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The Mississippi Gulf Coast, from Biloxi to Henderson Point, is the largest and longest manmade beach. National Geographic is printed by the Ringier-America company in Corinth, MS. The world's only cactus plantation is located in Edwards with more than 3,000 varieties of cacti. Mississippi has more tree farms than any other state. Mississippi has more churches per capita than any other state. Norris Bookbinding Company in Greenwood is the largest Bible rebinding plant in the nation. Dr. Tichenor created Dr. Tichenor's Antiseptic in Liberty, MS Four cities in the world have been sanctioned by the International Theatre/Dance Committee to host the International Ballet Competition: Moscow, Russia; Varna, Bulgaria; Helsinki, Finland; and Jackson, Mississippi. David Harrison of Columbus owns the patent on the "Soft Toilet Seat." Over one million are sold every year. The first football player on a Wheaties box was Walter Payton of Columbia. The Teddy Bear's name originated after a bear hunt in the Mississippi Delta, south of Greenville, with President Theodore Roosevelt. President Roosevelt refused to shoot an exhausted and possibly lame bear. News of this spread across the country, and a New York merchant capitalized on this publicity by creating a stuffed bear called "Teddy's Bear." H. T. Merrill of Iuka flew the first round-trip transoceanic flight in 1928. The flight to England was made in a plane loaded with ping-pong balls. The birthplace of Elvis in Tupelo includes: a museum, a chapel, and the two-room house in which Elvis was born. The world's oldest Holiday Inn is in Clarksdale. Blazon-Flexible Flyer, Inc., in West Point, manufactures the best snow sled in the country, the Flexible Flyer. Greenwood is the home of Cotton Row, which is the second largest cotton exchange in the nation and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Emil and Kelly Mitchell, the King and Queen of Gypsies, are buried in Rose Hill Cemetery in Meridian. Since 1915, people from all over the world have left gifts of fruit and juice at their grave sites. The 4-H Club began in Holmes County in 1907. The Waterways Experiment Station in Vicksburg is the largest research, testing, and development facility of the US Army Corps of Engineers. On April 25, 1866, women in Columbus decorated the graves of Confederate and Union soldiers in Friendship Cemetery. This gesture became known as Decoration Day, the beginning of what we observe as Memorial Day. Shoes were first sold as pairs in 1884 at Phil Gilbert's Shoe Parlor in Vicksburg. Inventor James D. Byrd of Clinton holds seven patents and developed the plastic used as a heat shield by NASA. Mississippi University for Women in Columbus was the first state college for women in the country, established in 1884. Every commercial airliner has at least one hydraulic component manufactured by Vickers in Jackson. The McCoy Federal Building in Jackson is the first federal building in the United States named for a Black man. Dr. A. H. McCoy was a dentist and business leader. Hatmaker John B. Stetson learned and practiced hatmaking in Dunn's Falls, MS. The oldest field game in America is Stickball, played by the Choctaw Indians of Mississippi. Demonstrations can be seen every July at the Choctaw Indian Fair in Philadelphia, MS. Alcorn State University in Lorman is the oldest black land grant college in the world. The International Checkers Hall of Fame is in Petal. Natchez was settled by the French in 1716 and is the oldest permanent settlement on the Mississippi River. Natchez once had 500 millionaires, more than any other city except New York City. Natchez now has more than 500 buildings that are on the National Register of Historic Places. Captain Isaac Ross of Lorman freed his slaves in 1834 and arranged for their passage to the west coast of Africa. They founded the country of Liberia. Oliver Pollock was the largest individual financial contributor to the American Revolution. He invented the dollar sign ($). He is buried near Pinckneyville. Resin Bowie, the inventor of the Bowie Knife, is buried in Port Gibson, MS Liberty was the first town in the country to erect a Confederate monument in 1871. The Pass Christian Yacht Club is the second oldest yacht club in North America, founded in 1849. The Mississippi Legislature passed one of the first laws in 1839 to protect the property rights of married women. The Natchez Trace Parkway, named an "All American Road" by the federal government, extends from Natchez to just south of Nashville, Tennessee. The Trace began as an Indian trail more than 8,000 years ago. The Mississippi Delta is the birthplace of the Blues, music truly original to America. The Vicksburg National Cemetery is the second-largest national cemetery in the country. Arlington National Cemetery is the largest. D'Lo was featured in Life Magazine for sending proportionally more men to serve in World War II than any other town of its size; 38 percent of the men who lived in D'Lo served. In 1894, Coca-Cola was first bottled by Joseph A. Biedenharn in Vicksburg. Mississippi was the first state to outlaw imprisonment of debtors. Belzoni is the Catfish Capital of the World. Approximately 70 percent of the nation's farm-raised catfish comes from Mississippi. The company that makes Icee drinks is owned by Fred Montalvo from Edwards. Peavey Electronics, in Meridian, is the world's largest manufacturer of musical amplification equipment. Proportionally more Mississippians were killed during the Civil War than from any other Confederate state. Serving during Reconstruction, Hiram Revels was the first Black US Senator. The first Parents-Teachers Association was founded in Crystal Springs, MS. If you know other significant facts about Mississippi that are not listed here, please submit them by email and they will be included. |