Little Joe Ayres was performing in the same place on Delta Avenue, first with L. C. Ulmer, and then later in a duo with Cameron Kimbrough of the legendary family of blues musicians, August 13, 2011, Clarksdale, MS
Little Joe Ayres was performing in the same place on Delta Avenue, first with L. C. Ulmer, and then later in a duo with Cameron Kimbrough of the legendary family of blues musicians, August 13, 2011, Clarksdale, MS
Hill Country Records artist L. C. Ulmer was performing most of the afternoon with various musical friends and associates across the street from Morgan Freeman’s Ground Zero Blues Club, August 13, 2011, Clarksdale, MS
Hill Country Records artist L. C. Ulmer was performing most of the afternoon with various musical friends and associates across the street from Morgan Freeman’s Ground Zero Blues Club, August 13, 2011, Clarksdale, MS
Sunflower River Blues Festival 2011, Clarksdale
From Friars Point, I drove into Clarksdale for the 24th Annual Sunflower River Blues Festival. After grabbing a cappuccino at Miss Dell’s General Store, I walked down Delta Avenue, checking out festival events in progress.
Friars Point, founded in 1836, was the original county seat of Coahoma County, located right on the Mississippi River. It suffered damage in the Civil War, but remained the county seat even after the railroad town of Clarksdale began to grow and prosper inland. But the same river that had made Friars Point prosperous began to destroy it. The river began eating away at the bluff on which the town was built, and frightened county leaders, who decided to move the courthouse and county records to Clarksdale in 1930. Nothing marks the location of the old courthouse, but Friars Point remains a sleepy, historic town.
Friars Point, founded in 1836, was the original county seat of Coahoma County, located right on the Mississippi River. It suffered damage in the Civil War, but remained the county seat even after the railroad town of Clarksdale began to grow and prosper inland. But the same river that had made Friars Point prosperous began to destroy it. The river began eating away at the bluff on which the town was built, and frightened county leaders, who decided to move the courthouse and county records to Clarksdale in 1930. Nothing marks the location of the old courthouse, but Friars Point remains a sleepy, historic town.
The last time I went looking for Waverly, I didn’t find it, but today, armed with GPS courtesy of my iPhone, I got there. This beautiful old home, not to be confused with another Waverly near West Point, Mississippi, sits seven miles or so south of West Memphis, Arkansas beside the Mississippi River levee, and dates back at least to 1908. There is some confusion about how old the house is, but what is known is that it has been at its present location since 1908. Waverly was originally built in the 1870’s on the other side of the levee, with predictable problems from river flooding. By some accounts it was taken down, moved and reassembled in its present location in 1908. Others say that the current house has no relationship to the earlier one. Either way, it is a lovely place, and it is a shame that it is never open for tours, as I bet it is even prettier inside.
The last time I went looking for Waverly, I didn’t find it, but today, armed with GPS courtesy of my iPhone, I got there. This beautiful old home, not to be confused with another Waverly near West Point, Mississippi, sits seven miles or so south of West Memphis, Arkansas beside the Mississippi River levee, and dates back at least to 1908. There is some confusion about how old the house is, but what is known is that it has been at its present location since 1908. Waverly was originally built in the 1870’s on the other side of the levee, with predictable problems from river flooding. By some accounts it was taken down, moved and reassembled in its present location in 1908. Others say that the current house has no relationship to the earlier one. Either way, it is a lovely place, and it is a shame that it is never open for tours, as I bet it is even prettier inside.