Coahoma, MS

 Do you like the Blues?  Well then, you will love our system located in the Northwest corner of Mississippi known as Coahoma.  The Coahoma system is comprised of Coahoma, MS Friars Point, MS, Jonestown, MS, Lula, MS and the little unincorporated village of Moonlake, MS.    The area is referred to as Coahoma County and was established in February of 1936, following the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek.  The county name, "Coahoma," is believed to have been suggested by Governor Alexander G. McNutt. According to various published sources, the name comes from a Choctaw word meaning "red panther." Stories differ as to why this name was chosen.  Coahoma lies in the Mississippi Delta and has been referred to as the Most Southern Place on Earth due to its unique racial, cultural and economic history.  It was one of the richest cotton-growing areas in the nation.

 I mentioned the Blues… well the Delta is also the birthplace of the Blues, which preceded the birth of Jazz.     Both art forms are unique to America as they are the only two original art forms that America has produced.  Coahoma County has also served as home at one time or another to: Muddy Waters, W.C. Handy, John Lee Hooker, Sam Cook, General Nathan Bedford Forrest, playwright Tennessee Williams, Ike Turner, the Staple Singers, the Five Blind Boys, James Carr and many others. Coahoma County (Friars Point) was the birthplace of late great Country & Western singer Conway Twitty. 

 A few fun facts about Mississippi:

 The Teddy Bear’s name originated after a bear hunt in Mississippi 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”.

 Mississippi has more tree farms than any other state.

 First state in the country to outlaw imprisonment of debtors. Now that is progress!!!!