Page Contents for Friars Point, Mississippi

Statistics & Facts

Location

History & History-related items

City Attractions

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Statistics & Facts

The Mississippi state capital is Jackson.
The population of Friars Point is approximately 1,334 (1990), 1200 (2010).
The approximate number of families is 431 (1990), 407 (2010).
The amount of land area in Friars Point is 2.893 sq. kilometers.
The amount of surface water is 0.046 sq kilometers.
The distance from Friars Point to Washington DC is 854 miles.
The distance to the Mississippi state capital is 143 miles. (as the crow flies)
Friars Point is positioned 34.36 degrees north of the equator and 90.63 degrees west of the prime meridian.

Location

in northwest Mississippi near the "Mighty Mississippi" and the Arkansas border.
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Weather

moderate. Here is a weather page for the area
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History & History Related Items

Friars Point, founded in 1836, is on the National Register of Historic Places. It was a major steamboat port, was occupied by Union troops and the Robinson/Slack/Marinelli home which was Union headquarters still stands. Portions of the town were burned by Union troops. It was a major staging point for deploying Union troops into Mississippi. Was a rendezvous point for 45 transport ships and gunboats of Gen. Sherman on his way to Vicksburg. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest was tried at the courthouse in Friars Point at the end of the war by Union troops for crimes against the Union. Home of Confederate Gen. Alcorn. Friars Point was visited and written about by Charles Lindbergh in his book WE. It was the theme of Travelin Riverside Blues by Robert Johnson and Hirsberg's Drug Store is a blues attraction because Johnson played on the water bench outside the store. Friars Point is the home of Conway Twitty. Friars Point was written about by William Faulkner and Tennessee Williams. It is the only town in Mississippi that the Mississippi River did not "eat or leave" and is a scenic spot to view the Mississippi River and walk on the levee. The North Delta Museum in Friars Point houses an extensive collection of early Delta artifacts up to and including World War II, including a military archives. Historic churches and buildings grace the quaint southern town on the banks of the river and the base of the levee.

Friars Point was the county seat of Coahoma County from 1858-1935. It was then moved to nearby Clarksdale.

Here is a history page for Friars Point.
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The founding of Friars Point

1836 by Robert C. Friar

Attractions

Here is a photo gallery for Friars Point.

Friars Point and The Blues
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