaking of neon lights, in our next segment we travel down to Gulfport, another popular gaming destination in Mississippi; and meet a man who makes his living through the art of neon.

Since its inception in the early 1900's, neon lighting has continually gained in popularity. Sign makers everywhere have found it to be an economical and efficient form of advertising. With this popularity has come the ever- increasing worldwide need for the trained neon tube bender. Tony Schneller is at the forefront in neon bending for Mississippi. From his initial design to his final manifestation as a luminous sculpture, each neon tube is hand made and processed individually with careful attention to detail. He creates perfect combination of art and science, by using different gases to project different colors, and adding motion and color to please and entice the eye.

Another great attribute of the Tunica Museum is that it’s constantly changing. The museum is Smithsonian Institution Traveling exhibit approved. The exhibit on display presently is “Sugar Ditch Rich”.  The exhibit explores the discernable transition to wealth in Tunica County. From the days of poverty the area was still rich in agricultural activity; The land is naturally rich being irrigated by the Mississippi River and low enough to be cultivated easily. Black laborers were rich in pride and spirit in a merciless reality. “Sugar Ditch Rich” creatively describes a history of this community through works of visual artist.

In our next segment, we travel down to Clarksdale to where a group of people have transformed old shotgun shacks into B&B’s in a way that pays homage to the many laborers who once toiled the fertile fields of the delta.

Blues lovers making the pilgrimage to the cradle of the blues, the Mississippi Delta, should not miss the unique opportunity to experience Hopson Plantation, located only four miles from the legendary Crossroads, Highways 49 and 61, in Clarksdale. Immerse yourself in the living history you will find at Hopson. Virtually unchanged from when it was a working plantation, you will find authentic sharecropper shacks, the original cotton gin and seed houses and other outbuildings. You will glimpse plantation life as it existed only a few short years ago. In addition, you will find one of the first mechanized cotton pickers, manufactured by International Harvester, as you stroll around the compound. Spend an evening enjoying live music at The Ground Zero Blues Club and then go to sleep in one of the renovated shotgun shacks or one of the newly renovated bins in the Cotton Gin Inn. Their corrugated tin roofs and Mississippi cypress walls will conjure visions of a bygone era. Restored only enough to accommodate 21st century expectations (indoor plumbing, showers, heat, air conditioning and fully equipped kitchens in some, kitchenettes in others), the shacks provide comfort as well as authenticity.

Whether you're looking for an overnight stay on your way to Memphis or Tupelo or New Orleans or you need to stay longer to conduct historic blues the Shack Up Inn will add a new dimension to your stay in the Delta.

The Tunica museum not only offers a window to our past inside but also a window to our world and environment outside the museum. The fifteen acre Walter D. and Dorothy K. Wills Nature Conservancy sits adjacent to the museum and offers a nature trail with numerous plant identification markers. It’s a great place to get out and enjoy the natural beauty of Northwest Mississippi. Until next time, we’ll be seeing you on Mississippi Roads.